This work in my Senior Exhibition, and since then in the MSC Forsyth Galleries Juried Show in Bryan, Texas this year. In the latter show, there wasn't an artist's statement, so the sculptures were a bit lost. This might be a good way to discuss them. I'm mixing what I assume is an objective perspective, but also the perspective of the Maker (oh, that's me).A Man, a Plan, a Canal--Panama
Found objects, wire, acrylic paint, coral, postcard, pen and ink on rice paper.
The piece resembles some kind of gadget, a gadget that could be Victorian or futuristic, but not really retro futuristic. It's an apparatus for measuring...something, with a magnifying glass, antennae, a lightbulb that would presumably light up when...something... is detected. The other elements suggest exploration: Victorian-era hikers in a canyon (oh, silly Victorians), an elephant trunk. The pen and ink drawings suggests some other kind of exploration: the microscopic.
An important aspect to all of my work is creating dichotomies. Land (elephant) vs. underwater (coral), past vs. future, printed vs. drawn, reaching out (antennae) vs. looking inside, permanent vs. ephemeral, electricity vs. candlelight, functionality vs. non-functionality, expensive vs. inexpensive, opaque vs. transparent, etc. Rather than being one thing that is recognizable, it's a collection of things that look familiar...but alien. Something between the recognizable and unfamiliar.
Vanguard-1 Found objects, styrofoam, thread, wire, magazine clippings, plexiglass, wax, fabric, acrylic paint.
Vanguard-1 is the oldest manmade satellite still in orbit, and it's now considered "spacejunk". Again, there is the flavor of exploration in this piece: a satellite is associated with space exploration, yet it points back toward Earth. If a satellite faces toward Earth, then that may imply that we are not on Earth when we look at the piece. Earth is about 45 degrees upward. It's covered in a kind of gunk--wax, grit, paint, scratches--implying either age or wear. Though the title and certain elements would imply the early days of space exploration and Wells-ian fiction, there is still a futuristic quality about it that again, is not necessarily retro-futurism.
Embedded are dichotomies and contradictions, like: past vs. future, Earth vs. space, grounded (wheel) vs. flight (satellite), found objects vs. constructed objects, naturally aged vs. artificially altered, reaching out vs. looking inward, opening vs. closing, organic vs. manmade, opaque vs. transparent, light vs. dark, etc. And like the other piece (and what is the goal of most of my work), the elements look familiar, but alien. They occupy the space between familiarity and unfamiliarity, as well as the other dichotomies.
The Empty Quarter
Found objects, thread, wire, brass (with engraving) fabric, magazine clippings, moss, acrylic paint, watercolor, pen and ink on rice paper, working light.
"The Empty Quarter" refers to the Rub' al Khali desert region of the Arabian Peninsula. It's associated with the frankincense trade (of course frankincense was used in ceremonies across many religions in the regions), but also the Black Stone, the important relic at Mecca, is thought to have been found in that desert. The stone may be a fragmented meteorite. The background of the floor (for want of a better word) is reminiscent of the swirling cosmos, or looking down into swirling water. Or sky reflected in water. Like the other pieces, there is a theme of exploration. In the upper segment there looks like men fishing on a boat, and the front apparatus looks something like a sail, but it also seems to be tied down by threads. Maybe though, the threads (which are yellow) are not tying it down, but are instead a reference to sunlight, like the Egyptian Aten. At the very center of the base of the piece
and at the center of the swirling image is an object that sort of resembles a vortex. The apparatus behind it is sort of hovering, floating, but tied down (again with yellow thread). At the very back is an opening from which a flickering light can be seen. The source cannot be seen, but it implies the soul, life, importance. That general idea of "soul" is paired with the sacred, which this piece obviously references. The overall shape is like a reliquary, the shape is like the architecture of temples, the fact that it closes up is like an altarpiece, the oculus at the center is like a rose window. Of the oculus: it is easily and commonly overlooked, because it must be seen at eye level. Children therefore are more inclined to notice it, or those who are comfortable in ducking around. The piece is best seen at all levels so that you are looking down into the abyss, and looking at it straight on. Something that I haven't been able to right is the overwhelming tendency of people to look behind the piece to see the light source. I intend for it to be frontal, and I'm still looking for a way to "hide" the back.
