"I Am Who has and Who Needs "
Size: Medium: cardboard, paper, water &starch liquid, black paint Date: |
Exhibition TextThe chandelier is inspired by Fred Wilson, presenting an interpretation of my being. Its tiers each represent one of Moslows hierarchy of needs, which is inspired by Kathryn E. Martin BFA Thesis. The purpose of this was to show what I have at the bottom and what I need in my life to reach that top level.
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Critical Investigation
Artist Inspiration:
Fred Wilson Fred Wilson is an installation artist and political activist whose subject is social justice and his medium is museology. Fred Wilson has been referred to as a “Foucauldian archaeologist who has systematically engaged in unearthing objects that reveal hidden histories.” As an artist, he says that he no longer has a strong desire to make things with his hands. Instead he'd much rather create "everything that satisfies my soul...from bringing together objects that are in the world, manipulating them, working with spatial arrangements, and having things presented in the way I want to see them."Wilson's unique artist approach is to examine, question, and deconstruct the traditional display of art and artifacts in museums. With the use of new wall labels, sounds, lighting, and non-traditional pairings of objects, he leads viewers to recognize that changes in context create changes in meaning. Wilson's juxtaposition of evocative objects forces the viewer to question the biases and limitations of cultural institutions and how they have shaped the interpretation of historical truth, artistic value, and the language of display To Die Upon a Kiss (2011) holds court in a lavish entrance display. Both of these glassworks are of human proportion, approximately five and a half feet tall and wide, yet as chandeliers they are monumental. |
Chandelier Mori: Speak of Me as I Am
“Chandelier Mori: Speak of Me as I Am - Fred Wilson.” Google Arts & Culture, Google, www.google.com/culturalinstitute/beta/asset/chandelier-mori-speak-of-me-as-i-am/fAH2Mhgl9uqmWA. Accessed 22 Sept. 2017.
Wilson refers to the exotic role of Africans in Venice during the Renaissance. The chandelier is made from Murano glass, which here represents Venetian history of class privilege, tradition, and race relations. Wilson’s installation also speaks to personal themes of sadness and regret, memory and trauma, and pain and fear. Glass is used |
To Die Upon a Kiss
28/06/14 at 22:10 pm by Rob Perrée. “In Collection: Fred Wilson.” AFRICANAH.ORG, 28 June 2014, africanah.org/collection-fred-wilson/. Accessed 22 Sept. 2017.
YouTube, 13 May 2013, youtu.be/kFHnAk7vsUA.
Wilson speaks of death and loss of importance in race and identity, as well as other matters, as unimportant in the time of death. |
Artist Inspiration: Kathryn E. Martin " With a focus on observing everyday objects, spaces and histories, kathryn e. martin concentrates on formal characteristics. With found forms she makes instinctive, calculated decisions to dissect, interpret, repeat and re-assemble inspired parts into new, often times immersive sculptural landscapes. kathryn e. martin works as Lecturer at The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM), serving as the Coordinator of 3D Design and Recruitment for The Peck School of Art, Art and Design. She received a BFA in Sculpture from The Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD) in 2001, and an MA and MFA from UWM in InterMedia Studies in 2005 and 2007. She has exhibited extensively, in solo and group shows throughout the United States and is proud to be the recipient of three public art commissions in the state of Wisconsin." Citation “About.” Kathryn e. martin, www.kathrynemartin.com/about/. |
Katie Martin Muer : BFA Thesis- 2001
Kathryn had created tables, each representing a part of Moslows Hierarchy of needs. She had constructed these tables herself. Each were designed of the same height, and had designed them to be tall so that the average adult would have to peer over like a child. She wanted that humble innocent interaction between the audience and her piece. Each individual table contained a vast amount of different found objects and placed meticulously in an interesting way to help the viewer guess which of Moslows Hierarchy of needs the table represented.
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for more detailed photos of Katie Martin's BFA Thesis
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Planning and Journaling
Process and Experimentation:
Process and Experimentation
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Reflecting
It was interesting trying to figure out what medium would be be both cost and time efficient, as well as easy to work with. Paper Mache is a bit difficult to work with just because it is layer upon layer of paper. I wished I had been more vigilant in making sure that the paper was applied on smoothly. I also wished that the forms I had created had been more symmetrical and not as deformed. I had anticipated this, and tried my best to keep it all as uniform as I possibly could in the amount of time I had. I had also had a lot of trouble with creating the arms. I would make them, but they would prove to heavy and would break where they had been connected. After my fourth time, I realized that I needed to cross the bends with paper mache in an "x" form, as well as do this on the connected area to add more strength and stability. In terms of aesthetics, for my first attempt in working with something as complicated as a contemporary Victorian style chandelier, I feel pretty confident in my piece. I believe it closely resembles a Victorian chandelier with a contemporary twist. Its message isn't hard to receive. The eggs each represent one of Moslows hierarchy of needs. This be physiological, safety, love and belonging ( I made these separate) , esteem, and self actualization to reach the final stage of transcendence. I chose a chandelier because I felt it was the perfect way to picture a soul. As the chief light fixture in a home, it is a sign of wealth and beauty, and I wanted to present my soul as "wealthy and beautiful" for having these needs. The holographic CD color was meant to mimic the crystal shine of glass reflecting in light, while representing transcendence. The black and white were used as an aesthetic quality, to further add to the Victorian theme, as well as a meaning of elegance and purity.
