Large Corten Steel Facade – Sino Sculpture Group
I intend to borrow the tall slender shapes and large flat sides for my project
Project 1 “Accumulations”
Natalie Patterson Matthew Barney Essay
Natalie Patterson
Professor Meiser
Matthew Barney Essay
Matthew Barney is a mixed media artist that derives drawings and sculptural works from his elaborately produced films. Known for his fascination with anatomy, anthropology, and nature, Barney created Water Cast 6: a sculptural work that serves as both a still, three-dimensional piece and a documentation of an action. Through a unique process of pouring metal into a combination of clay and water, Barney creates a sculpture that documents the path of the material weaving through the clay mixture. Upon first glance, the bronze sculpture appears delicate and fragile, yet the tone of the piece indicates a sense of natural power and sublime status. Without the information of how this sculpture came to be, one may assume it was formed by some kind of dangerous, quick pouring action.
The poured bronze sculpture is displayed over three planks of wood. Two of the pieces, longer than the third, are stacked on top of one another in parallel while the smaller third plank is placed at a slight angle. The angle of the plank adds to the rhythm of the sculpture by forcing the viewer’s vision towards the separated piece of bronze that sits flat on the floor of the gallery space. The main part of the bronze structure has a protruding tube-like section that further directs the viewer towards the separated small piece of bronze in a triangular fashion.
Created in 2015 and one of fourteen works in the series, this work, in particular, has several identifiable attributes. First, this work, although rather large in size reaching 130.8 x 200.7 x 299.7 cm, takes up a rather short rectangular block of space that is low to the ground in comparison to the viewer. This, in turn, enables the viewer to fully navigate the nooks and turns of the bronze without any optical issues like some that would occur if the sculpture took up more vertical height. Mirroring some kind of explosion, Barney displays this piece as a sculpture in the round rather than one meant to be shown against a wall. This further illustrates to the viewer that Barney intended for the viewers to inspect the entirety of the piece without facing obstacles.
Like many of Barney’s sculptural works, the idea of casting water into a sculpture followed a film of his titled, “River of Fundament” that also featured the collaboration of artist Jonathan Bepler. The film has a protagonist that reincarnates three times throughout the film into different bodies. Each time, the actor wakes up in a river of feces below a Brooklyn Heights apartment. With this pairing of the film’s narrative and the sculptural work, the viewer better comprehends the choice of bronze, a brown-toned metal, to represent the reincarnation into a river of feces. In particular, the smaller, separated part of the bronze is alluded to being birthed from the main component of the structure. In all, Barney’s work combines visual narrative with physical representations of a plot to intensify the viewer’s experience when viewing the works as a pair.
https://www.fondationlouisvuitton.fr/en/collection/artworks/water-cast-6
Natalie Patterson Putto
Aiden Smith, LUMPENPROLETARIAT (ALIVE), Matthew Day Jackson
Immediate Reaction
The reason I chose this piece was because of how fascinated I am with space exploration and how I felt this piece reflects the idea that everything that can go wrong will go wrong. The ruggedness of the sculpture itself and the pained expression of the subject’s face represent a common theme with Matthew Day Jackson’s work. Like many of his other pieces, it represents the exact opposite of happiness and contentedness. It reminds me of how difficult life can be and how nothing ever goes according to plan.
Objective Description
This sculpture immediately seems bulky but in a controlled way, like none of the usable space was wasted. The first thing that pops out is that the sculpture has a face instead of a completed space helmet. The face seems almost as if its unhappy or uncomfortable. The rest of the suit is extremely detailed. The arms and chest seem puffy, like an actual space suit, with little room to move. The legs are detailed in a similar way until a little below the knee, where the space suit becomes a smooth rigid block.
Technical decisions
The sculpture is made of a mix of wood and plastic, and it seems like layers of these materials were put together and then cut away to form the final product. The helmet, face, and chest of the sculpture are extremely detailed, and look like they took up most of the time. The arms and legs seem much simpler and are smoothed out. The hands have almost as much detail as the face and seem like they took as long to design. The work sits on a cube made of both materials, but is part of the sculpture, the legs become the cube slightly below the knee and show a lack of movement for the entire piece.
The Work in the World
Currently, the world is in the age of space exploration, but is limited by science and costs. This work, which depicts an astronaut that is essentially “stuck” goes hand in hand with the lack of our ability to explore space beyond our relative atmosphere. Also, the pained expression on the astronaut’s face, which seems to show that the astronaut is experiencing some type of problem represents all the problems that occur during space travel. The first example of this that comes to mind is the Challenger disaster in 1986, where something that people thought was a small problem ended up causing the deaths of all the astronauts on board.
The Story it Tells
This sculpture to me represents the helplessness of having to deal with a problem but at the same time not being able to do anything about it. The pained expression and the sculptures feet being a solid immovable block go along with this. I came to this conclusion because space travel and any other type of scientific progression can be painstakingly slow processes. People working in these industries often feel stuck or limited by their own knowledge. This sculpture also follows the pattern of having some dark undertone or meaning like many of Jackson’s other works. In a way, this sculpture could represent Jackson’s anger with a lack of technological progression, or simply that he is familiar with feeling stuck or unable to move forward.
Ben Snook, Untitled 2011
ArtExpose-3&4
Deon Art Xpose 3 and 4
Title of Event: Artist talks and gallery
Date and time of event: Friday April 12, 5pm
Location of Event: Gallery theater and LC Samek gallery
Type of Event: lecture and exhibit
1.) Provide a brief detail-oriented technical description or summary of the event you attended. (This section should remain journalistic and should not be reflective of your opinion.)
First, five senior studio art majors discussed their journey as artists and the meaning behind their pieces. They then answered questions from the audience. Afterwards, everyone was invited for appetizers and to view the students’ work in the exhibit.
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 enjoyed learning about the pieces that my peers have been working on all year. I knew all of these students but was unaware that a couple of them were studio art majors. I most appreciated hearing about the stories and experiences that lead them to creating these pieces and exploring these themes. It was interesting that each of the students used distinct techniques and styles: mosaic, painting/layering, sculpture, painting/shooting and cartoon-style drawing. I think that each of these students had well developed concepts and especially after hearing about their concepts, I saw them depicted through their pieces. Additionally, it was interesting to hear about the artists’ processes and how they experienced frustrations even during something they love/
3.) What information, ideas, images, etc. most impressed you and why?
I thought Heather’s mosaics were very impressive. I liked that she incorporated letter writing. Also, I liked her set up including the desk and photographs of her grandparents.
4.) Overall, how would you rate this event (10 being the most worthwhile)?
(10 / 9 / 8 / 7 / 6 / 5 / 4 / 3 / 2 / 1 )
10
5.) Justify your rating in the question above:
I really enjoyed seeing the work of my fellow students and their successes.
Project 3 idea
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