SketchyBook

[threedeesketchybook]

Cai Guo-Qiang 1957-

Guo-Qiang is a Chinese sculpture artist. He uses a wide variety of media to create works. 

“Footprints of History” was a fireworks display at the Olympics. I really like the time represented in this piece, each fire work only lasts as long as one footprint. I thought that concept was really interesting. The attention to detail in this piece amazed me as well. 

“Head On” uses “99 life sized stuffed wolves” jumping head first into a piece of glass. The motion in this piece reminds me of Duchamp’s painting “Nude descending a staircase.” I really like how he stops time and allows everyone to see the process of a jump, this piece juxtaposes the previous piece well. 

[threedeesketchybook]

Sandy Skoglund 1946- 

Skoglund is an American installation artist. She creates surrealist environments. 

“Fresh Hybrid” caught my attention because of the realness of the environment, it wasn’t until I looked closer that I realized the trees have legs. I like it more now. I like the completeness of her environments, she doesn’t only place objects somewhere, she creates a space for them to exist. 

“Spirituality in the Flesh” caught my attention because of the stark blue/orange contrast. After reading more into the piece, the orange is actually raw meat. It’s disgusting but really cool how she got it to stick to everything. 

[threedeesketchybook]

Tony Oursler 1957-

Oursler is an American sculptor. He tends to work with mixed media for each piece and creates abstract forms with human elements overlaying them. He works with light and digital art as well. 

“Crying Doll” is made of fabric representing the body of the doll but with a photo of a human face over the doll’s face. I’m not a huge fan of this piece, I don’t think it’s funny or aesthetically pleasing or very interesting. I like the way he meshes the two materials but dislike the piece overall. 

I like the work “Goldy” more. I like that there is such detail in the face but no nose. This piece has my attention and is interesting. 

[threedeesketchybook]

Cornelia Parker 1956-

Parker is an English sculptor. Parker’s work tends to contain allusions to many other things. 

“Willy” is a garden gnome made completely of cigarettes. “Willy” caught my attention because of the work’s happy innocence juxtaposing the material used. 

“Thirty Pieces of Silver” is silver that Parker had flattened by a steam roller. This piece blew my mind because she is completely destroying the use of all of the silver objects but not necessarily the value of the silver. 

[threedeesketchybook]

Christo and Jeanne-Claude 1935- 1935-2009

The two were a married couple most famously known for their environmental works. The two claimed that their work was only for aesthetics rather than a deeper message. 

“Big Air Package” caught my eye right away because of the scale of it. It looks like a rocket ship or hot air balloon in a movie. 

“The Wall” reminds me of a lego building. I like all of the primary colors used. It’s impressive that they chose oil cans as the material because of the scale of the work. 

[threedeesketchybook]

James Turrell 1943-

Turrell is an American artist who uses light as a medium. Turrell is focused on light & space as themes. 

Turrell created ‘dark spaces’ with no perceivable light, “Selene” grabbed my attention because I feel like it would be in a horror movie or something to represent the inside of the mind. 

Turrell also attempted to create ‘Ganzfeld’ which describes all loss of depth perception. Although I didn’t actively participate in being in the space, I think Turrell is able to accomplish this in photo. There is even a sense of fog by her legs that confuses how deep the space goes in all directions.  

[threedeesketchybook]

Do-Ho Suh 1962-

Suh is a Korean sculpture artist. Suh creates installation pieces that interact with the space around them as well as the public viewing them. Suh has an interest in architecture as well that becomes obvious in his work. 

To me, “Bathtub” looks like it’s made out of light blue glass panels placed together; however, it is made of wire and fabric. This piece boggles my mind because of how sturdy Suh is able to make the bathtub look with fabric. 

My eye almost totally passed over “Network” as a chain link fence until I looked closer and realized the chains were in face little people connected. I appreciate this piece because I feel like it reminds me to not overlook things in life and put them off. This is not a chainlink fence, it is art. 

[threedeesketchybook]

Ai Weiwei 1957-

Weiwei is a Chinese sculptor. He helped in the designing of Beijing’s famous ‘Bird Nest’ for the 2008 Olympics. 

“Sunflower Seeds,” Weiwei just covered the floor in sunflower seeds and called it art. Just Kidding! Each seed is individually HAND CRAFTED porcelain! That’s impressive, enough said. 

The same year of the Beijing Olympics, Weiwei created “Table with Two Legs on the Wall.” I like this piece because although it is obviously art, the table still has function. He didn’t take all function away from the table. 

[threedeesketchybook]

Yayoi Kusama 1929-

Kusama is a Japanese sculptor who creates bright colored installations. She is most interested in “psychedelic colors, repetition, and pattern.”

“Dots Obsession” is a wonderful title for this work because it is so obviously true. There are even dots on the ceiling. This piece drew me in because of the child-like environment Kusama created. The dots and abstract floating forms give the whole room motion. 

