Judy Pfaff Reflection – Naomi Malone

One of the things that stood out to me the most from the video was that she was able to take things that she found around her and manipulate them to tell a story. More specifically, I think of the tree stumps and their roots that she used in one of the pieces for her installation. She was able to use nature to depict grief and show balance. I also like how she used the room that her pieces were in to complete her work. I liked how she ordered her pieces in a way that people would observe them starting on the right of the room and working their way around. I also thought it was interesting how she finished some of her pieces as she was installing them. With the tree roots, she added foam and painted parts of her piece in the exhibition room, as it was being installed. To me, it makes her whole art process more genuine for some reason. Like the work is never truly done, and there is never a perfect image that’s being sought after. The art is allowed to take whatever form it wants in a way, and I find that beautiful. Another thing I found interesting about the video was her lack of safety equipment. For example, when she was welding without gloves or eye protection. It was so interesting to see after being told how important safety is in class. It was like knowing the risk that comes with using different tools and seeing someone just ignore it.