#desktop monument

[eressea-nyarwe]

Art Assignment- Desktop Monument

“Abell 2218 is a rich galaxy cluster composed of thousands of galaxies and has a mass equivalent to 10,000 galaxies interspersed throughout the cluster. The cluster is located relatively nearby — at a distance of 2 billion light-years. The gravitational field from this huge concentration of matter distorts and magnifies the light from distant galaxies, giving researchers a unique tool to learn more about the first galaxies in the universe”  is the quote that went with the picture on slide 26 at http://hubblesite.org/gallery/album/

I used a pillow for the backdrop because I needed something black, and when I found it I remembered vaguely someone explaining spacetime as being like a blanket that bends and distorts under the mass of the things atop it, or something like that I can’t really remember where I heard that and I’m not sure if I’m remembering it right. I used candles for the stars, I really like how ‘star-like’ I managed to get them to look in the picture.

[theartassignment]

DESKTOP MONUMENT HIGHLIGHTS

This week we're talking about your Desktop Monuments! Your responses to Lee Boroson's assignment to capture the feeling of monumentality with miniature models have been fantastic -- keep submitting your responses with #theartassignment!

Featured in this video: yes4poe: http://bit.ly/1GL4K4a Erin Carlson: http://bit.ly/1GL4K4a lyriclorelei: http://bit.ly/1zv3hwy ljm792: http://bit.ly/1DZAxHz Tessa: http://bit.ly/1OJDA1O unnestedmatryoshka: http://bit.ly/1FAOdyc / http://bit.ly/1Pb9HlS Kiley: http://bit.ly/1JctLCJ minnesbeta: http://bit.ly/1GJNbhX / http://bit.ly/1Ky0AuX Paralian - http://bit.ly/1GL50Ad

[janeair83]

The Art Assignment - Desktop Monument by Lee Boroson

This is my Desktop Monument representing the Sahara. Unlike the real desert, the monument was very shortlived, and only existed from 11.05am to 11.15am on 28th March 2015 in Bremen, Germany.

First, I wanted to make a video about how I created this monument, but I eventually decided against it. I’ll explain later.

When thinking about a place I hadn’t been to yet, I thought about the desert, and of course the Sahara came to my mind. At first I thought that all of the Sahara was massive dunes of fine sand, but that’s actually only 20 % of the Sahara (and these 20 % are referred to as Erg). Other parts of the Sahara are made up of boulders and stones (Hammada) or gravel (Serir). But I wanted to stick to the sand desert.

Now, while doing my research for this, I found out that the fine sand in the Erg is often used to produce glass. This gave me the idea to turn glass back into sand for my Desktop Monument.

While I was filming how I shattered three glass bottles, it occured to me that what I was doing was actually quite dangerous. (Don’t worry, no artist was harmed in the course of making this monument.) But still, it made me decide against making a video that might give people, especially children, any stupid ideas. So all I’m going to say is that I turned these

into this

Yes, one bottle actually stayed intact. I had wrapped up everything safely, and used gravity and a rolling pin to get to this. And this is all I am going to say about it for the sake of everyone’s safety.

So, to replicate the experience of the desert on my desktop, I needed it to be dry

I needed the glass sand

and I needed heat

I hope I managed to capture the experience of a desert. And I also hope that I will get the chance to actually go there and see for myself.

[lyriclorelei]

Desktop Monument

These are all of the notebooks that I've used while getting my master's degree. I had them sitting out recently to look at some old notes. I have had them stacked with the oldest ones at the bottom from my first semester and my current (and last!) semester were at the top. How this stack has grown with every semester reminded me of sedimentary layers that build up in rocks over time. The greatest example of which is the Grand Canyon. The Desktop Monument Art Assignment was to recreate the experience of a natural landscape that you've never been to. I hope that when I do make it to the Grand Canyon that I will be overwhelmed with the sense of the passage of time.

The photo is from the Grand Canyon National Parks Service Flickr.

[theartassignmentresponses]

[xenolilly]

The Art Assignment: Desktop Monument

[theartassignmentresponses]

Refuge From The Storm #theartassignment pic.twitter.com/zXerV8V5Tb

— Ross Richardson (@ross_richoo) November 1, 2014

[theartassignmentresponses]

HI Guys. This is my desktop monument for the Art Assignment. The Lighthouse of Alexandria. Hope you like it !!!