casting

Examples of casting in the following topics:

• Cast-Iron Architecture

  • Cast-iron architecture was a prominent style in the Industrial Revolution era when cast iron was relatively cheap, and modern steel had not yet been developed.
  • In the 1850s the cheapness and availability of cast iron led James Bogardus of New York City to advocate and design buildings using cast iron components.
  • Cast iron has some architectural advantages, as well as some serious weaknesses.
  • Cast iron was also used widely in bridge construction for the new railway system, sometimes with horrific results, especially when cast iron girders were used instead of arches.
  • The weakest parts of the bridge were cast iron lugs holding tie bars in place, and cast iron in new bridges was effectively abandoned after the disaster.

• Casting

  • A mold is usually destroyed after the desired number of castings has been made.
  • 'Waste molds' are single-use molds, often used to cast materials such as plastic resin or concrete.
  • Metal is one of the most common materials that artists cast, and the most common process used to cast metal is called the lost-wax casting process, variably known as lost-mold and waste-wax casting.
  • Lost-wax casting is the process of casting an artist's sculpture in a metal, such as gold, silver, bronze, or brass.
  • Lost-wax casting was widespread in Europe until the 18th century at which point the piece-mold process came to dominate.

• The Bhakti Movement

  • The Bhakti movement also countered the prevalent caste ideology which was dividing Hinduism.
  • They taught that people could cast aside the heavy burdens of ritual and caste and the subtle complexities of philosophy, and simply express their overwhelming love for God.
  • Generally a liberal movement, its denouncement of caste offered recourse for Hindus from the orthodox Brahaminical systems.
  • Of course Bhakti's message of tolerance and love was not often heeded by those ensconced in the societal construct of caste.

• Romanesque Sculpture: Reiner of Huy

  • It was made by lost-wax casting, with the basin cast in a single piece.
  • The size was not necessarily exceptional, as both church bells and cauldrons for large households were probably cast at comparable sizes; some church doors that were cast in a single piece, though flat, were much larger.
  • The font sat on twelve oxen (two are now missing) which emerged from a stone plinth, a reference to the "molten sea... on twelve oxen" that were cast in bronze for Solomon's temple.

• Sculpture of the Igbo-Ukwu

  • This was centuries before other known bronzes of the region, making the Igbo culture the earliest known example of a bronze casting society in the region.
  • The bronze sculptures were made in stages using the lost wax technique, an ancient casting process commonly using wax.
  • Many of the castings integrated small decorative items and designs, showing the artisans' high level of skill.
  • The elaborate designs and casting in bronzes such as this one point to the Igbo people's high level of skill.

• Senufo

  • They live by a strict caste system, where the farmer is top and the musicians are at the bottom, everyone else filling in between.
  • Even for those who do not belong to the farmer caste, farming is huge in the Senefou culture.
  • They are expert mask makers , but since farming is the highest profession possible, artists and musicians are low in the caste system (musicians are bottom).
  • They are expert mask makers, but since farming is the highest profession possible, artists and musicians are low in the caste system (musicians are bottom).

• Etruscan Bronze Sculpture

  • During its Classical period, from 480 to 300 BCE, Etruscan art was known for its hollow cast bronze sculptures and smaller utilitarian objects.
  • Also known by its French name cire perdue, lost-wax casting is the oldest method of producing metal sculptures.
  • Although any material that can be liquified and subsequently solidified may be cast, metal is the most common.
  • Of all metals, bronze is the most commonly cast.
  • These mirrors were highly burnished on one side to reflect an image, and on the other side were decorated with engraved or low relief casted scenes.

• Ceramics

  • Slip casting involves pouring a liquid clay, called slip, into a highly absorbent plaster mold.
  • Slip casting methods provide superior surface quality, density and uniformity than other ceramic casting techniques, such as hydraulic casting.
  • This is because there is a higher concentration of ceramic raw materials with little additives in slip casting.

• The Benin Bronzes

  • Bronzes are believed to have been cast in Benin since the 13th century, and some of the Benin Bronzes in the collection date from the 15th and 16th centuries.
  • The metal pieces were made using lost-wax casting and are considered among the best sculptures made using this technique.
  • They were cast in matching pairs, although each was individually made.
  • The most notable aspect of the works is the high level of the great metal-working skill at lost-wax casting.
  • Modern-day view of bronze casting using the lost wax method.

• Benin

  • During the reign of the Kingdom of Benin, the characteristics of the artwork shifted from thin castings and careful treatment to thick, less defined castings and generalized features.
  • Instead, a trade system was developed where the Portuguese provided the Benin with luxury items (such as coral beads, cloth and brass manillas for casting) and received paper, cloth, and Benin artwork in return.
  • They were cast in matching pairs (although each was individually made), and it is thought that they were originally nailed to walls and pillars in the palace as decoration.