Alec Freytag Project 2: Parts 1-3
Part 1: Clarifying Topic
For this project, I want my shrine to focus on the aspects of freedom and tranquility in life. I associate these two words together and find that I feel the freest when I am calm and relaxed. I want to portray this sense together in my shrine by creating a piece that is delicate, open, and has a softer feel. I think this can all be portrayed in many ways, possibly including broken locks, softer and squishier materials, lighter colors, and much more. My audience for this piece will be primarily myself. I often lose track of this freedom and relaxed feeling when I am at school and busy, so I want to incorporate personal items that relate to freedom and tranquility in my own life.
Part 3: Borrowing a Strategy
Peace Fountain, Greg Wyatt
I intend to utilize aspects of the base of this fountain, including rounded pieces of material that show a flow and make the piece feel smoother. I also enjoy the range of objects that exist in this piece spread throughout the entire fountain.
ArtXpose #2 – Alec Freytag
Title: Shark Tank – Studio Art Major Senior Exhibition by Natalie Ring
Date/Time: Thursday, February 10th, 5p
Location: Holmes Hall
Event Type: Reception/Open gallery
1.) Provide a brief detail-oriented technical description or summary of the event you attended.
Natalie Ring presented her senior studio art gallery, a series of 5 oil paintings depicting sharks and women. Natalie was at the gallery during the event answering any questions about the work. She briefly explained the pieces and why she had a passion for this project, but mainly allowed the viewers to enjoy the work.
2.) Use the section below to write a well-structured paragraph focusing on your personal critical insight/response to the event. How did you interpret or react to what was presented to you?
I think this event and series in particular is very important at Bucknell. Natalie created this series to show the danger that women are put in here at Bucknell, as it almost feels like sharks are circling them every time they go to a party or are just out at night. The gallery gave me a claustrophobic feeling because it was small, which helped to make me feel like I was inside of a shark tank. I think Natalie did a really good job of setting up the space and making use of it. The only critique I have is that I wish there would have been more detail on each specific piece. There was a general explanation of the artists vision for each piece but I would have loved to have read a small description of each piece individually.
3.) What information, ideas, images, etc. most impressed you and why?
From when I first set foot in the room, I was amazed by how immersive it was. All 5 of the works in the series were depicting sharks circling women and utilized a palate of greens, blues, and white. This blueish theme was mimicked with the lights all having a blue tint, as well as layers of blue wrap being put on the glass entrance walls. This made me feel like I was actually in a shark tank, an experience that Natalie definitely wanted to capture for the viewer. Upon closer inspection, I loved to see how detailed each of her pieces were, with very smooth and realistic shadows and painting on the women and the sharks.
4.) Overall, how would you rate this event (10 being the most worthwhile)?
9
5.) Justify your rating in the question above:
Like I stated above, I have hardly any critiques for this gallery and felt fully immersed in the experience. The gallery is up until February 18th so I would highly recommend going!
ArtXpose #1 – Alec Freytag
Title: Creative Careers – Curating Exhibitions for Contemporary Artists
Date/Time: Thursday, February 10th, 6p
Location: Zoom
Event Type: Presentation and Q&A
Project 1 Research: Writing Part 1
In a literal sense, I have chosen to work with a small wooden hand-carved hedgehog figurine that is holding a cob of corn. This object had many different textures from the quills on the back to the individual kernels of corn. I believe both the corn and hedgehog can have multiple meanings. Hedgehogs are known for their quills and ability to defend, as well as being intelligent beings. The corn can symbolize multiple things but is best represented by its value and versatility. Corn is the most widely produced crop in the United States, and 100% of every cob can be used from husks for tamales to the kernels and cob for feed. The hedgehog holding the corn and looking upwards make it seem as if there is a connotation of gifting the corn or contributing to something bigger. Especially because I will be working with multiples, this reminds me of teamwork and many people working together to accomplish much more. As mentioned, I think I could relate my object to defense with the hedgehogs’ quills, contributing to a larger goal with multiples, and finally, a random interpretation that I thought of is that corn is also called “maize”, which obviously sounds the same as a physical maze, so maybe there can be hedgehogs within a maze that relates to the corn itself in the name, but also shows the hedgehogs trying to find their way to a goal.