3D Section C

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Exercise 1: Bryana Espinoza Order by 2's : organizational, continuous, blind contour

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Project 5, “Sun on a Rainy Day”

James Cook

Materials: sticks

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLepDH41sYA&feature=youtu.be

For this project, I made a sculpture out of sticks on a path behind my apartment. I was heavily inspired by Andy Goldsworthy. The point of the project was to bring some joy to people walking by, as it was right before finals week and had been raining. After it rained that night, the words and some of the sticks washed away but most of the sculpture is still there.

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Espinoza, Bryana Final Project: Man Made Gardens Materials: cardboard, dirt, grass and leaves, hotglue gun, rocks, foam board     In 2008, for the first time in history more than 50% of the world’s population was living in urban areas. In the years since then, cities have grown larger and much more populated, increasing the environmental effects it has on the nature surrounding it. The environmental impacts of urbanization include air, water and noise pollution. When urbanization occurs, it usually comes along with the displacement of wildlife and the destruction of their habitats. The increase of population in urban areas also increases the amount of carbon emissions released into the atmosphere which in larger, affect the climate and natural surrounding environments which usually result in the killing of local flora and vegetation. Most if not all areas of urban life have been built on top of what were once green pastures, forests, or useful farmland, which has also been an important aspect of urbanization. In 2013, the Government’s Ecosystems markets Task Force pushed for a “biodiversity offset system” that allowed large construction companies the destroy and build on top of natural reserves or protected area as long as they build one somewhere else. Although this seems like a feasible solution to the impacts of urbanization, it still doesn’t change the effects to the air and climate ad especially the displaced species. There is also the position that nature is considered nature for a reason, because of its natural components. To create a manmade forest or a manmade pasture doesn’t replace the natural forest or natural pasture that once existed as a sustainable resource for humans and animals alike.

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Bessie

Camille Otillio 

Provolone

I recently learned that dairy is produced by keeping cows continually pregnant. As someone who cares a lot about animal rights and is generally well versed in the ways of the meat industry, I was surprised to learn this. My project is about bringing awareness to this fact. While I’m not personally vegan I think we should all be aware of how the food industry operates and use our power as informed consumers to change the way animals are treated. I also think that the way dairy cows are treated has some interesting parallels with the way we view women’s rights. 

I wanted to choose an image that was universal. This symbol to me represents both strength and fragility. I hope it inspires more consciousness and conversation about both animal and women’s rights, while creating something beautiful- even if it does smell like cheese!

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Bloom Platoon – Alexander Zauner

Materials: Variety of fake flowers, flower tubes, neon pink plexiglass, blacklight

Sixty green plastic flower tubes with a bullet like shape stand stiff in five tightly packed rows on top of a neon pink plexiglass board. The clear plastic tubes allow visibility to the fake flowers that are compressed and forced into the bullet like shape. Every row has color coordination, but no flower in its bullet is the same as the one next to it. Because of the orientation of Bloom Platoon, the rows of bullets appear to be facing the two fake roses that sit freely, front and center. The bullets sit on top of an elevated piece of neon pink plexiglass that appears to absorb, illuminate, and reflect an attractive radiant glow. The whole piece is glorified by a blacklight that also highlights the characteristics of the individual bullets.

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#Project 6, Krista Moreno, Holy Stick Materials: foam core, wire, sage, colored yarn

November 15, 2016 was the day of action. There was a call for a nationwide walkout to march and protest against the construction of the North Dakota Pipeline. I marched with the group on campus and it was an experience I won’t forget. It was at this protest that I met an older woman from the same tribe as me, the Apache tribe. The woman spoke with great passion and it touched my heart because even though I never knew her or much about my tribe, she made me feel like I knew it all. Her words reminded me of the stories my grandmother told me and she reminded me of who I was. She burned sage and went around to every individual at the protest and cleansed us with it, which meant the world to me. Knowing that I was not alone and that this very strong woman, of the same tribe as me, was fighting against the injustices that our people have faced for decades. Knowing that there is peace, but that this fight will not end until we can no longer fight.

