Contemporary Stone Sculpture by Dona Z. Meilach, and: A Sculptor’s Manual by Babridge Copnall (review)

184 Books Contemporary Stone Sculpture. Dona Z. Meilach. George Allen & Unwin, London, 1970. pp. 210, illus. f3.50. A Sculptor’s Manual. Babridge Copnall . Pergamon Press, Oxford, 1971. pp. 265, illus. f3.75. Reviewed by: Nigel Konstam* The first book is subtitled ‘Aesthetics, Methods, Appreciation’ and has something to offer to both students and connoisseurs. I was pleased by the undoctrinaire good sense of all Meilach had to say and by her choice of illustrations (there are over 350 of these). A very strong relationship exists between aesthetics and the methods of carving stone that make it a fundamental study for all those interested in art and, therefore, 1 feel that a book of this kind should have investigated this relationship in greater historical depth. Nonetheless, the account of the various techniques of carving stone is short and to the point, and the book, as a whole, can be recommended as an adequate introduction to anyone wishing to embark on his own exploration of the medium, tools and approaches to carving. (Although the book was published in England, the addresses of quarries, tool makers etc. are limited to the U.S.A.) The author of the second book, Copnall, can look back over a long and successful career in Britain, both as practising sculptor and educator. He emerges from his book as an ebullient, hardworking man with forthright opinions, who can be disarmingly honest about his own experiences in art and in business. (He has to avert his eyes from some of his own works, which were spoilt by meddling patrons). One finds useful information about double-entry accounting, time keeping and costing. On the other hand, I and his free-wheeling style of mixing straight-forward technical matters with memories of his past failures and successes and with aspects of art history, though very readable, highIy unsatisfactory. Those who know the subject will not approve of his handling of plaster and of polyester resin and what he says about bronze casting is positively dangerous. He tells us, for instance, that Cellini made the mould for his ‘Perseus’ out of plaster and clay mixed together in a liquid form; that his mould was up-ended after firing and that the method of attaching runners and risers was invented at a later date. This is not only historically inaccurate but, in its context, could be very misleading. Cellini, himself, tells us that he invested his ‘Perseus’ with a ‘tunic of clay carefully armed and girt with iron’; that he drew off the wax ‘through many vents’ and then fired the mould for forty-eight hours to complete the expulsion of the wax (and, incidentally, to fire the terra cotta). He had a very much lighter mould than is used today. This was ‘raised to an upright position’ with very great care. In the process of packing the mould in earth, the vents were extended with clay pipes. Finally, he threw his household pewter into the molten metal, not his * 40 Norland Square, Holland Park, London W.1 I , England. furniture into the fire, as Copnall would have us believe. Cellini’s method is not, of course, modern foundry practice but it worked and could work again, if one followed Cellini’s own description. Novices should be warned, however, that clay and plaster mixed together in liquid form make pale mud. If they use fired crushed clay (grog)and plaster, as is usual, they would be very unwise to attempt to upend a fired mould of anything larger than a life-size bust, as such moulds are very fragile. Finally, it is absolutely imperative to drive off all the wax and moisture, not just most of it, as the author suggests. His disaster with a casting in Burma was caused by an under-fired ~nould, not by the lack of vents, as he believes. Sculptors interested in bronze casting would do well to consult Sfudio Bronze Casting by John Mills and Michael Gillespie (London: Maclaren and Sons, 1969), which is thorough and reliable. I feel that autobiography and anecdote mix badly with technical matters and, therefore, this book certainly should not have been called A Sculptor’s Manual. Art from Found Materials: Discarded...