Metal Sculptures
The basis for the critical analysis of metal sculptures is represented by the existence of various categories in this art sector. Many people would label metal sculptures as some form of mainstream in this artistic domain. Unlike a painter who needs very few things to work with such as a canvas, paint and brushes, a metal work artist requires a lot more resources: a workshop and a significant number of devices and machines necessary for the creation of metal sculptures. According to the types of metal art, there are several forms of metal sculptures to be identified; they include casting, fabricated sculptures and metal junk art.
Metal sculptures created by means of a metal casting procedure require the use of a mold for the process. Under such circumstances the workshops should include a furnace to melt metals such as bronze, steel, aluminum or any other type of alloy. Once the metal has reached an adequate consistency, the making of the metal sculptures as such begins with the pouring of the molten substance into the mold. There follows the cooling stage, the cleaning and the finishing as such. For the last part of the design process, the artist could choose to create a certain patina or not.
Fabricated metal sculptures are a little different; heat is still a shaping factor, but this time it is used in the welding process. Unlike cast sculptures that are not very complex because of the somehow limited nature of the mold, fabricated metal sculptures allow more exquisite refineries by the possibility to put several pieces of metal together. The result basically reflects a unitary artistic vision even if the assembling part of the creative process takes more time and really works a major role for the finality of the project. Art galleries will often include mostly this kind of metal sculptures.
Junk metal sculptures is the name under which all the art works using junk pieces of metal are labeled. Sometimes junk metal work is also known as found metal work. This kind of artistic creativity is usually exhibited at street art fairs and it is very popular among many cultures. From all these three kinds of metal art work presented above, the best reputation is enjoyed by the fabricated metal sculptures since they require the most craftsmanship of all. The other two rely on a very creative imagination and on the skills to use the properties of the metals according to the artistic vision.