Molding and Casting

Code:

MF500

Acronym:

MF

Keywords
Classification	Keyword
OFICIAL	Fine Arts

Instance: 2020/2021 - 2S

Active?	Yes
Responsible unit:	Fine Arts Department
Course/CS Responsible:	Fine Arts

Cycles of Study/Courses

Acronym	No. of Students	Study Plan	Curricular Years	Credits UCN	Credits ECTS	Contact hours	Total Time
AP	15	Official Study Plan 2011	2	-	4,5	64	121,5
			3
			4

Teaching language

Portuguese

Objectives

The UC aims to present the universes of the processes of moulding and casting of metals as spaces of investigation of the process and contemporary artistic discourse, where the student will be able to put in perspective his authorial work and complement his skills in these areas of production.
With a focus on the processes of lost wax casting and sand pressing, this UC intends, in support of the idealization, production and finalization of projects involving moulding and molten metal, to present its workshop space as a laboratory for experimenting with materials, methods and technology, which are its own, enabling other perspectives on its complex, in general and in relation to contemporary art, in the assumption of the metal foundry, as a territory of possibility of academic practical / theoretical research, in the universe of Plastic Arts - Sculpture.
Other general objectives will be:
- awareness of the general principles of metal casting technology;
- application of the principles of small-scale artistic casting;
- refinement in the practice of the processes of casting by lost wax and sand;
- awareness of the practice of handling the different materials involved in moulding and casting processes: waxes, sands, gypsum, refractory gypsum, metals and metal alloys;
- application of personal and collective safety rules, handling of support equipment and general actions, on different stages of casting processes;
- experimentation of several moulding processes, associated to the artistic field, and applied in the reproduction of models for casting;
- refinement of the practice of moulding and casting workshop, in the relationship and coordination with the different needs of a creative and sculpture studio;
- refinement of the collective work relationship and observation of the norms of respect and attention for the other;
- reflections and critical analyses on the universes of moulding and casting of metals in the contemporary;
- Competence in research, communication and innovation (collection, selection and personalized treatment of information);
- refinement of resource management capacity (workspace, equipment and materials).

Specific objectives will be:

- exploration of individual expression in the proposal and production of projects involving moulding and molten metal;
- awareness and use of the creative space implicit in the personal management between moulding, casting and reproduction processes;
- Reflection between positive and negative space, form and mould, model and reproduction;
- Conquest of autonomy in the processes of moulding and casting, in the use, manipulation and management of the materials used, as well as, support tools;
- moulding and foundry framing surveys associated with the contemporary artistic field, and methodological interdependencies with other production areas;

Learning outcomes and competences

The Learning Outcomes of this Course will be shaped in both moulds and models, as well as in castings, lead, aluminium, Brass and Bronze alloy pieces, which students will develop in practice and in full. Moreover, in reports that they organize in the face of research on subjects related to basic materials, foundry and moulding, in general and in relation to contemporary art, interspersed with their own work and with their authors of reference.
The UC promotes the student's relationship with the tasks related to the moulding and casting workshop, in close relationship and respect as the sculptural studio space, based on the interdependence of the creative processes with the freedom of experimentation. It promotes creative space implicit in the personal management between the artistic casting and casting technology, between moulding, reproduction and casting processes of metal and idiosyncratic creative process. Students are encouraged to achieve their results in a supportive environment with specific support, in a systematically more autonomous way. That is, from the preparation of the different materials, to the organization of the necessary structures, to the execution of the models, to control of the different steps of production, to the refinement and final finishing of the pieces produced. It seeks to raise awareness of the possibilities of the artistic foundry developed following the principles of metal casting technology, suitable for small format casting, guided by the fundamental information of José M. De Carvalho Ferreira and Steve Hurst.

