A HISTORY OF LOOKING AT SCULPTURE

“Most modern sculpture – and its sidekick, installation – occupies space in a quite aggressive way.” Historically, sculpture didn’t always do that. “From the Renaissance until the 19th century, statues tended to be placed flat against walls or in niches that neatly framed them. Viewers were expected to contemplate them from a relatively fixed position, as if they were pictures.” – New Statesman