There are many types of art that are considered sculpture. For example, all of the following are types of sculptures: free-standing sculptures, reliefs, kinetic sculptures, statues, busts and stacked art. Sculptures also vary considerably in terms of medium. Sculptures can be constructed out of virtually any material, with mashed potatoes, ice, or anything in-between being possible candidates, but some of the most common materials are wood, stone, marble or metal.
Sculpture has existed for all of recorded history, and recent excavations have proven that sculpture predates historical records by a rather long period of time. Over the years, sculpture has meant different things to different cultures. Some, including most contemporary cultures, produce small sculptures and wear them as jewelry or as pendants of some kind. Most historical cultures viewed sculpture as art, but some took this even further to include sculpture within their religious spectrum. And, as times have changed, the subject matter and materiel that are used in sculpture have changed as well.
Sculpture has traditionally been created by shaping a hardened material of some kind into a shape imitating a naturally occurring object. For instance, some of the oldest surviving sculptures include sculptures of men and women, animals and of nature. In more recent times, however, artists have felt free to begin examining more impressionistic themes and media for their sculpture. Modern sculpture often isn't meant to resemble any particular object but is meant to be a more abstract form of art.
The time frame that is required to create any particular sculpture depends on several variables. The medium that is used in the sculpture makes a huge difference. A bronze sculpture, for instance, will take much longer to create than a wooden one of equal proportion. The other variables that have a huge impact on a sculpture's time frame is the scale of the project and the requisite detail. The larger and more detailed the sculpture is, the longer it will take to produce it.
Sculptures vary significantly from one geographical location to another. One of the primary elements that varies from place to place are the materials that are commonly used in sculpture. For instance, stone sculpture is common almost universally, due to the commonplace availability of stone across the globe, but the type of stone that is used for sculpture generally depends on what is locally available.
The subject matter of sculpture also depends on geographic elements. Artists tend to attempt sculptures of that which they can see firsthand, so the natural scenes depicted in sculptures will vary depending on what natural environment the sculptor inhabits. The subject matter also changes, as a matter of geography, due to social norms and other cultural phenomena.