Reflections

The body is the primary mode of perceiving scale.

In ancient times the foot was the primary unit for measure. To determine the length of something you measured it in feet. A king declared that his foot would be the primary unit of measurement and that stuck. As an artist, when you are learning to figure draw you use different body parts as units of measure. In examining a face you may say "the head is 5 noses long and 3 noses wide". We see our bodies everyday and have a general idea of how big or small everything on our body is. 

The capacity of objects to serve as traces of authentic experiences 

This is a piece of the Berlin Wall. 

If I didn't explain what this piece of rock was, it would have no intrinsic value. Once we know that this was a piece of arguably the most famous wall in history then it gains much value. We know this piece of colored rock has been through conflict and turmoil and is a piece of great history. Separating it from any other piece of rock. 

The souvenir reduces the public, the monumental and the three dimensional into the miniature that which can be enveloped by the body.

A shell to me is a great example of a souvenir, a shell can represent a trip to the beach or someone's ties with the ocean. It is a naturally occurring specimen found in the ocean. It is a great souvenir due to the fact that it can represent the ocean as a whole, it has beauty, and is small enough to be enveloped by the body. 

Nostalgia cannot be sustained without loss.

These pictures represent nostalgia to me. All of these good times have been lost they came and went and were only recorded once due to the polaroid film and will never be repeated. Moments lost in time forever but I have the recorded memory of each individual photograph, reminding me of the times and memories that each individual picture carries with it.  

To have a souvenir of the exotic is to possess both a specimen and a trophy.

This is a picture of a gallery displaying Mark Rothko's paintings. These paintings go for millions of dollars due to their fame. These paintings can be considered a specimen due to their uniqueness and one of a kindness that will never be reproduced due to the artist no longer being with us. Owning one of these paintings acts as a trophy due to their fame and value. Having one of these paintings could reflect one's wealth to require one of these paintings or to display one's artistic taste. 

Yoko Ono

Yoko Ono's presentation involves her sitting on stage while people are invited up to cut off segments of her clothing. She is utilized within the artwork, and the artwork would not be possible without her. The meaning of this piece of performance artwork could be to directly represent how a women's body is viewed in society. The people that cut off her clothing in the beginning chose to cut off small simple strips steering away from her breasts or hips. But as the performance goes on one man boldly cuts a large strip exposing her chest, as Yoko stays calm. The performer seems unfazed by his actions. This action could possibly represent the mistreatment of women or could be viewed as a statement expressing how women's bodies shouldn't have to be censored to the world. 

Touch

Tattoos 

"beauty created through brutal means"
 This quote from the article reflects in me. The passage also states that the word tattoo comes from a Tahitan word Tatua meaning strike. Which I can relate too due to my one tattoo on my ankle which is a stick n poke tattoo. In other words a needle is placed in ink and then pushed into your skin to form lines. I have a stick n poke tattoo of an eyeball. This hurt greatly but to me is a form of self expression and artwork. It is a memento to me a reminder that will always be on me.

This is the stick n poke tattoo I did to myself. 

Subliminal Touch

I found this section of the writings interesting. "contact warms us even without our knowing it" This quote explains the important of touch and how it reminds us of our core animalistic roots. Touch makes us feel good and loved. The passage says "touching someone gently is like saying their first name". subliminal touch is a form of body language that repersents humanity in its purest form. 

I created a drawing of my grandfather that passed, and a poor self portrait of myself. The hand on his head reminds me of his "subliminal touch" that will always be over me. The subliminal touch repersenting the love and good feelings this man showed me. 

Masking Tape Shoes

I had never embarked on a project like this ever before and was quite fearful to be honest. In going about this project I didn't view the shoe in separate parts but as one individual shoe and tried to build it as i saw it. After building the sole, I made large squares of tape and cut out portions looking at my reference shoe. Slowly but surely developing a pair of retro vans high tops.

Architectural Relief

In this project I incorporated indigenous architecture.

As well as inspiration from the work of Gaudi who was a Spanish Catalan modernist.

For my architectural relief I incorporated indigenous architecture with the architectural style of Gaudi. I found inspiration in indigenous art through its simplicity in nature. The structures these people created were to live and not for aesthetic quality. In this process i see a beauty that pleases my eye. I developed an eyeball made out of string (which can also represent indigenous symbolism) that is the center fold of the piece. I collaged different scraps of wood at the base of the project to make a floor of sorts. I used Gaudi's work to find inspiration for the columns i built in my piece. Gaudi incorporated simple but well designed fluid buildings that reflected nature and looked a bit carefree. I tried to mimic this style in building my four columns that rise from the piece.

Body Sculpture Happenings

Abstract Artist Tool

In this project we had to design a 3-D sculpture that can be worn on the body that produced a "happening".

I kept my project simple using only:

wood

nails

paint 

vine charcoal

I created an appartus that can be used to aid in abstract drawing and painting. A key component in non representational abstract art is developing inspiration through irrational thought, we can look at artists like Kandinsky who believed one must branch away from shapes and lines that we plan to put into our art, instead we should let these shapes and lines come from nature. In using my tool I found that it greatly reduces the cognitive emphasis to place lines where you would wish for them to go in preliminary sketches of abstract work and helps the artist focus on color and application to create a more successful abstract piece. 

This is a non representational abstract piece I created solely based on form and color.

This is a piece my grandmother created, which can show how simple marks can be placed free from thought and then be altered further to develop a piece.

The device goes on your arm like this.

Soap Changes

 The first step in my soap transformation was to place the carved animal in the microwave.

 After this transformation, resulting in the soap enlarging greatly I covered it in water and placed it in the freezer.

 Then I covered the entire soap with black ink.

To break the soap up even further I blew it up in different spots with firecrackers. Then mashed bits and pieces back together and placed it in the freezer again to harden parts of it back up.

I made a pedestal of sorts out of found wood in the wood shop and glued random pieces of soap all around it and then dripped wood glue and ink throughout the entire piece.