In both the practice and criticism of sculpture, there is a distinction between carving and modeling. This is examined in relation to the work of Melanie Klein and the art critic Adrian Stokes. The author takes the position that "the carver esteems his material and his finished work for its otherness; the modeller molds his material into a form determined by his ego." An effort is made to extend Stockes's concept to include two types of readers and critics.