Critique
The visual components that these pieces hold similar are in its color. I used the black of Chandelier Mori and To Die Upon a Kiss. I had also used similar structure in shape and lines. The structure in similarity to Muer's BFA Thesis, it is constructed to focus on each as an individual. Each arm represents a need. In similarity to Wilson, there are abstract forms such as in its center and similar elegant curves of lines within the arms and the center shape, just as Fred Wilson had used. Negative space creates a sense of proportions as well as gives balance when the chandelier contrasts with things such as white walls. The texture of the chandeliers are all are smooth. Balance is seen within the piece in creating the arms in opposite orders, where the arms fill up the spots in negative space so that they can be seen in all different directions., The emphasis is placed in the arms of the chandeliers to see what they are holding, which is followed by the movement in the curvature of the outline.
Dissimilarities within my inspiration and my piece can be found it the division of colors. The colors are all sectioned off by themselves and do not fade into one another like in To Die Upon a Kiss. I also kept the Victorian swirls minimal as to not overpower the chandeier and keep it simplistic for my taste,. Wilson had used a variety of arm lengths and swirls to make his piece much more complex. Muer used different objects to create interesting implied lines. The from of my shape was much more closer together because it was difficult to keep it standing while having the arms farther lain out and apart without breaking. There are many more textures in Muers BFA Thesis. She uses felt, plastic, rough and smooth texture, while all I used was a smooth surface.. Emphasis, was mostly placed on my one egg at the top, which is supposed to represent transcendence. My individual pieces are unified by repetition of use of items like the CD pieces and the eggs.
Dissimilarities within my inspiration and my piece can be found it the division of colors. The colors are all sectioned off by themselves and do not fade into one another like in To Die Upon a Kiss. I also kept the Victorian swirls minimal as to not overpower the chandeier and keep it simplistic for my taste,. Wilson had used a variety of arm lengths and swirls to make his piece much more complex. Muer used different objects to create interesting implied lines. The from of my shape was much more closer together because it was difficult to keep it standing while having the arms farther lain out and apart without breaking. There are many more textures in Muers BFA Thesis. She uses felt, plastic, rough and smooth texture, while all I used was a smooth surface.. Emphasis, was mostly placed on my one egg at the top, which is supposed to represent transcendence. My individual pieces are unified by repetition of use of items like the CD pieces and the eggs.
Connecting to ACT
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause and effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork.
I had created a chandelier based on Fred Wilson's to depict who I was as a person. I was also inspired by Katie Martin Muer by using separate sections that represent each of Moslow's hierarchy of needs.
What was the overall approach (point of view) the author (form your research) has regarding the topics of your inspiration?
Fred Wilson had wanted to use Venetian style and culture and had then used it to speak on race and ethics. Kathryn Martin had wanted adults to be like children, coming up close and personal with each table that represented what humans need.
What kinds of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Fred Wilson is a fearful about the past as well as saddened about the fate of society as it continues to expand, not keeping in mind of its history. Katie Martin wanted to raw attention to each component that humans need in their life.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central Idea around my artist inspiration was understanding self and why I am the way I am. For Wilson, it was history and ethics, but for Muer it was about the hierarchy of needs.
What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
I had realized that the self, in order to reach a sense of peace or happiness, it needs certain things. These things are a necessity to all humans, which in turn also helped me objectify myself in order to understand myself more.
I had created a chandelier based on Fred Wilson's to depict who I was as a person. I was also inspired by Katie Martin Muer by using separate sections that represent each of Moslow's hierarchy of needs.
What was the overall approach (point of view) the author (form your research) has regarding the topics of your inspiration?
Fred Wilson had wanted to use Venetian style and culture and had then used it to speak on race and ethics. Kathryn Martin had wanted adults to be like children, coming up close and personal with each table that represented what humans need.
What kinds of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
Fred Wilson is a fearful about the past as well as saddened about the fate of society as it continues to expand, not keeping in mind of its history. Katie Martin wanted to raw attention to each component that humans need in their life.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central Idea around my artist inspiration was understanding self and why I am the way I am. For Wilson, it was history and ethics, but for Muer it was about the hierarchy of needs.
What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the basis of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
I had realized that the self, in order to reach a sense of peace or happiness, it needs certain things. These things are a necessity to all humans, which in turn also helped me objectify myself in order to understand myself more.