Volume = a shape in three dimensions
Shapes are flat. If you take a shape and give it three dimensions, it has volume.
A three-dimensional form has volume. Volume (three-dimensionality) can be simulated in a two-dimensional work (like a painting).
This self portrait by Rembrandt is an example of simulated, or implied volume. The face looks three-dimensional. In actuality, however, it is a two-dmensional (flat) artwork, a print.
Rembrandt Van Rijn Self-portrait in a cap, with eyes wide open, etching and burin, 1630
Signed and dated bottom center: RHL 1630. A copy is kept in the: Rijksmuseum Amsterdam. Source: Dake, wikipedia. com
This group of sculptures by Magdalena Akanowicz have actual volume; they are three-dimensional. Because the figures are open they allow a glimpse of what the inside of a sculpture looks like, (including welded together sections of separate castings). This openess gives a sense of volume. If they were closed, they would appear to have density, or mass.
Magdalena Akanowicz Nierozpoznani ("The Unrecognised Ones") 2002
Cytadela park, Poznań, Poland (whole installation) photo by Radomil
Imagine a drawing of a glass. The drawing would be flat (two-dimensional) But it would look like it was three-dimensional (simulated or implied volume). Now imagine an actual glass (that is empty). The glass would have volume (it would be three-dimensional).
Mass = volume + density
Imagine that glass again, this time filled with water. Now the glass has mass, or density.
The density of a material is scientifically defined as its mass per unit of volume. For example, a rock has more density than a cotton ball.
Imagine three containers. The first one is empty (filled with air); it has volume. The second container is filled with feathers. Now the container has density, or mass. The third container is filled with sand. The third container has more density than the second one.
In art it’s easier to think of density as actual or perceived weight.
These ancient Olmec sculptures iillustrate the concept of density, or mass. They appear to be (and actually are) very heavy in weight. They are very large and there are several of them (17 have been unearthed). You can imagine encountering a group of these colossol heads, and the sense of power they convey.
Monument 6, San Lorenzo Tenochtitlan Olmec civilization 1500 BCE to about 400 BCE
exhibited at the Museo Nacinal de Antropología e Historia, Mexico Image: Maunus
Monument 1, one of four colossal Olmec heads at La Venta. 9.8 ft (3 meters) tall. circa 900 BCE -400 BCE
La Venta Park, Villahermosa, Mexico Image: Hajor
Implied Mass
Mass or volume can be simulated in two-dimensional work though the use of:
modeling and shading
color--darker and more intense colors appear heavier
placement--objects closer to the lower edge of the picture plane appear heavier
size--larger objects appear heavier
overlapping objects creates a sense of space
Implied Mass: Valentina Kulagina
This poster from 1930 is a good example of implied mass. The soldiers of the Russian Army are portrayed as huge figures marching from the factories to fight the war. Notice the size, color and placement of the figures. In contrast, the airplanes of the royalists are shown as light, small, and overwhelmed by the figures.
Valentina Kulagina To Defend USSR 1930
Image Source: http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/06/13/100-years-of-propaganda-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/
Three-dimensional artwork has varying degrees of dimensionality.
Relief Sculpture
In relief sculpture an image is developed outward from a two-dimensional surface.
Low relief. In low relief, the figures exist almost on the same plane as the ground, but they are carved with enough depth to cast shadows. Often times they tell a story.
India, Northern: Gandhara period
Tympanum in shape of a stupa, decorated with relief scenes from the life of the Buddha, 3rd century C.E.
Musee Guimet, Paris AICT/Allan T. Kohl
High relief. In high relief, at least half of the figures project forward from the surface.
Francois Rude The Departure of the Volunteers of 1792 ("La Marseillaise") 1833-1836
group from right side, east face, Arc de Triomphe, Paris, France
Frontal sculpture. Three-dimensional work that is meant to be see from only one side is called frontal sculpture.
