Shaping the World: Sculpture from Prehistory to Now

Product Description

Pairing one of the world’s greatest sculptors with one of today’s greatest writers on art, Shaping the World tells the story of human culture from prehistory to the present through the medium of sculpture.
Practiced by every culture throughout the history of the world, sculpture is a universal art form that’s deeply rooted in the human psyche and may even predate the advent of language. In this wide-ranging book, internationally renowned sculptor Antony Gormley and distinguished art critic Martin Gayford consider sculpture as an art form related to humanity’s potential for thought and feeling, as well as to our urge to build, make pictures, practice religion, and develop philosophical thought. They take into account materials and techniques and consider overarching themes, such as space, light, and darkness.
Drawing on examples from around the globe―ranging from the standing stones at Stenness, Orkney, dating from around 3100 BCE, and the Terracotta Army in China to Robert Smithson’s Spiral Jetty and Richard Serra’s steel structures―Shaping the World explores sculpture as a form of physical thought capable of altering the way people feel. 300 color illustrations

Review

“If you want to rethink your ideas about sculpture, this fascinating book will give you pause for thought on just about every page.”
―
Financial Times

About the Author

Antony Gormley is a distinguished British artist and sculptor, best known for his
Angel of the North in Gateshead. He won the Turner Prize in 1994 and is one of the most critically respected artists working internationally.

Martin Gayford is an art critic for
The Spectator. His books include
Modernists & Mavericks,
Man with a Blue Scarf,
A Bigger Message,
Rendez-vous with Art (with Philippe de Montebello),
A History of Pictures (with David Hockney), and most recently,
The Pursuit of Art.