There is a balance between opposites: ground and sky, Earth and Space, land and water, presence and absence, floating and grounded, night and day, dark and light, sacred and mundane, open and closed, image or object, made naturally and constructed, accident and purpose, microscopic and macroscopic, portable and embedded, functional and nonfunctional, familiarity and alien, etc. The piece through references occupy a between-space of dichotomies.
Closing...
All of these pieces are tied to ideas of exploration, either from the ancient perspective, religious perspective, Victorian, H.G. Wells, 1950s space exploration, but also our present perspectives of the unknown (the microscopic world, outer space, the sacred). But you know, there's a lot of heavy material, heavy "important" ideas, but they are also silly and (I shudder to say) whimsical. I mean, come on, antennae? A slinky? What's with the colors? And how are we supposed to believe that any of these could really be functional?
Vanguard-1 is the oldest manmade satellite still in orbit, and it's now considered "spacejunk". Again, there is the flavor of exploration in this piece: a satellite is associated with space exploration, yet it points back toward Earth. If a satellite faces toward Earth, then that may imply that we are not on Earth when we look at the piece. Earth is about 45 degrees upward. It's covered in a kind of gunk--wax, grit, paint, scratches--implying either age or wear. Though the title and certain elements would imply the early days of space exploration and Wells-ian fiction, there is still a futuristic quality about it that again, is not necessarily retro-futurism.
Embedded are dichotomies and contradictions, like: past vs. future, Earth vs. space, grounded (wheel) vs. flight (satellite), found objects vs. constructed objects, naturally aged vs. artificially altered, reaching out vs. looking inward, opening vs. closing, organic vs. manmade, opaque vs. transparent, light vs. dark, etc. And like the other piece (and what is the goal of most of my work), the elements look familiar, but alien. They occupy the space between familiarity and unfamiliarity, as well as the other dichotomies.
The Empty Quarter
Found objects, thread, wire, brass (with engraving) fabric, magazine clippings, moss, acrylic paint, watercolor, pen and ink on rice paper, working light.
"The Empty Quarter" refers to the Rub' al Khali desert region of the Arabian Peninsula. It's associated with the frankincense trade (of course frankincense was used in ceremonies across many religions in the regions), but also the Black Stone, the important relic at Mecca, is thought to have been found in that desert. The stone may be a fragmented meteorite. The background of the floor (for want of a better word) is reminiscent of the swirling cosmos, or looking down into swirling water. Or sky reflected in water. Like the other pieces, there is a theme of exploration. In the upper segment there looks like men fishing on a boat, and the front apparatus looks something like a sail, but it also seems to be tied down by threads. Maybe though, the threads (which are yellow) are not tying it down, but are instead a reference to sunlight, like the Egyptian Aten. At the very center of the base of the piece
and at the center of the swirling image is an object that sort of resembles a vortex. The apparatus behind it is sort of hovering, floating, but tied down (again with yellow thread). At the very back is an opening from which a flickering light can be seen. The source cannot be seen, but it implies the soul, life, importance. That general idea of "soul" is paired with the sacred, which this piece obviously references. The overall shape is like a reliquary, the shape is like the architecture of temples, the fact that it closes up is like an altarpiece, the oculus at the center is like a rose window. Of the oculus: it is easily and commonly overlooked, because it must be seen at eye level. Children therefore are more inclined to notice it, or those who are comfortable in ducking around. The piece is best seen at all levels so that you are looking down into the abyss, and looking at it straight on. Something that I haven't been able to right is the overwhelming tendency of people to look behind the piece to see the light source. I intend for it to be frontal, and I'm still looking for a way to "hide" the back.There is a balance between opposites: ground and sky, Earth and Space, land and water, presence and absence, floating and grounded, night and day, dark and light, sacred and mundane, open and closed, image or object, made naturally and constructed, accident and purpose, microscopic and macroscopic, portable and embedded, functional and nonfunctional, familiarity and alien, etc. The piece through references occupy a between-space of dichotomies.
Closing...
All of these pieces are tied to ideas of exploration, either from the ancient perspective, religious perspective, Victorian, H.G. Wells, 1950s space exploration, but also our present perspectives of the unknown (the microscopic world, outer space, the sacred). But you know, there's a lot of heavy material, heavy "important" ideas, but they are also silly and (I shudder to say) whimsical. I mean, come on, antennae? A slinky? What's with the colors? And how are we supposed to believe that any of these could really be functional?
No comments:
Post a Comment