Introduction

Three-dimensional media occupies space defined through the dimensions of height, width and depth. It includes sculpture, installation and performance art, decorative art, and product design.

Two processes are responsible for all three-dimensional art: additive, in which material is built up to create form, or subtractive, where material is removed from an existing mass, such as a chunk of stone, wood or clay. The different categories we’ll examine here are not necessarily exclusive from each other, and we will look at some examples of three-dimensional art that arguably cross over between categories. First, let’s look at the different types of sculpture and the methods used to create them to understand the important characteristics of each one.

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