Project 5: Natural World. Materials and Multiples. Due 12/20

Objective

For this project you will work exclusively with materials you collect from nature. The objective is three-fold.

1. Think about material choices.  Experiment with the use of readily accessible, natural materials.  Define new ways to work with them structurally, and develop a visual language from their use.

2. Observe. Interpret. Respond. Explore the role of the artist as observer/interpreter of culture. (critic, or flaneur).

Process

Step One- Observation

For this exercise, you will consciously begin to think about the world around you, and how you live/exist in it. Look at everything. Your feet when you walk, the trees outside your window. the glass the separates you from those trees. Touch the glass. touch the trees. pay attention. Deep and close, and constant, attention. Do this for the duration of the project.

Step two- Interpretation

Keep a notebook/sketchbook with you and answer the following questions:

1. What is the nature? How do you envision it? What does it consist of? Describe how it looks? 
2. How do you personally navigate through the natural world? (walking, driving, flying, etc). 
3. How do you interact with it? (planting, cutting, growing, killing, nurturing, using)
4. What other things in our environment affect your relationship to nature? The built environment? Landscape? 

Step three- Respond

Working exclusively with materials you find in the natural world, collect AT LEAST 100 OF THE SAME TYPE OF OBJECT. Examples of materials include: plan frond, driftwood, long grasses, rocks, vines, etc. Continue to think about your observations while you are collecting. Allow your observations to affect your choice of materials. Be choosy, and intentional in your choices. You don't have to understand it all, just be intentional (deliberate). 

Experiment with ways of using your materials. How will you attach them? How can they be manipulated? How can they be transformed? What happens when you have a lot of the same object (multiples)?

Try weaving, braiding, sewing, balancing, tying, bending or whatever technique you come up with to make an object out of the separate materials. At home and during the in-class work day you will try different techniques of arranging or joining your objects together to make one unified form.

Step four- Written review/documentation

After the completion of the sculpture, write a two-page essay describing your initial observations, interpretation, and response. Begin with the answers to the questions above, regarding nature. Use your notes as a starting point, and be sure to elaborate. You will be graded on detail. Be sure to use complete sentences; include the question in your answer. Example>  "The things that most effect my relationship to nature are…", "I envision nature as a…" Nature consists of…" Site any other sources you referred to in your research. How did you come to these conclusions? Did the artistic process change or reinforce our initial ideas of what nature is? In your final paragraph, give a conclusion/closing that summarizes your feeling about nature- how you exist in it, how our culture effects that, how other things mediate your experience of it. How did this project change/or reinforce your attitudes toward nature?

Note: Additional visual documentation details will be given in a separate assignment at the end of the project. This will be part of the assignment over winter break.

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• The size of the sculpture must be at a minimum of 3 feet long in at least one dimension.
• Absolutely no glue, wire, string, tape, zip ties, etc. Use only natural materials that you collect.
• In the creation of your art object, continue to think about your observations. Your sculpture will be your visual response to your observations. 

Schedule

Dec. 6 - Project presented. Observational field trip.

Homework- research, observe, gather, experiment. 
Research the artists listed below. Begin your observations/writing. Gather and experiment with your materials (at least 100 of the same natural material)

Dec. 14- Studio work day.
Come prepared with all of your materials, sketches, and experiments you've already done. This will be the only in-class work day. Plan out what tools you may need to use, so you can use the time wisely.

Dec. 20- Final Critique.

Jan 10- Written report and documentation due.

Inspiration for the project

Check out this show at BFI, called Peace of Mind

Look up the following artists.:
Richard Long
Robert Smithson
Andy Goldsworthy
Agnes Denes

Documentary on the man-made floating islands of Lake Titicaca, Peru, which are made of woven reeds.


Last Year's Projects
Previous year's projects

Project 4: Soft-Sculpture. Due 11/22

Project Description

Like Claes Oldenberg, you will create a soft version of an everyday object that is normally hard. The transformation (via scale and materiality) of an everyday object changes our relationship to both the artist's version, and to the original.  With this in mind, choose an object that has interesting contours, and that will present an interesting transformation. 

Please Note: No cell phones or iPods, no dolls or characters.

Schedule

Homework for next week 11/1:
1. Collect materials you will use and bring them to class. You will need fabric (any kind, thick or thin, old or new), stuffing (old pillow, packing peanuts, crumpled newspaper, shredded paper), needles and thread.

2. Detailed drawings of the object you will create. Study and draw all sides of the object. Think about the planes and contours that make up the form.

Next week we will teach you how to sew by hand and also using machines. Come prepared to work.
You will have two in-class work days, and will be graded on preparedness, time management and class participation as well as the quality of your final project.

No Class on 11/8: 
Work on projects through the week, and send email to Mr. K or Mr. L for feedback.

Homework for next week 11/15:
Bring everything you need for working in class. You should be 1/3 to 1/2 way done. Today we will talk about adding the details to your project.

