Sculpture is a form of plastic art, a visual art that creates three-dimensional images in space using material and means. Early sculptures were primarily created through carving (by subtracting material to shape) and modeling (by adding material to shape), utilizing materials such as stone, metal, wood, and ceramics. However, modernist sculpture has a high degree of freedom in both materials and creative techniques, allowing for the use of carving, welding, molding, or casting on various different materials.