Project 1 restricted materials and methods--no power tools were permitted and the supplies available were confined to one bag of Plaster of Paris, one sheet of styrofoam, one sheet of wood, and a little red bucket. And the product:
Deluge
The piece definitely exudes a natural, organic vibe and is rather calming while also purporting movement. Movement is expressed physically in the sculpture as the inner face is composed of drips frozen in motion that seem to have been working towards the same goal--dependent clauses captured before they had the chance to form a complete sentence, while the smooth outside face has a number of vertical ripples that indicate an invisible force in constant struggle with the weight of the medium. This force is revealed most markedly in the front corner, where one can imagine a cupped hand grasping and bracing the falling plaster.
The sculpture also induces movement in the observer. Messages relayed from various vantage points are markedly different and demand that the audience enjoy all 360 degrees, as well as from various altitudes--it is a different sculpture from the bird's to the human's to the snail's eye view. This dynamic nature seems to stem from the sculpture's very origins. The construction process is easily recalled upon observation of the finished product; viewing the inner plaster droplets also prompts a flashback to me standing over the beginnings, flinging, sifting, dripping, scattering, showering hand-fulls of plaster over the contraption built to give the liquid some shape. The construction was a dance; the means were an art from as well. I would love to reconstruct this piece, or create something similar, as performance art.
Power tools were permitted for the second project (jigsaw, here I come!). I wanted to build some kind of curvy structure with slats of wood that was inside-out, or at least blurred the line between interior and exterior. The slats were much more complicated than expected (hey, this is supposed to be my break from math!), but we pulled (and pushed) it together in the end.
Code of Honor
This form can conduct a dialogue by itself, but the letters inset on the edges of one face have a better-articulated discussion. Inscribed with tan keyboard keys is a portion of the Honor Code of Princeton University: "This work represents my own work in accordance with University regulations."
This work was what could be constructed...within University regulations...and I promise it's my own...
The third project was to involve molding and casting and themes that stem naturally therefrom: multiplicity, replication imperfections, deconstruction, etc. I chose a mortar and pestle as my prototypes and after creating the mold, cast 25 more with hydrocal.
The pieces are to be displayed on top of a white podium in a 5x5 grid. The position of the pestles are rotated for different casts, providing a rhythmic landscape as well as an intriguing cipher. The slight imperfections produced through casting are swallowed by the more universal, repeated features of the masses, but alluring when focused upon.
Cipher
