Throughout the semester I have discovered ways to create art that are interesting to explore and are constantly changing. My use of abstract work in other classes has influenced my work in sculpture toward the end of the semester. If I could go back, I would have started exploring spontaneity in 3-dimensional work much earlier.
works from this semester
I did the 100 objects project, but I technically picked two objects. I used 100 paper plates and I collected 100 last meals. I drew 100 different meals on the paper plates with some sharpies. I tried to use very simple illustration with little texture. I think the concept is interesting, but I do want to make it a little more obvious what exactly the food means.
For the second part of my installation, I added 200 more items: napkins and reasons for the last meals. I kept the composition of my piece the same. I put the napkins on top of the drawings so the image could be revealed once the viewer lifted up the napkin. Some of the reasons may bring up the viewer's own memories and hopefully invite them to ponder what their last meal might be if they were to choose.
I continued my work on my 100 objects project. I have the paper plates with food drawn on them in sharpie, but I added napkins over each one. On the napkins, I wrote the reasons each person chose their last meal in sharpie as well. I put the napkins over the drawings to make the installation piece more immersive. Since the drawing is hidden underneath, the viewer can walk up to the plates and lift the napkin to see food item the napkin was referring to. For the third part of the sculpture, I changed the composition of my installation piece and added 4 more plates to make the concept more clear. I researched different methods of suicide and drew those methods on the paper plates with a napkin over them with the percentage of people who use that method annually. The four methods were by firearm, suffocation, poisoning, and other. I arranged them using the percentages of each method of suicide. I think having the installation arranged in a more interesting way makes it more inviting to the viewer. I wanted to make the viewer think about the issue of suicide because it’s something that effects so many people yet it’s so rarely talked about. By associating the last meals with people who committed suicide, I made the piece more emotional and less fun to go through. Now the viewer is seeing the meals as the last meal someone would eat before killing themselves.
My work during the second half of the semester is very different than from the first half. I no longer am working on installations, but sculptures. By the final, there will be two variations: a white box with rainbow string and a black box with rainbow string, both 23"x23". I wanted to create something that would flow well with my work in other classes as well as help me explore colour theory more. Because I have two different boxes, I can see how each colour interacts with another on different backgrounds. I am excited to make more of these and to see where they take me.
artist inspiration
Chris Radtke
Chris Radtke got her BFA at Michigan State University and graduated Magna Cum Laude. She has shown work in many exhibitions since 1989. She uses her body as a measure for scale in her sculptures. Her pieces respond to the environment and gradually shift and change over time. Her large scale inspired me to make works that are larger than any I have previously made. The individuality and change throughout the piece is something I take from her and use in my own sculptures.
Nike Savvas
Nike Savvas received her Bachelor in Visual Arts from Sydney College of the Arts and her MFA at the College of Fine Arts, UNSW. She has been a part of over 250 exhibitions and has won multiple prizes for her work. Her sculptures implore the viewer to move their eyes around the piece. Savvas is a leading contemporary string artist, which is obviously influential in my works throughout the second half of the semester. She uses a lot of coloured string and just the frames of shapes to create geometric illusions within the piece. Her use of wood and string inspires my later works, though mine is much more chaotic than hers.
Looking back over this semester, it has been influential in my exploration of using more media, installation, and large scale sculptures. Working this semester has taught me that a sculpture never really has to be finished and can constantly be changing and updating. I would advise future students to talk with their classmates and peers in and out of the department about their ideas and progress. I would also say to be open to discovery along the way because you may not know where exactly you're going at first, but you'll find your path.