David Smith Pittsburgh Landscape 1954, painted steel relief
The Hirshhorn Sculpture Gardens, Washington DC
In the round, or full round sculpture. Full round sculpture is free-standing and meant to be seen from all sides.
Auguste Rodin Pierre de Wiessant
(detail of study for figure from "The Burghers of Calais"), 1884-1886
Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, Iowa
Walk through work. An even greater degree of three-dimensionality is found in works that involve a space that the viewer must actually move through to fully appreciate it.
Installation art. In installation art the artist creates a space, in which all objects relate to each other, and the viewer becomes a part of it by moving through it. There is no fixed view point, and the space oftens provides an almost transcendent experience for the viewer,set apart from the ordinary world.
Rachel Whiteread Embankment 2005 Turbine Hall, The Tate Modern, Bankside, London
14,000 translucent, white polyethylene boxes (casts of the inside of cardboard boxes) Photographer: Fin Fahey
Landscape art. In landscape art the artist works with the landscape itself. Gardens and other spaces provide an aesthetic experience that the viewer can not only walk through, but spend time in contemplation and enjoyment of the space. Sometimes these spaces have a spiritual purpose as well.
Dry Garden in Ryoanji (The Temple of the Dragon at Peace) Kyoto, Japan, late 15th century.
Three-dimensional art can take many different forms.
Open and closed forms.
Closed forms are often carved from a larger mass in a form that allows for structural soundness. They appear very heavy, solid, and have a sense of permanence.
Block statue of Sennefer ( 'Overseer of sealbearers' in the reign of Thutmose III)
From western Thebes, Egypt 18th Dynasty, around 1450 BC British Museum
Open forms have more of a range of dimensionality, with outward projections and inward recesses.
Jacques Lipchitz Prometheus Strangling the Vulture II 1944/1953
bronze: 91.75 x 90 x 57 inches
Walker Art Center Gift of the T.B. Walker Foundation, 1956
Static and dynamic forms.
Static forms appear to be still, stable, and unchanging. They give a sense of immovable permanence. The Great Pyramid and the Sphinx of Giza is a perfect example. A pyramid is the most stable form that exists.
Francis Frith The Great Pyramid and the Sphinx 1858 Albumen print 38 .50 x 49.50 cm
National Galleries of Scotland Commons Edinburgh, Scotland, UK Gift of Mrs. Riddell in memory of Peter Fletcher Riddell 1985
source: http://www.nationalgalleries.org/aboutus/article/1:4946/295
Dynamic forms. Dynamic forms are lively, have a sense of movement and change.
India,Chola period Shiva Vinadhara - Dakshinamurti 11th century C.E.
Musee Guimet, Paris
Interior and exterior contours. Contour refers to the surface of a form. Sculpture can have interior as well as exterior contours.
This sculpture has many interior contours as well as exterior contours.
Bertel Thorvaldsen Ganymede and the Eagle 1817-1829
Marble 34 3/4 x 18 1/2 x 46 3/8 in. (88.27 x 46.99 x 117.79 cm)
Minneapolis Institute of Arts Gift of the Morse Foundation
In this sculpture the interior contours are an intrinsic aspect of the artwork and are as significant as the exterior contours. 
Henry Moore Reclining Mother and Child 1960-1961 bronze
Walker Art Center
Image Copyright: Courtesy Walker Art Center
1. Draw a simple object using lines but no shading. Now, shine a bright light or flashlight on the same object and experiment with shading. Compare the two results to see the difference in dimensionality.
3. Take a sheet of paper and experiment with ways to create objects that appear to be hevier than others, using different colors, placement, size etc. to see how you can create implied mass.
4.Take some modelling clay and experiment with creating different types of forms: static, dynamic, open, closed, interior and exterior contours.
5. Select a small space in your home or outside your home. Think of simple ways you could alter the space by adding something or changing something. What kind of space would you like to create? How could you transform the space into something different from your ordianry world? Even a ball of string can change a space. What ideas can you think of?