Critique date: 11/22

Project requirements

Minimum size 3'x3'x3'
No glue!
Design and construction well-planned

Considerations

What will the scale be? What does that say? (Enlarged, Shrunk, or 1:1)
What are your material choices? (textures, patterns, prints, color, flexibility, etc)
How will it be filled/stuffed? (packing peanuts, feathers, fluff, etc)
How will you deal with surface details?  (You can finish the sculpture however you want, by adding things to the surface, using different materials, buttons, painting, etc.)

Last Year's projects
 2011's projects
2010's projects
2008's projects

See the following Claes Oldenburg Work for inspiration



















Upside Down City


Ice Bag


Surface and details on soft sculpture
Christian Holstadt "The Road to Hell is Paved (Best Buy)

The Road to Hell is Paved (Whole Foods)

Christian Holstad
Defined Thorough Deflation and Limits of Exposure

2004
 Mixed Media: Cashmere coat, tie, white shirt, leather glove, terry cloth, polyester, cotton, vintage millinery trimmings, vintage satin glove, champagne glass, men's suiting and vintage party dress
Dimensions variable

Description of Christian's work:
Two stuffed snakes, a dark male and his floral female mate, lay entwined on the gallery floor clutching a bouquet of microphones. This hand-sewn, soft sculpture, typical of Holstad's interest in traditional forms of craftsmanship, invites us to reconsider culturally prescribed notions of gender, domesticity, and high and low art.



Ideas for how to add detail to your soft sculpture:

Project 2: Hybrid Sculpture- Final Crit. 9/27

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

You will change two objects of your choice into something new by creatively dismantling and recombining the pieces. You must reuse ALL of the material in your existing objects, and combine them into a single unified work. This is not a collage (objects attached to a flat surface). We want you to physically join the parts of these objects together and create a new 3-D object.

Important concept:  UNITY = a sense of order or completeness. 

SCHEDULE

Work Day- September 20th

Bring to class: two objects not bigger than 12" that you feel comfortable changing. Begin to disassemble your objects at home and bring ALL of the pieces to class. 
NO ELECTRONICS

Note: Any other supplies you would like to use while altering your object, such as glue, tape, sewing supplies, etc.

Project Due- SEPT 27th. 

Projects is due at beginning of class for critique. All projects must be ready for presentation at start of class. 

INSPIRATION

Look at the following artworks by these artists for inspiration.:

Robert Rauschenberg (images follow)

Jean Tinguely (images below)

Agathe Snow (images below)

Sara Sze (images below)

Hybrid Sculptures by Satish Tang (images below)

Hybrid sculptures of ancient Chinese ceramics, western pop icons, manga aesthetics and kitsch. TANG was born in Dublin, Ireland of Trinidadian parents, but currently lives & works in British Columbia, Canada.

Click here to go to the Tang's website

How do objects communicate meaning? How does meaning change when they are re-contextualized and merged into a single form?

Last year's projects
Previous year projects

No electronics. If you want to know why, watch this video.

Project 1: Cardboard Replication- Final Crit. 9/13

For this project, you will replicate an object from real life, using cardboard to recreate its volume, form and textures. Choose something that you can hold in your hand, no bigger than four inches in any direction. 

Your sculpture will be an enlarged scale replica, measuring between 18 and 24 inches in every direction.

Your project will be more successful if you choose an object that isn’t too simple.

Bring to class:
On August 30, bring the following to class and be prepared to work:

1. A small object that fits in your hand. It can be something from nature or something from culture. When you choose your object, ask yourself:
*Will this object be more interesting when I make it bigger?
*Is it too simple or too complex to re-create?
*Does it have interesting form and textures?
*Will changing the size of the object change how we perceive it?

2. Sketchbook: Measurements and sketches of every side of your object, and notes on its texture.
3. An Xacto blade or a box cutter. Keep this safely put away when you are not in class. Everyone will need a blade to complete this project.
4. A ruler.
5. Cardboard. Collect interesting kinds of cardboard (thick, thin, printed, shiny, plain)

September : Second in-class work day. Bring all materials necessary to work on your projects.  

****DUE DATE**** SEPT 13th AT START OF CLASS. Bring your finished project ready for crit.

Important concepts:

Texture refers to the properties held and sensations caused by the external surface of objects received through the sense of touch. You will experiment with tearing, scratching, peeling, crunching, and folding your cardboard. These techniques will allow you to mimic the texture of your object.

Shifting the scale of an object in an artwork forces the viewer to pay more attention to it and think of it outside of its everyday context. Artist Tom Sachs’ NASA space shuttle, made of foam core at human scale, makes a high-tech object seem more approachable and unsound. On the other hand, his mammoth bronze sculptures of Hello Kitty show us a cheaply made child’s toy on a scale usually reserved for Generals and Presidents, making it seem absurdly important. Think about how the scale shift you’re dealing with will change your viewers’ perception of the object you’ve chosen.


NWSA EXAMPLES FROM PREVIOUS YEARS
2012
2011


Look at these links for inspiration:
Puppy by Jeff Koons.
In Bed, a large lady by Ron Mueck.
The Crawler space shuttle sculpture by Tom Sachs.
Chris Gilmour's cardboard sculptures.




LOOK BELOW FOR MORE EXAMPLES FROM THE INTERNET (ARTISTS, AND OTHERS)