Welded sculpture (related to
visual art and
works of art) is an art form in which
sculpture is made using
welding techniques. Welding was increasingly used in sculpture from the 1930s as new industrial processes such as
arc welding were adapted to aesthetic purposes. Welding techniques, including
digital cutting, can be used to cut and join metal. Welded sculptures are sometimes
site-specific. Artist Richard Hunt said "The idea of exploiting welding methods and the tensile strength of metals opened up many possibilities to me. This idea was actually linked to the increasing recognition among artists that an art which was representative of our own time ought to use materials and techniques that were at hand, whether it was new experiments using plastics, new kinds of paints, new kinds of surfaces in painting, or using materials developed during the war effort."