The burning, or smudging, of sage holds a cleansing power. It is a ritual done to cleanse oneself and/or a space of bad energy, something I often do myself. Burning sage provides me with an inner peace that takes me away from the negativity in my life and reminds me of who I am. It is a symbol of pure tranquility. The color of the strings each symbolize something different. The white string is tied at the base because it symbolizes purity and whenever I find myself surrounded by negative energy, I remember how pure and beautiful life is and how we were all once pure. The red strings symbolize the cleansing power and I continued to use red because I have done many cleansings and each time I do one, I root myself and remind myself of who I am and that I must be a good person. Sage holds many powers, one being a great peace that roots me and reminds of who I am.

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Project# 6 Love By Harry Day Love can be represented in many different facets of art, I primarily express love in art through photography, but my newfound interest in clay has opened up a multitude of avenues that I just could not achieve with 2D art. The figure I sculpted represents a love that I wasn’t allowed to express or wasn’t equally shared. The reason for a lone mouth symbolizes my frustration and struggle with that love and an attempt to move on. “How is clay reminiscent of love” you may ask? Well very much like love clay is cold, damp, hard, and generally lifeless at the start. However, as you work with it to build something the clay begins to warm, soften, and mold to your desire; with time a beautiful love has formed. Yet the work is not over, clay is a material that quickly dries and tends to crack or crumble. So you need to care for it, keep it safe, sustain it, you must love it.

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Project 6, Iman Kayani, “Melting Pot”, Craft Sticks, Sand, Acrylic Paint 

Artist Statement:

For the Material/Immaterial project, I wanted to create an artwork that represented nostalgia. Growing up in the Middle East, I was constantly surrounded by the desert. I enjoyed camping in the Sahara, scuba diving in the Red Sea, and building sand castles in the wadis. Naturally, I found sand to be peaceful and serene. My connection to sand amplified my experience and memories of the Middle East. The texture and dusty smell of the sand grains always put me at ease. Living in different countries helped broaden my horizons. Moreover, being exposed to diverse cultures helped shape my personality. A common thread amongst the different countries I lived in was the abundance of sand. Whether it was found on the shore of the Black Sea in Turkey, the Pyramids of Giza in Egypt, or the wadis of Saudi Arabia, sand has been a motif that represents my childhood. This artwork represents my journey as an individual who was surrounded by unique backgrounds and thus culminated a melting pot of these unique cultures. Sand is a medium of art unbarred by language and has always been positively correlated with my stay in the Middle East. This artwork is like my personal tapestry – a piece of art that combined a little bit of culture from each unique place.

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#Project 6, Michael Lagapa, “Love’s Complicated”

The emotional experience that inspired my work was love. I chose to work with clay because I find it to be an intimate medium to work with, as you use your hands to get the shape that you want. When working with it, it also generally requires some sort of support to hold its form, it is fragile and prone to falling apart when used in an art piece. However, when it hardens, although its form hardens and locks in, clay can crack, and eventually shatter if not attended to. I feel that love reflects these ideas, although something that you can get easily lose yourself in, is also a fragile connection that requires a lot commitment and tending to. The overall piece represents problems people commonly have with love, and it is shaped in the symbolic interpretation of the heart. One is sculpted with a defined shape, yet is hollow on the inside, while the other is full but is torn and punctured. The hollow side symbolizes emptiness and shallowness, that sometimes love isn’t enough in life. The full side portrays weariness and betrayal, that while the love feels true and whole, it is too much to maintain or simply isn’t reciprocated. The wooden stakes give a visceral stabbing pain that people might feel when their heart is hurting. However, the two pieces, while capable of standing on their own, are stronger when they together--sculpted to lean on each other--showing commitment and the two working with each other to keep everything together. It also shows that even complete opposites or the unexpected can fall for each other.

