Author: Abby Wrightsmith

In watching the interviews, I found the most interesting artists and works to be ones that experimented with non-traditional, found media and materials.  One of the artists, Mark Dion, used found materials to show “windows into the past”.  I liked that he went to flea markets and antique stores to find old objects to use in his works, because I also enjoy going to these places and like the idea of giving old things new meanings.   Another big focus of his work was his concern about the destruction of natural spaces and the environment.  However, I felt some of his work contradicted this idea because he took a large downed tree, that he said housed animals, plants, and bugs, and moved it to an indoor greenhouse in a city, taking apart and removing part of nature with his work.  However, I do understand that this was also a statement about human detachment from nature.

Another artist I explored was Theaster Gates, whose art focuses on the collections people have and how that expresses their personality.  I enjoyed his pieces that contain magazines and books arranged to mimic a painting.  It used a material that you wouldn’t associate with painting, while simultaneously making the viewer wonder what information they contain, almost wanting to take apart the art piece to find out.

I forgot to take a picture of my maquette, but its in the background of this picture.

Johnson Tsang- Falling in Love –

I intend to borrow the concept of something coming out of the mind/head in my project.

I chose to make my project #3 about dreams.  Dreams have always interested me because I don’t understand how or why the brain creates them.  I have very detailed dreams and often lucid dream, so I’m interested in understanding them.  I think it’s interesting to think about if dreams have meaning or not, as well as how they work.  I think the range of dreams is also intriguing because it can range from nightmares to having superpowers, from extremely realistic to completely unrealistic.  To explore this idea, I will be thinking about my own dreams as well as researching the most common dreams others have.  I also want to use different materials and colors to express how dreams feel different and surreal. 

 I researched common dreams, which I want to draw on in my piece.  The most common dreams I found were flying, falling, teeth falling out, drowning, being late for something, snakes, spiders, dying, and car crashes.  I found images that I may be able to draw from that I think connect to these ideas.  In addition, I want to include a mirror or some shiny aspect that mimics a mirror because that is how people often start to lucid dream (by seeing themselves in a mirror).  I want my piece to be kind of chaotic, like dreams are, but I also want the viewer to be able to recognize that I am attempting to depict dreams.  To accomplish this, I will likely include imagery of the brain or head to help clarify the images.

In the video of Judy Pfaff’s work, I found it interesting that she seemed to always be combining ideas.  I thought how she combined painting and sculpture, as well as natural forms and technology/industrial forms was very interesting and gave her work another level of meaning.  I especially liked her use of the tree roots and how she combined welded rings within the roots because I think it poses an interesting question about the natural world’s relationship with art and technology.  I thought her process of creating works was interesting as well.  She stated that she was always changing her ideas as she developed them and said several times that she wasn’t entirely sure what her work was going to mean or end up as.  I found this intriguing because I don’t always have a solid idea when I start a piece, so I found this encouraging that other artists are similar in that way.

The “Homemade Mission to Mars by Tom Sachs” video presents Tom Sachs’ installation that mimics a space program.  Tom Sachs combined his long interest in space and science with art by creating his own “space administration”.  Though his administration does not actually conduct space travel or research, they mimic everything a space program does, with the focus of a fabricated mission to Mars.  Tom Sachs also partners with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory to discuss ideas together and trade concepts between their different focuses on science and art.  The goal of the Homemade Mission to Mars is to spread interest in space and the process of studying it.  I thought this idea was very interesting because it blurs the line between art and science.  I also was impressed that Tom Sachs was actually working with JPL and NASA to discuss ideas and concepts.

“East Fork Cabin” by Ron Senungetuk. I’d like to borrow Senungetuk’s style of carving in my piece for the background.

My shrine will focus on the U.S. National Parks and their significance.  The National Parks are very important to me, because I used to visit some of them with my family, and have a goal to visit every U.S. National Park at some point in my life.  In addition, I think the preservation of natural landscapes and ecosystems is extremely important and should be given a higher priority than it currently is.  In the design of my shrine, I want to highlight where the national parks are, as well as the threat they are currently under.  To physically represent this, I will likely make a map of the United States, then have raised areas where the National Parks are.  To demonstrate their threatened status, I may make them look as if they are bleeding.  I want to make this shrine to remind myself and others of the importance of the National Parks, and the dangers of current political factions attempting to destroy these natural landmarks for the sake of money and oil.

The object I’ve chosen is a ceramic chicken used for decoration.  The chicken is decorative and demonstrates people’s desire to personalize their spaces.  The chicken reminds me of a farm and, by extension, the work that goes into taking care of animals.  In addition, the chicken reminds me of Lunar New Years because different years are represented by different animals, including a rooster.  Lunar New Year associates those born in a year of the rooster with being hardworking, confident, talkative, resourceful, and courageous.  I may try to incorporate these associations into my project.  I also think it would be interesting to relate my project to the phrase “running around like a chicken with its head cut off”, a metaphor meaning someone is acting chaotic and confused.  I think this metaphor could be interesting to explore and incorporate into my sculptures.