Sculpting the Figure in Plaster DVD Review

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(More customer reviews)The DVD "Sculpting The Figure In Plaster" gives very basic information about creating a figure sculpture by applying burlap strips soaked in plaster-of-Paris to a wire armature.Artist Guy Corriero works for about 20 minutes at constructing a small figure of a person that is (I estimate) about 10 inches tall. The figure is not detailed. Its gender is unclear. There is no representation of the features on the face, the fingers of the hand etc. There is so little anatomical detail that the video won't bother people who are offended by nudity.
The technique demonstrated on this DVD may be of interest to fans of the famous artist Alberto Giacometti, who (according to the DVD) sometimes used similar methods. It will not interest people whose goal is to make realistic or highly detailed figures. Realistic plaster sculpture is usually produced by casting plaster in a mold and the plaster used is not "plaster of Paris". Some artists apply burlap strips soaked in plaster-of-Paris to live human models to capture their shape. The DVD does not deal with that procedure.
Guy's narration is organized and smooth enough that it might be scripted or rehearsed. There are moments when he is obviously speaking spontaneously. This is a professionally produced DVD, however it looks dated. The video appears to be a transfer from a VHS tape. Synopsis
Guy uses a simple drawing to explain the proportions of an 8 head high human figure. He explains "contrapposto pose", which is a pose for standing figures often used by sculptors. The mention of the "contrapposto pose" makes no sense since the sculpture he creates is not in that pose. I think this section of the video was cannibalized from a Guy Corriero DVD about a different subject.
Guy explains how to cut threads into the flexible armature wire that is sold by art supply stores. He shows an armature where the wire is attached to the wooden base by a pair of nuts. The nut on the bottom of the base is countersunk into the base. He says the 3/16 threaded rod available at hardware stores can also be used. He doesn't explain in detail how to construct the armature or how to get he proportions of the armature correct.
Guy works on the sculpture with his bare hands. A rubber bowl is half filled with water. Handfuls of plaster are sifted into the bowl slowly until enough plaster has accumulated to form a dry island of plaster above the water. Then the plaster is stirred with his hand.
Burlap strips are put into the bowl to soak in the plaster. The DVD does not have any details about the burlap strips.
The armature is set sideways on a table and burlap strips are wrapped on it. Guy mentions that plaster can be shaped with a rasp but the burlap cannot be. Excess burlap must be cut off with a razor blade or burned off with a torch.

After the plaster sets, the armature is set upright and another layer of plaster strips is added. Dabs of plaster are troweled onto the figure with a spatula.
Guy says that a rasp used on plaster should be cleaned frequently with a wire brush. He says that using a rasp to smooth the entire figure would go against the nature of the materials that are used in the sculpture. It is best to leave the marks where plaster is troweled on the figure since the shadows they cast are part of the artistic effect of the piece.
I rate this DVD as 3 stars out of 5 to indicate that it is an average introduction to sculpting a figure in burlap and plaster of paris. I think the current (May 2010) price of about $30 is ridiculously high. The whole DVD is only about 25 minutes long.


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