Family Activities Caro in Yorkshire
Yorkshire Sculpture Park ysp.co.uk
Sir Anthony Caro (1924–2013) was an extraordinary sculptor, who worked for more than 60 years, experimenting with different materials including paper, steel, Perspex and bronze. He was curious about how he could change and join together materials to make something new.
Imagine Caro’s sculpture in the middle of the sea, on top of a skyscraper. Do you think the place where sculptures are shown changes how you feel about them?
Caro is famous for not putting his sculptures on a plinth, but on the floor, which means that they share the same space as people.
Sir Anthony Caro (1924–2013) was an extraordinary sculptor, who worked for more than 60 years, experimenting with different materials including paper, steel, Perspex and bronze. He was curious about how he could change and join together materials to make something new.
Imagine Caro’s sculpture in the middle of the sea, on top of a skyscraper. Do you think the place where sculptures are shown changes how you feel about them?
Caro is famous for not putting his sculptures on a plinth, but on the floor, which means that they share the same space as people.
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Does Caro’s work remind you of anything? Think of five words to describe one of his sculptures.
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Caro thought that art had its own feeling, almost like a smell. Look for the work Month of May. What smell do you imagine it would have? Why?
These are shapes taken from different sculptures throughout Longside Gallery and the open air. Can you spot them all?
Make different marks and patterns inside them to change how they look.
Choose one shape as your starting point and add some new shapes to make a new sculpture. Can you make it three-dimensional?
Make a drawing that doesn’t look like anything you know. The word artists use for this is ‘abstract’.
Collect some words from Caro’s titles. Join them together to make a new title – draw this sculpture.
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Imagine you could squash a Caro sculpture so it was as flat as a painting. What would happen? Would it be a small painting or a large painting? Draw what you think it would look like. Give it a different title.
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Choose a sculpture you find interesting. Draw the sculpture from three different positions on the same piece of paper. A new sculpture will emerge. Give it a title.
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Caro worked in lots of different sizes, really big and really small – he didn’t make small works to transform into larger sculptures. Arrange your family into heights from smallest to largest? Make shapes with your bodies. Is the smallest still the smallest?
In pairs, join your hands together to make a sculpture inspired by one of Caro’s works. What happens when you use your whole body? How large can you make your sculpture? How small can you make your sculpture?
Caro liked to explore through drawing and making. His drawings and sculptures investigate being in a space. However, he never made his drawings into sculptures. Find the drawings Caro made of people. What are they doing? Use your finger to make an invisible drawing. Draw in the air, take your finger up and down, back and forth, in and out and round about. Look at how Caro filled the whole of his paper. Can you fill the space around you with invisible lines?
Imagine yourself in a small box trying to catch a ball. Draw how you imagine you would look. Can you fill the whole space? Challenge yourself by not taking your pencil off the page.
While out walking together, see how many other Caro sculptures you can find. Move around them and look at them from different viewpoints. Ask yourself which view you like the best. Do you think they would look bigger or smaller if we brought them inside? Would they fit inside your house?
Collect sticks and feathers you find on the ground. Remember not to pick anything living. Build your own sculpture. Imagine if you could make it 100 times bigger! Think of a title for your creation.
Sheila Girling was a painter and Caro’s wife. She used to help him choose the colours for his work.
Caro also made sculptures of Sheila’s head.
Can you think of ways your family support each other to get things done?
Find the heads ‘Day’ ‘Evening’ and ‘Night’. Are they the same?
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Draw a portrait of someone who helps you. What can you tell us about this person in your drawing?
Do you think any of Caro’s drawings are similar to his sculptures? Imagine the sculptures could move? Would they move like ballet dancers or more like machines? What sounds would they make?
Can you balance on one leg? When you are outside, try balancing in different positions.
Caro often asked people in his studio what he should do next in his work. Title:
Take turns in your family to draw a sculpture, each adding a new piece. Use a title from one of Caro’s sculptures as inspiration. Do you like what other members of your family did?
Back Home Caro worked in different places: his home and studios, a garage, and even different countries. When you go home find an interesting space to make a sculpture. Flatten some card packaging. Tear, cut and fold the cardboard into shapes.
Now experiment with building. How can you join your card together to make a sculpture? What could you use to join the card? Where would your sculpture be happiest? Against a wall, balancing off the edge of a table? Or would it prefer to be outside? When Caro made his sculpture in his garage he only saw the full work when it was finished and taken outside, where he could stand back from it.
Caro often made artwork from paper or found materials. Why not bend, fold, twist, rip, curl or crease this leaflet to build your own sculpture? Find a way to make your sculpture stand on its own. Take your sculpture on an adventure to The Hepworth Wakefield and discover more of Caro’s work.
Caro in Yorkshire celebrates Caro’s career with a summer programme of exhibitions and events from 18 July until 1 November 2015 at the Henry Moore Institute, The Hepworth Wakefield, Leeds Art Gallery and Yorkshire Sculpture Park, four organisations which comprise Yorkshire Sculpture Triangle.
Yorkshire Sculpture Park West Bretton Wakefield WF4 4LG United Kingdom ysp.co.uk
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