Research Article

THE TRANSFORMATION OF FORM, MATERIAL, AND MEANING IN MODERNIST SCULPTURE: 1900–1945 AND POST-1945 LEGACIES

Volume: 12 Number: 1 June 30, 2026
TR EN

THE TRANSFORMATION OF FORM, MATERIAL, AND MEANING IN MODERNIST SCULPTURE: 1900–1945 AND POST-1945 LEGACIES

Abstract

Sculpture, historically grounded in the human body, mythological narratives, and monumental representation, underwent a fundamental transformation with early twentieth-century Modernism. This article examines how form, material, and meaning changed in modernist sculpture between 1900 and 1945, and how these changes shaped post-1945 practices. Based on a qualitative art-historical literature review, the study evaluates selected examples by Rodin, Brâncuși, Picasso, Boccioni, Gabo, Tatlin, Moore, Hepworth, Arp, Giacometti, and Duchamp. It argues that modernist sculpture should be read not merely as stylistic change, but as a redefinition of movement, space, time, environment, objecthood, material, viewer experience, and object-space relations. Boccioni’s manifesto, MoMA catalogues, artist writings, material studies, and Krauss’s theoretical framework support this reading. The study is limited to 20 selected works, using Calder, David Smith, Anthony Caro, Judd, and Morris to trace post-1945 legacies in Minimalism, conceptual art, and postmodern pluralism. Through this scope, the article offers a comparative interpretation of modernist sculptural transformation.

Keywords

Modern Sculpture, Rodin, Picasso, Moore, Giacometti, Constructivism, Minimalism., Object–Space Relations

Supporting Institution

MuafNo funding or supporting institution was received.

Ethical Statement

no ethics report required

References

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APA
Baykurt, A. E. (2026). THE TRANSFORMATION OF FORM, MATERIAL, AND MEANING IN MODERNIST SCULPTURE: 1900–1945 AND POST-1945 LEGACIES. İnönü Üniversitesi Kültür Ve Sanat Dergisi, 12(1), 259-271. https://doi.org/10.22252/ijca.1959375
AMA
1.Baykurt AE. THE TRANSFORMATION OF FORM, MATERIAL, AND MEANING IN MODERNIST SCULPTURE: 1900–1945 AND POST-1945 LEGACIES. IJCA. 2026;12(1):259-271. doi:10.22252/ijca.1959375
Chicago
Baykurt, Arif Esen. 2026. “THE TRANSFORMATION OF FORM, MATERIAL, AND MEANING IN MODERNIST SCULPTURE: 1900–1945 AND POST-1945 LEGACIES”. İnönü Üniversitesi Kültür Ve Sanat Dergisi 12 (1): 259-71. https://doi.org/10.22252/ijca.1959375.
EndNote
Baykurt AE (June 1, 2026) THE TRANSFORMATION OF FORM, MATERIAL, AND MEANING IN MODERNIST SCULPTURE: 1900–1945 AND POST-1945 LEGACIES. İnönü Üniversitesi Kültür ve Sanat Dergisi 12 1 259–271.
IEEE
[1]A. E. Baykurt, “THE TRANSFORMATION OF FORM, MATERIAL, AND MEANING IN MODERNIST SCULPTURE: 1900–1945 AND POST-1945 LEGACIES”, IJCA, vol. 12, no. 1, pp. 259–271, June 2026, doi: 10.22252/ijca.1959375.
ISNAD
Baykurt, Arif Esen. “THE TRANSFORMATION OF FORM, MATERIAL, AND MEANING IN MODERNIST SCULPTURE: 1900–1945 AND POST-1945 LEGACIES”. İnönü Üniversitesi Kültür ve Sanat Dergisi 12/1 (June 1, 2026): 259-271. https://doi.org/10.22252/ijca.1959375.
JAMA
1.Baykurt AE. THE TRANSFORMATION OF FORM, MATERIAL, AND MEANING IN MODERNIST SCULPTURE: 1900–1945 AND POST-1945 LEGACIES. IJCA. 2026;12:259–271.
MLA
Baykurt, Arif Esen. “THE TRANSFORMATION OF FORM, MATERIAL, AND MEANING IN MODERNIST SCULPTURE: 1900–1945 AND POST-1945 LEGACIES”. İnönü Üniversitesi Kültür Ve Sanat Dergisi, vol. 12, no. 1, June 2026, pp. 259-71, doi:10.22252/ijca.1959375.
Vancouver
1.Arif Esen Baykurt. THE TRANSFORMATION OF FORM, MATERIAL, AND MEANING IN MODERNIST SCULPTURE: 1900–1945 AND POST-1945 LEGACIES. IJCA. 2026 Jun. 1;12(1):259-71. doi:10.22252/ijca.1959375