Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield

Me, Amy, Rach & Becky decided that we wanted to venture a further a field for our next arty farty adventure. We were researching places that we would like to go and decided to go to Wakefield (up north) and The Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

I drove us, and we had a brilliant, but very tiring day. Here are a collection of images from the day:

 

 

I really enjoyed our visit to the sculpture park. It was way bigger than I thought it would be, and I came to this realisation as we arrived. During our visit we only covered 2 or3 acres out of a sculpture park that is actually spread over 500 acres!

I especially enjoyed the work of Henry Moore. Having seen an exhibition at The Art Gallery of Ontario of his in Canada in Summer 2006, it was good to experience and engage with his work in the outdoors, as well as in a local context as he is originally from West Yorkshire.

Moore's work ranges from the figurative to the abstract. His sculptures vary in terms of the materials that he uses from bronze to marble. In a way this could be reagrded as a modernist movement. This cultural movement saw Moore and many others challenge their outputs in relation to the emerging economic, social, political and industrialised world.

In terms of sculpture and The National Curriculum, The Yorkshire Sculpture Park is a location that could be used to approach, investigate and embrace the NC recommendations. The YSP allows teachers and children to:

Observe - encouraging children to examone artworks and verbalise their reactions to these and find vocabulary to describe what they see in terms of size, shape, texture and colour.

Interpretation - discuss possible ideas, meanings and references contained in the work. Asking the children to say what it conveys to them or of what it reminds them, and what ideas or feelings it evokes. Does the title of the work help us to better understand it?

Techniques - exploring and considering what materials and working methods artists have used. What equipment would have been needed? Are there any signs of the tools and techniques used? How would the artist planned the work before the actual construction began?

Environment - considering and looking at the setting for the work and considering why it was placed there. What does it contribute to the environment? How might people who live or work nearby regard it?    

A great visit which broadned my understanding of sculpture!