Welded Sculpture of the Twentieth Century

Book excerpt: Welded sculpture evolved as an art-form in the 1930s as artists began to adapt an industrial method for aesthetic purposes.This historical survey explores the plentiful and varied approaches to sculpture possible through welding and its companion processes. Many twentieth-century artists have produced a prestigious body of welded sculpture, often contributing to the development of this method by experimentation.With its strong European artistic roots, welded sculpture has transcended several 'isms' and trends, by-passing ephemeral styles and marketing mechanisms. This book presents a detailed examination of a technique, its artist exponents, and its associated social and political milieux over the last three quarters of the twentieth century. It records and comments on the history of welded art as it has occurred in our time, contributing to and expanding artistic parameters.Artists featured in this book include Pablo Picasso, László Moholy-Nagy, Harry Bertoia, Phillip King, Anthony Caro, Lynn Chadwick and Eduardo Paolozzi, to name but a few.