“Repetitive Vision” creates an endless world. Simply stated, the artist statement reads “A passage to another world.” I feel like that explains it all. Because it is only endless nothingness, there is a solitude to the place. 

[threedeesketchybook]

Li Hongbo 1974- 

Hongbo is a Chinese sculptor most recognized for his paper-extending sculptures that appear as classical Greek or Roman sculptures at first glance. 

Hongbo’s “Wood Paper” caught my eye because he is using color and creating a work so unlike the ones I’m used to seeing. Being an outdoor enthusiast myself, I was really drawn to his form of a paper log. I was also interested to see Hongbo create what paper is made out of... with paper. 

Hongbo’s “Baby” grabbed my attention because it was the first work of his where it looks as though he arranged the baby’s limbs as he wanted the viewer to see them. Normally when looking at Hongbo’s work there is another human involved pulling the paper apart, but this piece has it shown right off the bat. It takes away some mystery, but I feel like speaks more to Hongbo’s style. 

[threedeesketchybook]

Gian Lorenzo Bernini 1598- 1680

Bernini is a very well known Italian sculpture. He made many Baroque pieces with intense emotion.

Bernini’s “David” is the most interesting sculpture of all of the David’s I’ve seen. I really like how you can see David in the middle of the story with his eye looking off into the distance with focus. 

Bernini’s “Ecstasy of St. Theresa” caught my attention because of the use of multiple materials in the sculpture. Bernini really creates a stage for the viewer to focus in on the narrative of the sculpture. Just as in Bernini’s “David,” this sculpture is happening mid-story as well. 

[threedeesketchybook]

Janet Echelman  1966-

Echelman is an American sculptor who uses a variety of materials to create large, abstract forms that interact with their environment. 

“1.8 Renwick” caught my eye because of how many colors are in it. It almost only looks like light even though I know it is a net reflecting the light. I like the way Echelman spread the net across the whole room and gave it some motion. 

When I first looked at “1.26″ I thought of the inside of a human body with blood and veins and the fluidity of all of the cells together. That’s what I like to imagine this piece is about. I like the way the light shows depth and it seems like there is a hollow space in the middle. 

[threedeesketchybook]

Maya Lin 1959- 

Lin is an American sculptor most famously known for the Vietnam Veterans War Memorial.

“Above and Below” is inspired by Lin’s love for topography. This piece caught my eye because of the way it interacts with the space around it as well as the viewer. It is taking something much larger scale and bringing it indoors. 

The work “Systematic Landscapes” drew my eye because of the layering of the wood and how a material that is so square and sharp can create such a nice, smooth hill or wave form.  

[threedeesketchybook]

Tara Donovan 1969- 

Tara Donovan is an American sculptor known for her site specific sculptures. Donovan uses found objects or everyday materials. 

In “Styrofoam Cups” at first glance, the piece doesn’t look like styrofoam cups at all. To me, this piece just looks like a giant cloud. It’s amazing that Donovan can create such a large sculpture with such an obvious, everyday medium and have it turn out so aesthetically pleasing. My only issue with this piece is the use of styrofoam cups because of how awful they are for the environment. 

Donovan’s “Buffs” is created out of light pink buttons. From far away this piece looks like something that could be found in the ocean or deep in a cave. The organic look of the piece is wonderful considering the material used. 

[threedeesketchybook]

Ruth Asawa 1926-2013

Asawa is an American sculptor known for her large scale wire sculptures. She would crochet wire into abstract, usually rounded, forms. 

“Untitled (S. 089)” is made of galvanized brass and iron wire. The soft, hollow, basket shapes caught my eye because of the arrangement and color. I like the variation in color that was used (assuming it’s because of the two different materials) I’m impressed that the forms look so similar with different materials being used. 

“Untitled (S. 158)” caught my eye because of all the layers inside of one big raindrop/ egg like form. The intricate interlocking of the wire makes the material appear much softer and easier to work with than I know it to be from the in-class wire projects. 

[threedeesketchybook]

Teresita Fernandez

Fernandez is an American sculptor who is known for her "unconventional use of materials.” 

Fernandez’s “Twice” is made of plexiglass and ink. This piece caught my eye because of the sky-like quality each of the cubes is given. The cube on the inside looks like it should be floating in the center of the outer cube but it is not and therefore given weight & juxtaposing the sky-like quality of the piece. 

[threedeesketchybook]

Andy Goldsworthy

Goldsworthy is “generally considered the founder of modern rock balancing.” I remember when I first saw his vibrant leaf art and was instantly amazed. It’s amazing how he is able to connect a love for nature and art. 

Goldsworthy’s Cairn is something that I appreciate because of the importance cairns have in the hiking world. A cairn is to mark a significant place, normally which way the trail goes. The form and size Goldsworthy gives to his cairn is calling for it to be even more important. 

“Snowdrift Carved into” can amaze anyone who has ever tried to make an igloo, snowman, or anything out of snow. Being a snowboarder, I’m instantly drawn to snow and am encapsulated by this piece & the skill it must take to create such a work without its collapse.