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Social Sculpture Perspective: Re-Sculpting or De-Sculpting Citizenship by Shaping Art as a Vehicle for Social Change

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This article proposes the use of social sculpture—in a broad sense of the concept—in the fields of education and citizenship. It expands on research and experiences in collaborative learning related to cultural sustainability through a social sculpture approach. The article presents designs for educational projects and classroom activities developed by students of early childhood and primary education degrees and offers a guide for implementing social sculpture activities inspired by the work of Beuys and contemporary collaborative art. The proposed approach can be employed with civic groups involved in artistic activism by tailoring the topics to specific target audiences. The projects are built on an initial presentation of existing works and ideas related to social sculpture, social art practice, socially engaged art and community art.

Keywords: art education ; collaborative art ; community art ; ecology ; education ; educational practices ; educational projects ; social art practice ; social sculpture ; socially engaged art ; sustainability

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Social Sculpture Perspective: Re-Sculpting or De-Sculpting Citizenship by Shaping Art as a Vehicle for Social Change
Intellect , 289 (2024); https://doi.org/10.1386/9781789388978_22
/content/books/9781789388978.c21
/content/books/9781789388978.c21
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References

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     [Google Scholar]
  2. Antliff, A. (2014). Joseph Beuys. London: Phaidon Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  3. Bacharach, S., Fjærestad, S. B., & Neil, J. (2016). Collaborative art in the twenty-first century. London: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  4. Beuys, J. (1998). Social sculpture, invisible sculpture, alternative society, free international university. In conversation with Eddy Devolder. Gerpinnes Tandem DL.
     [Google Scholar]
  5. Beuys, J., & Harlan. V. (2007). What is art? Conversation with Joseph Beuys. West Hoathly: Clairview Books.
     [Google Scholar]
  6. Bishop, C. (2006). Participation (Documents of contemporary art). London: Whitechapel Gallery.
     [Google Scholar]
  7. Cook, I. (2000). Cultural geographies in practice: Social sculpture and connective aesthetics: Shelley Sacks's Exchange values. Ecumene, 7(3), 337–343. https://doi.org/10.1177/096746080000700306
     [Google Scholar]
  8. Exchange Values. (2016), Exchange Values – On the Table. http://exchange-values.org/story-of-the-project/on-the-table-2007/
  9. Gyorody, A. (2014). The medium and the message: Art and politics in the work of Joseph Beuys. Sixties: A Journal of History, Politics & Culture, 7(2), 117–137. https://doi.org/10.1080/17541328.2015.1043800
     [Google Scholar]
  10. Helguera, P. (2011). Education for socially engaged art: A materials and techniques handbook. New York, NY: Jorge Pinto Books.
     [Google Scholar]
  11. Jokela, T., & Coutts, G. (Eds.). (2019). Relate North: Collaborative art, design and education. Arctic sustainable arts and design (ASAD). Columbus, OH: Insea Publications. https://doi.org/10.24981/2019-2
     [Google Scholar]
  12. Lachman, G. (2003). A secret history of conciousness. London: Lindisfarne Book.
     [Google Scholar]
  13. Leo, G., Balla, D., Cantwell, A., & Tate, B. (2020). Regulating engagement through dissent. In M. McDermont, T. Cole, J. Newman, & A. Piccini (Eds.), Imagining regulation differently: Co-creating regulation for engagement (pp. 145–166). Bristol: University of Bristol.
     [Google Scholar]
  14. Martegani, M., Kasper, J., & Drew, E. (2020). More art in the public eye. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  15. Quigley, G. (2020). Finding the golden thread: Why we need social sculpture. In D. Curtis (Ed.), Using the visual and performing arts to encourage pro-environmental behaviour (pp. 113–126). Cambridge, MA: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.
     [Google Scholar]
  16. Sacks, S. (2011). Social sculptures and new organs of perception. New practices and new pedagogy for a humane and ecologically viable future. In C. M. Lern Hayes & V. Walters (Eds.), Beuysian legaciess in Ireland and beyond. Berlin: Lit Verlag.
     [Google Scholar]
  17. Sacks, S. (2017). Contemporary social sculpture and the field of transformation. In J. Kettel (Ed.), Übergangsformen von Kunst und Pädagogik in der Kulturellen Bildung-Künstlerische Kunstpädagogik im Kontext. Oberhausen: Athena Verlag.299
     [Google Scholar]
  18. Sacks, S. (2018). Sustainability without the I-sense is nonsense: Inner technologies for a viable future and the inner dimension of sustainability. In O. Parody & K. Tamm (Eds.), Personal sustainability exploring the far side of sustainable development (pp. 171–188). London: Routledge.
     [Google Scholar]
  19. Saldanha, A., & Balsa, R. (Eds.). (2021). Invisibilidades. Revista Ibero-Americana de Pesquisa em Educação, cultura e artes. In Arte como Escultura Social. Rede Ibero-Americana de Educação Artística APECV – Associação de Professores de Expressão e Comunicação Visual (Vol. 1, no. 15, pp. 1–105). https://doi.org/10.24981/16470508.15
     [Google Scholar]
  20. Sculpture As Social Practice. (2019). https://somethingcurated.com/2019/10/30/sculpture-as-social-practice/
  21. Sholette, G., Bass, C., & Social Practice Queens. (2018). Art as social action: An introduction to the principles and practices of teaching social practice art. New York, NY: Allworth Press.
     [Google Scholar]
  22. Social Sculpture Research Unit (SSRU). (2021). http://www.social-sculpture.org/
  23. Steiner, R. (2013). The social future: Culture, equality and the economy. Hudson, NY: Steiner Books.
     [Google Scholar]
  24. Tisdall, C. (1979). Joseph Beuys. New York, NY: Solomon R. Guggenheim Museums, Thames and Hudson.
     [Google Scholar]
  25. Vella, R., & Sarantou, M. (2021). Documents of socially engaged art (1st ed.). Columbus, OH: Insea Publications. https://doi.org/10.24981/2021-DSEA, https://www.insea.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/DocumentsOfSociallyEngagedArt_web.pdf
     [Google Scholar]
  26. Zumdick, W. (2019). Social sculpture and education: Schiller, Steiner, Beuys & Sacks. In. V. D. Rijke (Ed.), Art and soul: Rudolf Steiner, interdisciplinary art and education (pp. 97–115). New York, NY: Springer Nature.
     [Google Scholar]

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