MIAD Landscape
Title: Arching Potential
Medium: Sculpture April 2016 Exhibition Text: For my MIAD Landscape project I was given the task to create a piece that consisted of small structures that looked similar to buildings and other structures of architecture. For artistic inspiration, I looked into two well known architectural creations, being the Milwaukee Art Museum created by Santiago Calatrava and Sydney Opera House created by Jørn Utzon. My intentions were to utilize a 1 foot by foot board which consisted of four incisions, when put on a pedestal with a light fixture inside, the piece would utilize the light throughout the created structures. |
InspirationWhen I was introduced to this project a professor from the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design came with an example of the project that was completed by students of his at the institute of which he taught at. The essential idea of the project was to create a piece that consisted of structures that were similar towards buildings and Sky Scrapers, but I was in no way restricted in creating structures that resembled building like structures. One of the rules that we had to follow was that the board that was being used to create the piece must be a 12 inch by 12 inch board with only four main incisions involved within board. Secondly, I had to use the incisions made to manipulate light because we had to create the pieces while accommodating a source of light being shined through the incisions. Then I also had to have a source of architectural inspiration, and because I had done many activities with the Milwaukee Art Museum, I had immediately gravitated towards using that as a source of inspiration, because I adored its long soaring wings that resembled a bird in its flight process. In addition to the fact that I was able to see the museum in person, it became an option I couldn't exclude. My second source of inspiration was the Sydney Opera House, designed by architect Jørn Utzon. The Sydney Opera House to me is a perfect example of engineers and architects being given the ability to let the creative abilities take part in the creation process, where they were not restricted by budgets and unnecessary regulations. From the Milwaukee Art Museum I had specifically taken inspiration from its long and symmetrical structures that also happened to have incredible structural rigidity and stability.
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Process
The first part of this project was sourcing some type of board or surface on which to add structures that was 12 inches by 12 inches. Other students had chosen to create their pieces using a cardboard type surface, which was completely plausible and fulfilled criteria, but I did not think that cardboard gave the same sense of structural rigidity as wood boards. For the board That I had chosen, I went to Hobby Lobby, a well known arts and crafts store. There I found a 12 inch by 12 inch board that was meant for painting and had even been prepared with gesso, immediately I felt like it may have been a risky idea because gesso is soft and in no way durable once dry, and definitely not durable enough for positioning and creating wood pieces. Despite these flaws, I had still chosen to use this for the foundation board because the gesso'ed surface had an element of elegance with it's white hue, the same element of elegance that was present within the design of the Milwaukee Art Museum. After procuring the board, I then had mark how I would like to have the incisions made, because that part required a heavy duty saw, which was something I only had somewhat access to at school, somewhat because I was not allowed to use the saw, instead my peers and I had to give in pieces that we desired be cut with the use of the heavy duty saw and wait until the teacher using the saw had the time to shape them accordingly to the markings we had made.Any Pieces that we did want to wait for, or pieces that we felt we could prepare ourselves, we did using simple tools like clamps and the traditional, yet slow, wood saw. When creating the pieces themselves, I had to continuously smooth out the surfaces using sand paper in order to retain an elegant and well crafted appearance. Throughout the process I also had to work carefully as working on the board in order to not scratch or scuff the gesso'ed surface. I had to also consistently clean the board itself and my surroundings of any dust from the wood pieces themselves. I had also incorporated green floral foam within the piece as well as attempt to add a nature appearance or element, and that material required extensive cleaning after because of the extent of the foams fragility.
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ReflectionIn conclusion, my piece fulfilled my intentions of creating a piece that incorporated the the elegance of the Milwaukee Art Museum, and well made geometric element of the Sydney Opera House. Without doubt, this was definitely my most favored project of my high school art career because I thoroughly enjoy working with my hands and creating assemblages of this sort. Despite my lack experience in wood working, especially in creating pieces using a hand saw and attempting to create straight and symmetrical appearances, I still preserved because I took pleasure in seeing structures that I built stand on their own. Although I still have areas where improvement would definitely be an option for example, my piece has decent portion where no structures reside, which in the eyes of many, add a sense that the piece is lacking, or that the piece is yet to be finished.
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