Nick Cave makes unique sculptures. He forms costumes out of abstract objects to convey ideas about society. Some of those including racial injustice, police brutality and poverty. These costumes have are created to have forms that do not resemble things we see in our everyday lives. These costumes make noise and are made with a very wide variety of materials. Chris Ware was a cartoonist. He created comic strips for books and pamphlets. He was very interested in capturing people’s struggles and emotions with very few words. Barbara Kasten uses plexiglass and transparent plastic sheets with different lighting arrangements to create pictures that distort reality so it’s difficult to tell what is real and what is a reflection. She then expanded her work into dances with moving parts and props. She designs the costumes, creates moving backdrops with colorful lighting and builds the props. Theaster Gates was originally a potter but became an artist of many materials. He creates objects and murals made of everyday materials we often see as worthless, such as tar, that represent how Theaster thinks the world can be. He uses sounds, especially the gospel choir, to guide his work. I find Theaster’s work challenging to me because for me it is very challenging to represent a sound with a physical. He then started using his abilities to restore buildings for housing and other purposes. I think it is very cool how each artist created very different works of art to but they all conveyed what they value in their heart.
Owl Mold
I chose an owl from the Street of Shops for my item to mold. It looks like it is made out of wood but I cannot figure out what it really is. My object shows the human fascination of nature and desire to replicate its beauty. The owl is sort of a mysterious creature, it is a nocturnal animal that is rarely seen. The owl has the ability to turn its head completely backwards. This can be almost seen in my item where even though his head isn’t completely backwards it would be an extreme angle for a human head. This hints at the owls watchful presence. The owl is rarely seen but seems as if it always sees. I would love to explore capturing this in my project.
Maurizo Cattelan’s Olive Tree
Immediate Response
The first thing that catches the eye is the shear size of the sculpture. It’s incredibly tall and has a huge square base. The precision of the edges stands out. The tree seems to be the most attention drawing aspect of the sculpture however there are so many art pieces done of trees and pieces of nature. This brings you to look at the base. Why such a large base for an object normally sculpted with no base?
Objective Despription
This piece is comprised of a scraggly tree upon a massive dirt base. The base is square and at the top the corners are cut fairly sharp. However, as the base nears the ground it thickens and piles at the bottom; taking away the sharpness of the corners. The sculpture is just over 27 feet tall and nearly 17 feet wide on each side of the base. The sculpture was formed with Olive Tree, earth, water, wood, metal and plastic. The exhibit is placed in the corner of a museum with white walls and a gold ceiling. There is nothing near the sculpture. It is set aside by itself with no descriptive signs or posters near it.
Technical Decisions
The Work in the World
This piece takes a very ordinary object and puts a very different spin on it. Most people in the world see many trees everyday and look past them without a second glance. However, when people see trees they do not think about the base and how the tree is supported. Trees are vital to life. They give us oxygen to breath, boards to build, logs to burn for heat and sometimes even food to eat. Cutting this tree out of the environment with the dirt with it allows us to take a step back and look at it for how important it is.
The Story it Tells
A tree is fed by its root system. A tree is often over twice as big underground as it is above ground. We rarely see what is underground. A tree cannot survive without its roots and therefor it is unrealistic to display it that way. Just as people cannot thrive without things to motivate themselves and push themselves for greatness. These things can be things such as religion, family and friends, a desire to do good, money and fame or a combination of them. Just as it is unrealistic for us to look a tree separated from its roots it is also unrealistic to look at people and the world for only their actions and external appearance as if they had no roots.