The competencies of this course are:
- capacity for idealization, production and finishing of an artistic work, starting from moulding and casting, or with the need of support of the processes and materials associated with it;
- distinction of the scope of application of the various foundry processes approached;
- distinguishing the field of application of the various metallic materials by their physical characteristics and their processes of transformation;
- the ability to select and control metallic materials and their composition;
- ability to select and execute various moulding processes;
- manipulation, control and preparation of moulding materials according to the objectives of the work to be performed;
- research, framed in the universe of contemporary artistic practices, the processes of moulding and casting metals, its historical evolution and current applications;

Working method

Presencial

Pre-requirements (prior knowledge) and co-requirements (common knowledge)

To fulfill the objectives of UC, the results and the skills that obviously intend to enroll in research and questioning of the contemporary art field, students should be supported by acquired skills and taste for drawn and modeling, the capacity, interest and ambition to formulate project within the Plastic Arts, mould making and metal casting.

Program

The metals foundry is a human activity that goes back to more than four millennia BC, as our present knowledge. In an evolutionary continuum, until the present day, human civilizational history is marked by its phases: Copper Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age. José MG De Carvalho Ferreira writes in his book Foundry Technology that "the foundry will continue to be one of the most versatile technological processes of manufacture in the future ... composed of methods, processes and techniques for the formation of molten metals, and for their controlled solidification."

In this UC we will carry out an independent focus for the artistic foundry that, beyond the magic of the transformation of metal into form, the versatility pointed by the author, allows a huge field of investigation, for the creative processes of the artists.

In this sense, this UC promotes the understanding of moulding and casting processes throughout history, up to the present day, aiming to frame its proposals within a more specific framework of contemporary culture and the history of the plastic arts. It also promotes the refinement of students' processes and participation in all phases of production as a method for the broad understanding of technological and safety issues associated with Moulding and Casting.

The proposals presented to the students are processes of communication with more complex realities, with specific universes of the plastic arts, but also, of the industry and new technologies, necessitating experiential, visual and theoretical framework, added to the space / time possibilities that the UC has. This UC develops production actions with institutional partners and other UCs of the LAP, as a process of understanding a broader framework for Moulding and Casting.

The proposals relate students to the process of moulding and casting metals, instigating them to achieve their results, starting from personal projects, in a systematic way more autonomous, in an environment propitious and with specific support. From the preparation of the different materials, to the organization of the necessary structures, to the execution of the models, control of the different steps of production, to the refinement and final finishing of the produced pieces.

It seeks to raise awareness of the possibilities of the artistic foundry developed according to the principles of metal casting technology, suitable for small format casting, focused on lost wax casting processes and sandcasting.

The Learning Outcomes of this UC will be embodied in pieces produced in lead, aluminum, brass and bronze alloy, by moulding and casting lost wax and sandcasting processes.

There will also be recorded results in the production of investigations that the students conduct, allowing new creative looks on these activities, starting from reflections on contemporary art, namely sculpture, involving moulding processes and molten metal. The versatility supporting other research perspectives, starting or reviewing relationships with national and international works and authors, such as Pedro Croft and Richard Serra; Alberto Giacometti and Constantin Brancusi; Jasper Johns and Marcel Duchamp; Sherrie Levine and Rachel Whiteread; Anish Kapoor and many others.

Mandatory literature

CARDOSO, Armando; Manual do Fundidor. Livro I e II. Lisboa, : Livraria Bertrand, 1976
FERREIRA, José M. G. Carvalho; Tecnologia da Fundição, Lisboa: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian, , 2010. ISBN: 978-972-31-0837-8
FERRO, Rui; - Processos de Moldagem na FBA.UP, 2005
Langland, Tuck; Pratical Sculpture, Prentice - Hall International (UK) Limited, London, 1988. ISBN: 0-13-692179-5
Hurst Steve; Metal Casting, 1996. ISBN: 1-85339-197-2
Aspin B. Terry; Foundrywork for the Amateur, 1984. ISBN: 0-85242-849-9
Irving Donald J.; Sculpture