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Camille Otillio 1 Minute Piece

Water, Dish Soap, Corn Syrup, Baking Powder, Personal Lubricant, Bamboo, String, Air

For my one minute project I decided to make a video of bubbles. Though I don’t know about their inherent artistic merit, they may be the closest thing to ‘a happening.’ For fleeting magical moments bubbles often represent ourselves, our dreams, and our environments. When I first began the project I thought about the bubble as a sense of self- unique and transient, or as dreams- such as the metaphorical bubble of existence. They can also represent a type of political sphere- after the election I’m sure we all realized that in a sense we live in a political bubble so to speak.

They also speak to space- and made me reflect on our discussions of mass and void- as they are a direct visualization of the way air stands and moves in time. They also represent the arbitrary way void is divided- what is and is not in a bubble is random- just like the borders of countries, which separate people and ideas.

This project also required heavily working with the environment. Though I used materials like soap and lube, the fragility of bubbles forced me to interact heavily with the sun and wind, though in a very different sense than artists like Andy Goldsworthy.

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# Project 6: Material/Immaterial, Juan Castillo, "LEGO Pain" Materials: Vinyl, wood, yarn, cardboard, LEGO, hot glue, rope, and tape. Artist statement: My work explores the relationship between childhood nostalgia and anger emotion. The inspiration for this work came from reliving my childhood admiration for LEGO® building blocks, as I observed my sister creating her own structure. Ever since I was a pre-adolescent I have been fascinated with LEGO® because It gave children tools to build their own toy – as opposed to providing them with a ready-made toy – LEGO® empowers children to become the authors of their own play. They not only decide what to play; they also decide how to play it, and what tools to use. What starts out as sweet memory of my childhood soon became anger into irritated pain because I had accidentally stepped over several LEGO® which made condemn their existence. Thus, with this work I hope to share this personal experience of pain with others by allowing viewers to walk on a LEGO® covered rug, and providing them opportunity to take out any anger or pain experience on a LEGO shaped punching bag.

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James Cook

Project 6- Material/Immaterial

“Skewered” Wire, pliers I wanted to work with wire for this project. The wire I used as a medium is cold to the touch, dark colored, and stiff. These are all adjectives that describe someone experiencing misery. They feel stiff and uncomfortable by just existing. Their sorrow makes them cold to others, and they isolate themselves from their friends and family. The dark color of the wire parallels the aura a person in misery, as well as the fact that sad people tend to wear clothes in darker shades than what they’d normally wear. The sagging form of the body of the sculpture mimics the way a miserable person carries themselves, as their lack of motivation to carry on is directly translated their body language- they move slowly, they slouch, and they sag. In addition, the wire can be straightened, making sharp diagonal lines. Going with the theme of misery, I used some sharp lines to make a spear going through the heart of the sculpture, to associate the misery theme more with that of the sadness someone experiences in their heart after emotional trauma.  The straight, diagonal line of the wire spear stuck through the chest of the sculpture contrasts the round shapes of the rest of the sculpture, emphasizing the sharp pain that sticks around after an emotional trauma responsible for one’s misery.

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#Project 6

Alison Ono ; “Happy Valentine’s Day”; Paper bag, Masking Tape, Sandpaper, Wire, Pins, Staples

Things Are Not Always What They Seem :

 In order to grasp the concept of materials over form, my aim for this project was to create a form that contradicted its materials. I decided to create a sculpture in the form of a teddy bear, which is associated with comfort and security; in contrast, the materials used to create the teddy bear, such as sandpaper, wire, pins, and paper bags, are associate with roughness and danger. Thus, the emotion depicted would be betrayal. Though one typically addresses a teddy bear as cute and welcoming, the bear actually has the ability to harm them if they regard the form over the materials and embraces the bear. The one confronting the bear will feel a sense of betrayal because of the misleading form. This bear symbolizes those who alter their outer look in order to mislead or manipulate others, and the rough materials are a metaphor of the ill intent behind a kind exterior. You cannot always trust everything at face value; some people, like the teddy bear, will utilize this trust to ultimately hurt and betray you.

