Greetings, fellow artists!
I am posting photos from my first work for Sculpture Fundamentals, a wooden memorial, in hopes of gaining some critique/feedback. This is my first attempt at a sculptural work, though I have played around with sculptural elements in a few paintings. I created a memorial to bones, to structure/support, to things unseen. A little background on the work: it is completely composed of materials I would use to stretch canvas, support painting, and hang paintings. It is hard to see in the photographs, but some of the wood is treated in a way, using clear and white gesso, plus iridescent acrylic medium, so that it has a subtle sparkle to it. I initially showed the work in a completely dark room, illuminated by twinkle lights (I would have preferred LEDs or fiber-optics―alas, cost-prohibitive) and we all sat on the floor, séance-style. I removed the lighting, however, because I felt like, in lieu of optimal lighting execution, the piece was stronger without it. Looking back, I perhaps would have staggered the heights of the two hanging pieces; the choice to hang them at the same height was a reference to how I have hung my diptych paintings, but I think staggered heights would, perhaps, have been more interesting. Anyway, enough talk, here is a link to the photos:
Boney Apparition
Thanks so much,
Genevieve
Hi Gennie,
ReplyDeleteI have seen some work you did in Martin's class on a similar theme. I think you are onto a great idea. I wish I had been there for the seance. Could you tell us a little more about this sculpture, like the function of the stool covered in what looks like fur and the glittering floor piece.
Also, what did the other students and your teacher think about your sculpture?
ReplyDeleteThanks for commenting, Miriam, I really appreciate it. The moss sculpture isn't my work, but I can talk about the floor piece. It is a plywood slab, 32 x 40 inches, cut with mitered edges, sanded, and painted using a mixture of clear and white gesso, and gold leaf. It is intended to represent a solid shadow of the hanging elements. It is part of this conversation about what constitutes a painting and a reference to the first support I learned to oil paint on (gessoed plywood). The gold leaf is this idea of moving the gilded frame to the floor which, historically speaking, has been a site of degradation, versus the painting hanging on the sacred wall. The students in my class seemed to have a strong aesthetic reaction to my sculpture, positively describing the "sparkle" and "delicate" appearance. My professor talked about the conversation of painting versus sculpture, 2D versus 3D, compared it to Mondrian, and encouraged me to look into the work of E.V. Day. My TA told me that it would go over really well with the hipsters in Bushwick because they are, apparently, obsessed with triangles. (The triangles are blown-up versions of the corner pieces on stretcher bars, by the way.) To be honest, I didn't feel like my critique was very definite one way or the other, which is why I have opened it up for further critique here in Eye & Idea. There are a few changes I would have made, given more time to consider it in the space post-installation, but I designed it specifically for that room, using the ceiling hooks already installed, dimensions of the space, etc., and, overall, I am content with the execution.
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