George Segal revolutionized figurative sculpture in the 1960s by directly casting plaster-soaked bandages on live models to create unpainted plaster sculptures that exhibited the human form in a new way. His sculptures, like "Three Figures on Four Benches", depict ordinary people and scenes from urban environments in a realistic style that suggests themes of isolation and alienation among city dwellers. Students are instructed to work in pairs casting joined hands expressing emotions like grief, anger, or affection through the plaster cast form.

1. George Segal Click here
In 1960, George Segal made his first direct sculpture casts from live models
with plaster-soaked bandages.
The idea of exhibiting an unpainted body cast as a finished work was
revolutionary and catapulted figurative sculpture into a new expressive
dimension.

2. Three Figures on Four Benches
Like most of Segal's sculptures, this
environment includes figures cast from live
models. His works are usually not
monumental or imposing but inhabit our
environment. Rather than being on a
pedestal, these figures are on real
benches, in our space.
Ordinary lonely people
Segal's figures are usually ordinary people
set in an urban environment. Often they
seem introspective, as these do. Although
these two women are seated fairly close to
each other, they don't appear to have a
relationship. Segal may be suggesting that
city dwellers have a sense of alienation or
isolation from each other.

3. Practical task
Working in pairs create a cast of joined hands.
Consider expressing one of the following:
Grief
Anger
Affection
Turmoil
Nervousness
Avoid extreme under cutting.
Allow the cast to spread onto the fabric beneath.