I came across a small exhibit inside the Rubin Museum that gave me a visual on how Tibetan sculpting worked, specifically how the metal sculptures were made. I’d always thought that the statues were heated and molded by hand into the intended shapes, individually (like clay sculpting). Instead, I found out that artists would create a prototype first, put it in a mold, empty the mold, then fill the mold with liquid metal, and lastly paint in details (like eyes and lips).
This is a process that we still use today, though rarely is the finished product made of metal– it’s too expensive. Today, many artists (special effects artists) would make face molds so that they could create masks tailored to their facial features. It’s just surprising that the beginnings of this molding process dates back to so long ago.
Hi Ruana,
Your post is well written and I totally agree with your point. Good job!