Intermediate Sculpture

Allison B.

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Project #5: Index

1. Self-Directed Practice #1: Research (1)  (2)  (3)

2. Self-Directed Practice #1: Final

3. Self-Directed Practice #2: Research

4. Self-Directed Practice #2: Final

5. Final PDF Portfolio

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Cube

For this assignment I wanted to place a black cube sculpture in a natural setting. I thought it would be interesting to place a large geometric sculpture in an environment that is full of natural elements. I was trying to emphasize the contrast between harsh lines and geometric shapes vs the natural curves that nature has. The cube is 28 inches by 28 inches. (A little over 2ft by 2ft)

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Self-Directed Presentation #2

My idea for this assignment is to create a large cube from cardboard or some sort of sturdy yet lightweight material. I want to place this cube in places you wouldn’t expect, such as in nature like at the beach, in a tree, in the ocean, etc. I plan to paint this a solid color, maybe fully black, or maybe some sort of reflective material like aluminum or a reflective paint. I was also considering mirror panels. 

I like the idea of placing a large geometric sculpture in an environment that is full of natural elements and non-manmade objects. And whether I paint it reflective, black, or put mirror panels all over it, I think those materials and colors feel the most contemporary and anti-natural, which is why I want to use them. 

In terms of putting the cube in random spots, the idea came from these monoliths that are being found in random spots of the world. These monoliths have a reflective surface, which is why I considered to make the cube reflective.

I was also inspired to make a giant cube after stumbling upon black cubed sculptures. Gregory Schneider 

https://nashvillearts.com/2015/03/the-black-box-part-i/

Tony Rosenthal Alamo 1967

http://www.tonyrosenthal.com/Alamo.htm

Utah Monolith:

Romania Monolith:

Random Monoliths Appearing:

https://www.npr.org/2020/11/29/939882228/metallic-monolith-in-utah-vanishes-just-as-mysteriously-as-it-appeared

https://www.npr.org/2020/12/01/940441737/another-mysterious-monolith-suddenly-appears-this-time-in-romania

https://hypebeast.com/2020/12/mystery-monolith-romania-discovery-info

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Self-Directed Presentation #1

I created this "sculpture" to help accentuate the idea of how this specific tree is an extension of my first home.

I've worked with this "extension of the house" idea before and thought to apply it to something natural this time, in this case this tree at the front of my parents home. This isn't some random tree, it actually holds a lot of fond memories of my childhood.

My favorite memory however is when I'd decorate it with my mom for Christmas. In fact, decorating this tree and my Christmas tree every year is probably my top favorite childhood memories. I remember enjoying placing the lights on the tree, as well as the various ornaments that my mom has collected and received over the many years. 

So for this assignment I decided to decorate this tree with lights and a decorated Christmas tree branch to accentuate the idea of this tree being an extension of the home.

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The Corners of my Old and New Life

I was inspired heavily by the poem that makes an appearance at the beginning of the reading The Poetics of Space.

The warm, calm nest

In which a bird sings

Recalls the songs, the charms,

The pure threshold

Of my old home.

The paragraph following this beautiful poem I was also inspired by. To me, this filled me with emotion, especially this quote from page 136, "If we return to the old home as to a nest, it is because memories are dreams, because the home of other days has become a great image of lost intimacy." Which I genuinely just relate to.

My idea was to take photos of each corner of my old bedroom, and my new bedroom. I created an image combining the four corners of my old bedroom, and of my new bedroom, to almost create a "mini" room. I decided to include photos of my old homes front door threshold, as well as my new homes front door threshold.

The layout is purposeful, I start with my old bedroom since that's where I grew up, the door of my old home opens to the outside, my cat watches as I leave to my new home. The threshold of my new home is next, followed by my new bedroom. It ends with an image of my new homes threshold opening to the outside, to play with the idea of "what is next on my journey."

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QCQ: Corners - The Poetics of Space

Quote:

"If we return to the old home as to a nest, it is because memories are dreams, because the home of other days has become a great image of lost intimacy."

Comment:

To me I can relate to this quote. I've moved out recently, and it has been a struggle for me in terms of missing my family and my old house. The end of the quote is what hit me the hardest, since it perfectly explains my emotions.. "because the home of other days has become a great image of lost intimacy."

Question:

The question I have for the class is, do you relate with this quote? Especially if you have left your home that you grew up in. How has this affected your life?

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Project #4: Index  

1. Corners: QCQ (when I did this I did it on the incorrect chapter, I typed page 136 and didnt realize it took me to page 100.)

