Sculpture: Public Art — Year 6 Lesson Plan
National Curriculum: Art and Design KS2 — To improve their mastery of art and design techniques, including sculpture, with a range of materials; to know about great artists and evaluate and analyse creative works.
Overview
Pupils investigate the role of public sculpture in communities and public spaces, studying works by Antony Gormley, Anish Kapoor and other public artists. They consider how sculpture relates to its site, audience and purpose before designing and making a small-scale sculpture intended for a specific public space in or around the school. The unit develops 3D design thinking, materials knowledge and the ability to communicate ideas through sculptural form.
Learning Objectives
- To know about the role of public art in society and how public sculpture relates to its site and audience
- To design a sculpture for a specific site, explaining choices of form, material and meaning
- To construct a sculpture using a wire armature and surface material with growing technical skill
- To present finished work with an artist statement explaining purpose, site and artistic intent
Key Vocabulary
Suggested Lesson Structure
Show pupils photographs of public sculptures: Gormley's Angel of the North and Another Place (figures on the beach), Kapoor's Cloud Gate in Chicago, Barbara Hepworth's forms in St Ives. For each, ask: where is it? Who can see it? What does it mean or feel like? Does it belong to that place? Introduce the design brief: design a public sculpture for a specific outdoor space in or near school.
Demonstrate armature-making with aluminium wire: twisting two strands together for strength, forming a figure or abstract form, bending joints and testing that the armature stands. Show how to build up the surface using mod-roc (plaster bandage), papier mache or air-dry clay pressed onto the wire, working in layers. Show how to add surface texture and paint the finished form.
Pupils visit (or look at photographs of) their chosen site and make observational sketches and notes: what is the space like? What mood does it have? What sculpture might belong here? They develop three thumbnail designs in their sketchbooks, labelling materials, scale and the idea behind each design, then select the strongest to develop.
Pupils construct their armature and begin building up the surface material across multiple sessions. Teacher circulates, supporting structural decisions and encouraging pupils to consider the sculpture from all viewing angles. Final works are painted and finished, then photographed in the intended site if possible.
Pupils present their sculpture to the class, reading their artist statement and explaining their site, audience and artistic intention. Class audience asks two questions. Discuss: if this sculpture were to be installed in our school grounds, what would it say about our community?
Common Misconceptions
- Pupils sometimes design a sculpture and only then think about where it might go — reverse this by starting with the site and letting it inform the design
- Many pupils try to create very complex armatures that collapse — teach a simple construction principle: fewer, stronger bends rather than many weak joints
Prior Knowledge
Pupils should already be able to:
- Clay sculpture from Year 1 and Year 3
- Armature-based sculpture from the Year 4 Sculpture and 3D unit
- Design thinking and artist statements from Year 5 and Year 6 units
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