Complementary Bibliography

BUSKIRK, Martha; The contingent object of contemporary art, London: The Mit Press, 2005. ISBN: 0-262-52442-2
PERCY, H.M; New materials in sculpture, London: Alec Tiranti, 1970. ISBN: 0 85458 996/1
CRUZ, António. S.; VIDIGAL, António; BRANCO, Cristina; VALDIVIESO, Fernando M; Fundição com Modelo Perdido - Aplicação de materiais de última geração à fundição escultórica com a utilização de molde químico. Emprego do Poliestireno Expandido como modelo gaseificável: , Biblioteca d'Artes - Cadernos. vol. , 2002. ISBN: 972-98505-5-0
CELLINI, Benvenuto; - Tratados de orfebrería, escultura, dibujo y arquitectura. Trad. Juan Calatrava Escobar. , Madrid: Ediciones Akal, , 1989. ISBN: 84-7600-392-7

Teaching methods and learning activities

The management of the program is carried out in support of the proposal that refers to students or their personal projects, aiming to cover the above-defined content, aiming the development of capabilities that are listed on the point of the Goals. These are the backbone of the entire pedagogical strategy, since it is around them and their definition that are mobilized all other actions including:

1) – Theoretical and practical presentations of plastics and technical aspects involved in the development of the work;

2) Confrontation with art examples from different eras and contemporary artistic practice, through the means available (projection of images, video or other);

3) Study visits to exhibitions, museums, workshops, and others whose interest and opportunity are suitable ace current year features or are translated into an asset for the artistic education of pupils at this level;

4) Individual or collective discussion of the project drafts of the students;

5) Individual or collective discussion, focused on the various stages of project implementation;

6) Collective moment of reflection and critical analysis of the set of results obtained.

Students will be accompanied at all sessions by the teacher and have the opportunity to use the space and equipment out of these sessions under the supervision of teacher when prompted.

Evaluation Type

Distributed evaluation without final exam

Assessment Components

Designation	Weight (%)
Participação presencial	20,00
Trabalho escrito	20,00
Trabalho prático ou de projeto	60,00
Total:	100,00

Amount of time allocated to each course unit

Designation	Time (hours)
Elaboração de relatório/dissertação/tese	22,50
Frequência das aulas	64,00
Trabalho laboratorial	35,00
Total:	121,50

Eligibility for exams

The evaluation is distributed, but being exercised at two levels:

First level: evaluation of the result of each ended work in confrontation with the applied processes and compliance with the objectives;

Second level: evaluation of student progress throughout the semester, before the file that compiles itself, through which it is possible to reconstruct an evolutionary overview.

Thus, obtaining the frequency of this course depends on:

1- active participation in scheduled workshops;

2- achieving the objectives and intended outcomes in each proposal;

3- delivery of a dossier compiling the investigation in terms of materials and processes, illustrated by the results obtained;

4- participation in the group exhibition of the results of the course completed in the room, clean and tidy;

Calculation formula of final grade

1.the result of each completed work are analyzed, criticized and classified into three sections:

- Project / Models [corresponding to 33% of each work classification];

- Molds [corresponding to 33% of each work classification];

- Play / series [corresponding to 33% of each work classification];

2.the proposed works are 60% of the final mark of the year;
3.The file research and work path register corresponding to 20% of the final classification of the year
4.diligent participation in the meetings is 20% of the final mark of the year;

Examinations or Special Assignments

Not applicable.

Special assessment (TE, DA, ...)

As stipulated in the Regulation of the regime of Studies and Assessment of FBAUP, the evaluation of the theoretical-practice is continuous, subject to combination with other methods of assessment. Although, being the absences not recorded, the constant presence at school must ensure qualitative and quantitative information at any time, regardless of the time periods for evaluation. The reported information is ensured through the regular development of practical and its theoretical framework. Given the characteristics of the type of ongoing evaluation (distributed without final exam) are weighting factors for the assessment, the effective participation / attendance of the student in the spaces of workshop, performance and capacity, nature and originality of the project and subsequent reading processes and strategies of consummation.

Classification improvement

Frequency in the UC in the following year.