2. Corners: Research 

3. Corners: Final (completed, then found out I read the incorrect chapter for this assignment. My project was based off of a poem on page 100 (I mistook it for page 136, which I typed into the page finder).

4. The Dialects of Outside and Inside: QCQ

5. Door - The Dialects of Outside and Inside: Research  (1) (2) (3)

6. Door - The Dialects of Outside and Inside: Final

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Self-Directed Practice Project #1, Idea 3

I will go back to a theme I've messed with before. I will create a series of images of things that appear to be an "extension" of a building itself.

Such as the items that are already outside most stores that arent directly attached to the building, but because it has been there for so long it can be seen as part of it, such as trash cans, benches, and any other items being sold outside (happens at lowes). This will be a series of images from multiple locations.

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Self-Directed Practice Project #1, Idea 2

Similar to the tree idea, I will create a sculpture from a soft carvable rock (or if I do not have access to that, perhaps replace it with plaster of paris) and create a sculpture and place it next to a building. I am unsure of what would be best to sculpt for this one, perhaps something natural (like trees, animals, rocks, etc) to contrast the building, or maybe a abstract sculpture could work?

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Self-Directed Practice Project #1, Idea 1

I will create an abstract sculpture from a tree branch and place it next to a tree, or on/attached to the tree, to play with the idea of man-made vs nature. The sculptures below are large, I am not planning to make them that large since I think attaching it to the tree itself might be interesting.

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Trap Door

For this assignment I wanted to play with the idea of the unknown and our curiosity towards that concept. The reading was quite hard for me to understand, however I as I continued to read, I would see repeat words such as day dream, immensity, vastness, etc. At first, this had me thinking about Narnia as a theme to play with since we were going to work with doors. As I continued to develop ideas though, it dawned on me that what lured me to the idea of Narnia was the fact that beyond the closet doors was an unknown and vast alternate reality. So instead of just filling a closet with an “alternate world,” I decided to create a trap door. I purposefully did not take a photo of what's beneath the door itself. I wanted to leave everyone with a sense of curiosity of what may lie beneath, since doors usually imply there is something beyond it. Perhaps it leads to an underground bunker? Or maybe another world entirely?

Images I took Inspiration from:

Trap Door:

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The Dialectics of Outside and Inside - Idea #3

My third idea was to play with daydreams and immensity again. However, I wanted to make it have a Narnia type of vibe, where the door frame (closet in Narnia) opens up to a fantasy land. 

Perhaps I could also play with the idea of a daydream just being that.. a dream, a false reality. Perhaps I could create this fantasy world on a flat surface, such as a large piece of paper. Maybe I could make this a performance piece as well, having the fantasy world hide behind this door, and removing the door on video to expose this dream world.. and then immediately destroy this false reality by walking straight through it. Again, I am still working on these ideas.

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Door: The Dialectics of Outside and Inside - Idea #2

My next idea was to cover the door frame with plants, playing with the idea of immensity and the unknown. Also, the idea of impassability in an area of the home that should never be obstructed to begin with. Still developing this idea though.

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Door: The Dialectics of Outside and Inside - Idea #1

My first idea is to remove the door from its frame, and attach saran wrap to where the door use to be. I wanted to make the door frame useless in a way, but appear usable (since it is see through).  Upon further research of images, I discovered this idea is actually a prank, perhaps I could incorporate that idea into the project. Maybe I can make this a performance piece, perhaps using people or animals as my “victim.” Not too sure yet.

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Project #3:Index

1. Self-Directed Presentation: Research

2. QCQ #5: Concrete Blonde 

3. Negative Fragments: Clay Impressions I (Final)  (1)  (2)

4. Negative Fragments: Clay Impressions II (Final)  (1)  (2)  (3)

5. Positive Fragments: Cast I (Final)  (1)  (2)

6. Positive Fragments: Cast II (Final)  (1)  (2)

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Positive Fragments: Cast II 

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Positive Fragments: Cast II 

I thought it would be an interesting idea to cast something that would normally be sturdy, but using a fragile medium. I decided to cast a brick wall (at a Lowes) for this assignment. Since bricks/concrete contain sand, I chose to use Kinetic Sand as my material. Kinetic Sand is an interesting material, it sticks together like wet sand does, but if moved it falls apart quite easily, which was what I was looking for.

I chose to try and create a brick stair case using the kinetic sand, I knew it would crumble pretty fast, but I liked that part of it. The absurdity of desperately trying to build with a useless material I thought was an interesting concept.

https://youtu.be/8liBNxQPeqk