Direct Carving: The Cornerstone and Artistic Revolution of Modern Sculpture

Year 2025, Issue: 34, 171 - 189, 30.07.2025

Burçin Ünal

https://doi.org/10.17484/yedi.1616983

Abstract

This article examines direct carving, a pivotal technique in the development of 20th-century sculpture. Involving the sculptor working directly with hammer and chisel on stone or wood, this method fundamentally reshaped the artist’s relationship with the material, becoming a core philosophical approach based on principles such as commitment to material integrity and palpability. Although its roots can be traced back to the Renaissance, direct carving became a fundamental principle of 20th-century modern art, emerging as a reaction against 19th-century academic practices. Prominent artists like Brancusi, Epstein, and Moore spearheaded an international movement championing this technique. It signified a break from academic tradition, advocating for the artist's complete authorship and resonating with modernist movements like Primitivism and Cubism. The adage "to be modern was to carve" underscores its deep ties to modernism, reflecting a preference for individual, authentic practice over industrial production. Consequently, direct carving offered a unique synthesis, combining traditional materials (stone, wood) with modernist concerns (surface articulation, organic form, individual production). This technique deepened artists' material engagement, transformed production processes, and significantly shaped modern art. In conclusion, direct carving represents a critical juncture—formally, conceptually, and technically—in the evolution of 20th-century sculpture.Its impact extended beyond sculpture, influencing other art forms through its emphasis on material and process, and thereby contributing significantly to the comprehensive transformation of 20th-century modern art.

Keywords

Direct carving , modern sculpture , modernism , 20th-century art , Brancusi , truth to materials , primitivism

Doğrudan Yontma: Modern Heykelin Temel İnşa Taşı ve Sanatsal Devrimi

Abstract

Bu makale, 20. yüzyıl heykelinde sanatsal bir devrim yaratan doğrudan yontmacılık tekniğini, estetik ve felsefi boyutlarıyla incelemektedir. 19. yüzyıl akademik anlayışından kopuşu simgeleyen bu teknik, heykeltıraşın taş veya ahşapla aracısız çalışmasını, malzemeye sadakat ve hissedilebilirlik gibi ilkelere dayanan bir yaklaşımla sanatçının malzemeyle ilişkisini yeniden tanımlamasını ifade eder. Rönesans'a uzanan köklerine rağmen, 20. yüzyılda modern sanatın temel prensiplerinden biri haline gelmiş; Brancusi, Epstein ve Moore gibi sanatçılar öncülüğünde uluslararası bir etki yaratmıştır. Primitivizm ve Kübizm gibi akımlarla etkileşim içinde, akademik gelenekleri reddederek otantik üretim süreçlerini vurgulamıştır. "Modern olmak yontmaktı" deyişi, bu tekniğin modernizmin endüstriyel üretime karşı bireysel sanat pratiğini sahiplenmesiyle olan derin bağını özetler. Doğrudan yontmacılık, geleneksel malzemeleri (taş, ahşap) modernist kaygılarla (yüzey işçiliği, organik form arayışı) birleştirerek özgün bir yol sunmuştur. Sanatçıların malzemeyle ilişkisini derinleştiren, üretim süreçlerini dönüştüren bu teknik, sadece heykeli değil, malzeme ve sürece odaklanma prensibiyle diğer sanat formlarını da etkileyerek 20. yüzyıl sanatının bütüncül dönüşümüne önemli katkı sağlamıştır. Doğrudan yontmacılık, böylece modern heykelin evriminde biçimsel, kavramsal ve teknik bir dönüm noktasıdır.

Keywords

Doğrudan yontma , modern heykel , modernizm , 20. yüzyıl sanatı , Brancusi , malzemeye sadakat , ilkelcilik

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