French market vocabulary· French
Tension
In English use: Volumetric structural tension
Volumetric structural tension — the aggressive dialogue between convex and concave surfaces that gives a sculpture a charged, almost explosive vitality.
Whereas hiératisme describes the static overall posture, nervosité the line-work, and taille directe the cutting method, tension names the structural, space-grasping spring between the volumes of the sculpture.
A mask or figure possesses tension when its convex (outward-curving) and concave (inward-hollowed) surfaces stand in dramatic, almost aggressive dialogue. This tension lends the static object an inherent, pulsating vital force (force vitale) that grips the viewer.