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Project #6, Liz Eisenstark, "Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk" Materials: baby formula, baby powder, glass, card, photo, baby toy, bottle, incense, YouTube videos of crying and city sounds Statement: For my final project, I wanted to recreate the experience of my abandonment- an experience I can imagine yet do not remember. I would like to connect the senses: vision, smell, and sound so as to overwhelm the viewer, much as I must have been overwhelmed that July day. Through this project, I would also like to evoke the emotions of ambiguity, loss, and rejection. In America, a baby is usually a joyous event. I bought a baby shower card and a soft baby toy to contrast with my own birth which was anything but joyful. I will contrast these two emotions by dirtying and tearing the card and toy. On the floor I have a mixture of glass, baby formula, baby powder, and incense. The broken glass represents the pain of my abandonment and the wound it has left that I will carry for the rest of my life. The baby formula is sustenance and represents my will to survive and live my life despite the hardships I faced. The baby powder is there to evoke the smell of infanthood, and the incense is there to evoke the smell of China, or what I know of it. I like that incense smells so mysterious and makes us think of a distant foreign land. I have never gone back to China, so it really is a mythic place. I will also have a printed picture of my “Chinese family”, (found on google images), with their faces blacked out. This is to show ambiguity of my ancestry. I am the only person I know with my genetics. My birth parents are and have always been faceless enigmas and this is something I felt was important to portray since it has created such a void in my own identity. Everything will be strewn on the floor with the milk spilling out from a bottle. This is to give a sense of both feeling and physically being discarded on the street. Finally, I will evoke the noises of China and what I suppose I heard and sounded like that day. The busy city sounds mixed with the cries of an infant are there to help overwhelm the viewer through sound. Doing this project was not intended to upset the viewer or to ask for sympathy. It is a way to empower myself by staging my own abandonment and taking control of an event that I had no control over at the time.

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Project #6, Evelyn Barcenes, “The Safest Place”. Materials: bed sheet, 4 red pillow cases, pillow stuffing (cotton and foam pieces).

Statement: For this project I focused on emotions related to safety, warmth, and intimacy. Personally I enjoy soft fabrics and materials. I wanted to use white linen as a way to represent innocence and red to express love and warmth. Bed sheets and pillows are products that are capable of changing our mood based on their quality. We come in contact with these two objects on a daily basis and rely on them for warmth and comfort. I put together these objects to recreate a vagina as a way to show the space in which we were all first created (in the womb) and where were the most secure in our lives. I tried to make the piece as comfortable as possible to the point where it can be tken anywhere and serve as a safe spot to sleep on. 

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Project #6, Elizabeth Calderon, “Fighting For Life”

Materials: Wire, Aluminum, paper, hot glue, wire cutter

My artwork represents the quote, “Being a warrior is not perfection, being a warrior is about absolute vulnerability”. A warrior is about facing obstacles and fighting battles in life. The battles we fight are on the inside. Battles create wounds and mark us within. The battles we face makes us imperfect and become stronger. In facing situations, it takes a lot of courage to be vulnerable. The materials for this piece were chosen to demonstrate individual’s willpower and vulnerability in facing obstacles in life. Aluminum makes the piece appear inner strength and power but at the same time it is weak. The black paper indicates the unknown path in which lies ahead of us in life. Bending and curving aluminum demonstrates how life hits you physically and mentally leaving you damaged. Furthermore, the bending and curving aluminum exposes the individual’s vulnerability.  

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Home

Project #6 Material IB "Home" Materials: Splintered door; duct tape; staples While I was working on this project, my house was broken into, and I returned to find a splintered door and most of me and my housemates valuables missing. As a result, I switched what I was working on, focusing instead on how the stability and safety of the home can be broken. I wanted to express the horror and danger inherent to the broken, half-unfinished wood, and how tings are hastily patched together with duct tape.