This thesis involves an investigation of the trees in McLennan County that were suitable for wood sculpture, or wood carving, giving special attention to the wood that could be used for wood sculpture projects in the junior-high-school art program.

Dissertation submitted in partial compliance with the requirements for the Master's Degree in Technology: Fine Art (Sculpture), Durban Institute of Technology, 2003. / This dissertation examines the influences and interventions affecting five selected woodcarvers working in the Northern Province over a period of fifteen years. Chapter Orneis divided into three sections. The first section explores the emergence of the woodcarving tradition through the watershed exhibition of Tributaries (1985), which claimed the 'discovery' of the master woodcarvers from the region. Shortly following on from this was the Neglected TradihmD exhibition (1988) whose role defined a turning point in the exhibiting and documentation of black artists within a changing art historical perspective. / M

Marisol Escobar, known in the 1960s as the "Latin Garbo," is a sculptor famous for showing with the Pop art greats. However, Marisol holds a curious position in art history, stranded between the formalism of the fifties' and sixties' male-dominated Pop movement and the conceptual experimentation and radicalism that followed. Trained as a draftsman and painter early in her career, Marisol's main body of work mostly consists of large-scale wooden and mixed-medium sculpture. Lesser known, her lithographs, drawings, collages and small figurines further prove her technical and artistic validity. Preferring to go by surname only, Marisol’s quiet yet intense observation pinpoints the overriding human elements present in the objects of her scrutiny. Most notable for turning her gaze inwards, her self-portraiture defies easy categorization. Meshing American art and non-Western art styles while bridging the gap between intellectual understanding and empathetic approachability, Marisol represents a unique perspective that remains relevant today. Marisol's approach to self-portraiture is, first and foremost, in service to the exploration of her own identity. Furthermore, her choice of subject matter, artistic methodology and style appear closely aligned with Postmodern discourse. Each period of her work from the 1950s to the present day includes different guises and methods that subtly critique societal roles and norms, all presented through the lens of the artist's acute wit. Internationalism, gender roles, and explorations of identity are inherent in each of her works, proving that Marisol deserves further examination to explore her relation to Postmodern thought.

Le corpus de sculptures romanes en bois de la région de Bourgogne est réuni pour la première fois dans un catalogue, complété par une documentation photographique et bibliographique. Les vingt-cinq sculptures répertoriées sont étudiées du point de vue stylistique, iconographique, technique. Au XIIe siècle, une véritable école de sculpture en bois monastique semble se déployer dans les limites du duché de Bourgogne, à l’origine d’une grande variété d’apports formels et techniques. Les sculptures les plus représentatives pour la compréhension des nombreux apports sont étudiées dans le détail. Leurs relations stylistiques avec les manuscrits de la renaissance carolingienne, la sculpture ottonienne et la sculpture monumentale contemporaine en pierre sont indiquées par l’analyse des caractéristiques internes qui distinguent les différents langages formels. La description iconographique montre la dénotation précise avec laquelle le sujet sacré est figuré. Les procédés techniques de création sont comparés par l’examen direct des sculptures, et par la récolte des données disponibles. Pour plusieurs œuvres, de nouvelles datations sont proposées ; des sculptures inédites et des artistes précis sont mis en lumière. Les apports de la sculpture sur bois de la région auvergnate sont précisés. La tradition des reliques insérées dans les sculptures est vérifiée par rapport au rôle plus ou moins significatif qu’elle peut avoir dans l’élaboration de la forme. Un chapitre est consacré à la méthodologie de l’étude de la polychromie des sculptures en bois. Les conservateurs-restaurateurs sont investis d’un rôle crucial dans la collecte scientifique des données qui témoignent de l’histoire des techniques artistiques. Des propositions pour améliorer les procédures d’examen et de documentation sont avancées. / For the first time, the corpus of Roman wood sculptures from Burgundy is gathered together in a catalogue, with added photographic documents and bibliography. The twenty-five sculptures are listed and studied from a stylistic, iconographic and technical point of view. In the XIIth century, an actual school of monastic wood sculpture seemed to develop within the boundaries of the duchy of Burgundy, bringing a great diversity as far as formal and technical contributions are concerned. The sculptures that are the most representative to help the understanding of those numerous contributions are thoroughly studied. Their stylistic relationships with manuscripts dating back from the Carolingian Renaissance, with the Ottonian sculpture and the contemporary monumental stone sculpture, are pointed out with the analysis of internal characteristics, setting apart different formal languages. The iconographic description shows the specific denotation used in the representation of the holy character. The technical processes of creation are compared through the direct examination of the sculptures and through the collection of usable information. For several pieces, a new dating was suggested; new sculptures and specific artists are brought to notice.The contributions of the wood sculpture from the Auvergne region are specified. The tradition of inserting relics into sculptures is put in relation to the relatively important influence it can have on the building of the shape. One chapter is dedicated to the methodology in the study of wood sculptures’ polychromes. The conservators-restorers play a crucial part in the act of scientifically collecting information attesting the evolution of artistic techniques. Some suggestions are put forward to improve the processes of examination and the collecting of information.