Figurative Sculptures

 

Tinderbox: 

Addiction as a Figurative Sculpture

Anyone is capable of becoming an addict. While we often treat addiction as a moral failure, addiction is both a physical and psychological illness. I hoped to capture the emotions of addiction in this sculpture. To me, this portrays pain, fragility, and helplessness. The matches, which pierce the man's back, are metaphorical for the physical pain and mental burden of substance abuse. Matches are also sensitive to one another. If one is lit, the whole piece will burn. As with addiction, one mistake can destroy the entire individual.

Para La Hermana Perdida:

Mexican Femicide as a Figurative Sculpture

In Mexico, an average of ten women a day are murdered. Gender-specific homicides in Mexico have been on the rise, with rates of femicide increasing 10% between 2018 and 2019. Women are often targets of domestic abuse, sex trafficking, and gang-related violence. The feminist movement, Ni Una Mas, aims to increase awareness about femicides and have the Mexican government take the issue seriously. I titled this piece "Para la Hermana Perdida" (For the Lost Sister) as a tribute to the women who have lost their lives at the hands of violent men. 

Gregor's Room

 

To me, the bedroom in Gregor's Room invokes a sense of decrepitness. I tried to recreate this by making the pieces in this setting feel grimy and uncomfortable. The pastel and murky colors don't go well together, which adds to the viewer's discomfort.

Dinner and a Movie

 

Dinner and a Movie: The Great Gatsby

Green is typically seen as the color of jealously and uneasiness. In this piece, however, it represents  an unrequited longing. I incorporated symbols of class and status: three silver spoons, pearl earrings, and the silk dress. The raw and fried egg are representative of Old Money vs New Money. The watch serves as a metaphor for time, whether that is a lack of time or a desire to repeat the past. 

            

100 Objects

 

100 OBJECTS: NEEDLES

Sharp Things in Soft Spaces

Needles on a Bed

Needles in a Paper Bag

Needles and Leaves

There is something inherently uncomfortable about seeing sharp objects pierced through tender and soft spaces. To me, these photos feel abject. The tones of the paper bag and the softness of the bed and leaves remind me of skin. The act of piercing these objects feels unsettling to the viewer, and carries an aura of violence.

Touch Assignment 3

 

Maneater

The chapter on Taste discusses the taboos of cannibalism.  Ackerman writes, "The idea of cannibalism is so far from our ordinary lives that we can safely use the euphemism eat in a sexual context, say, and no one will think we mean literally consume" (p. 136).  For this piece, "Maneater", I thought it could be a little comical to have a woman literally eating a man.  The original photo was from a 1950's article on how to "eat spaghetti like a lady", so I hope she is eating this man as ladylike as possible.

Dinner Party

Ackerman notes, "Humans rarely choose to dine in solitude" (p 128).  In this video I make an extremely elaborate meal.  It took over two hours to prepare all of the sides, bread, and entreé.  In the end, however, I'm the only one at the table.  More often than not, I will eat alone.  It can be lonely, but creating a fancier-than-necessary meal for myself is almost meditative.  When I cook alone I do it as an act of love to myself, especially after a rough day.

  

Touch Assignment-- Touch

Skin Deep

This video was inspired by this statement from Diane Ackerman: "Setting out on a kiss caravan of the other's body, we map the new terrain with our fingertips and lips, pausing at the oasis of the nipple, the hillock of the thigh, the backbone's meandering riverbed" (A Natural History of the Senses p.109).  Touch is intimacy.  Skin-on-skin connection can tell your partner what words can't.  Sometimes the memory of another person comes flooding in as a montage of intimate moments.  

Song: The Swan by Yo-Yo Ma

First Kiss

"We kissed timelessly, because lovers throughout the ages knew our longing"

 (Ackerman, A Natural History of the Senses p.109)

This short video is reminiscent of the excitement of a first kiss.  It's almost cliché to use the term "feeling sparks", but there is something about the nerve-wracking anxiety and excitement that make you feel fireworks when with your partner.

 

Paper Architecture

 Paper Architecture