UWM - MIX MEDIA
TITLE: BECOMING
SIZE: 27 CM X 29 CM APRIL 2016 MEDIUM: Ice, plastic & fabric EXHIBITION TEXT: By the inspiration that I got from Andy Goldsworthy and Stuart Haygarth works and what they wanted to demonstrate. I created an ice structure that in each of the cubes there were different types of flowers by demonstrating life and the effects that has in as to makes us at the end something unique and beautiful. |
ARTIST INSPIRATION
My artists inspirations were Andy Goldsworthy and Stuart Haygarth for the development of my art piece. Stuart Haygarth was my first inspiration for the develop of the UWM mix media piece because his different works resemble in my opinion like dreams but also kind of the resemblance of a surrealistic movement in his different artworks. Also how Stuart Haygarth shows through his different artworks the beauty and the value of all the different kinds of materials that are attach to the human aspects and the world. My second inspiration was Andy Goldsworthy because of how his work mean something more that a couple of rocks in top of each other, it means more than that and it has a unique and beautiful symbolism behind it. Therefore, I combine both artists thoughts and take out different kinds of ideas that would help to create and develop a piece which could mean and say something more that just a simple sculpture. So by analyzing their works I made out sketches were I was able to come out with something that had both artist inspirations reflected on it.
ART MOVEMENT INSPIRATION
Surrealism
For this piece I got inspired by the art movement of Surrealism. This is because I was able to do connections between the piece of artwork I was making and at the same time other type of characteristics that made the piece more surreal. By this I got the idea of making that kind of structure that I use towards the development and creation of the piece to make it more surrealistic. Also to demonstrate through the piece of artwork the connections that are between our dreams and our own reality. |
Symbolism
For this piece I was inspired by the art movement of symbolism because of all the appearances of fantasy and the meanings behind each of the artwork pieces. Also how in the different works there are secrets and meanings behind them that make each of one of those paintings made in this movement so unique and interesting. By this it got me inspired because in piece there wasn't a really good word of what it was so by using this type of movement, I have the opportunity to make the piece more interesting base on the meaning that I had in mind for the actual piece of artwork, to reflect my idea. |
ARTWORK INSPIRATION
CULTURE INSPIRATION
Brazilian Culture (Gift-giving traditions)
I was able to research more about different types of cultures that for me had kind of a connection between them and my sculpture. It was kind of difficult because of the way I was focusing on to say throughout the piece. So at the end I was inspired by the Brazilian culture because of her different traditions that makes it more special and interesting for me to use it as one of my inspirations to my piece. Also her tradition is the gift-giving, where the people of a family give a diverse type of present to the mother for her strength in birth of her child and to the baby as well for just causing happiness and life. By how life is seen as very special and unique, but also the ffeling that each of the people as the mother went through until the creation of life. So I think that was the things that got me inspired by this culture and her traditions. |
MATERIALS
- Water
- Plastic container (cubes form)
- Fake flowers (made out of plastic and fabric
- Plastic container for water
- Refrigerator (to make sure the water with the flowers froze and ice cubes are form)
- Square glass container ( to pit already made ice cubes into a tower)
SKETCHES
PROCESS
- First I took the water and I put it on a plastic container.
- On a table I took the six containers and also the bag of fake flowers (made out of plastic and fabric)
- I took from the bag of flowers six different types of flowers and put them in the different containers
- I took the plastic container that had the water and poured the water on the plastic container that contain the flowers
- When all the containers were ready, with the water and flowers inside I took each of the containers separately (to make sure the water in the container would not felt down from the plastic container and all the container had the same length of water in them).
- I left the plastic containers inside the freezer for two days to make sure they were solid enough to put them outside and that they could hold each other while they were on the position that I wanted to put them together as my final piece.
- After the two days has pass I took out the plastic containers and put them on a square glass container and I made my way outside to arrange the ice cubes
- When I was outside I was trying to find a place where it would be plane to make sure that while I was doing the structure it wouldn't fall down
- After I put them together I took pictures with my camera through the different changes that the ice structure went through
- During the changes that the ice ( cube) structure went through were to different kinds of weathers and temperatures, as being being in the rain, in the sun, and snow. Also by being in temperatures of almost 15 degrees Fahrenheit low and high as 58 degrees Fahrenheit
- From all this types of changes I was always taking the pictures from those types of changes (in the mornings, in the afternoons, and at night)
- After almost four days that had past, finally the ice structure melt and the flowers could be seen completely on the grass as the structure went away by time
CHALLENGES AND ADVANTAGES
CHALLENGES
At the be beginning of the introduction of the project I did not have an actual idea to begin with the sketches of my ideas. After looking more into different examples and artists that had a connection with the project give kind of an idea but it wasn't so powerful as to inspired me to do it. Later when I had my project ready to develop, I had the plastic containers and I put the six different flowers on the six different containers was kind of a challenge at the beginning. By me beginning to putting the water inside the plastic container with the flowers inside the flower (a fake one) sometimes would just stay on the surface and did not stay neither on the middle or the bottom. Also when I finish pouring the water I way my way to the freezer but it was kind of challenging because of how the door of the freezer would close every time I would come and go with the container full of water. Sometimes water would fall down from the container every time I need it to open the door of the freezer. This was kind of a problem because I wanted that each of the cubes would have the same amount of water in them so it would be easier and to put them together. At the same time, the weather that the ice cubes went through was kind of a challenge for me because the piece wouldn't melt sooner from what expect it to be. So I could take the pictures of the process that the sculpture went through. |
ADVANTAGES
The advantages that I face during the development of the sculpture for mix media was that after ( a kind long thinking) of what I needed to do for this project and the artist inspirations that I was introduce into. Also how I was bale to find the different materials available, as some found objects that I got from what I found around my house and at the same time the objects that I use for the development of the piece ( like the plastic containers that I use to make the ice cubes with water and also the flowers that were inside the ice cube from the sculpture) where some that I bought (plastic square containers). In addition, other type of advantages that I face were that when I got the ice cubes outside, I was able to find a flat surface in the grass. So when I began to put the structure of the sculpture together ( three of the ice cubes on the flat surface of the grass, two ice cubes on the top, and one ice cube in the top of the whole structure), and the sculpture wouldn't felt or shake. Also the weather that occurred the week I made the sculpture outside help to collect more more if the sculpture process in the different kinds of environments. So it was very interesting to see the kind of change the sculpture was going through its process to melt down and let the flowers inside of the ice cubes outside. |
THE MEANING BEHIND MY PIECE
What I wanted to represent through my piece was how beautiful is life, because sometimes life makes us have feel and go through different types of emotions that might hurt us or might give us a total happiness. However, many of those times life is just life and the things that hit us or get us up every morning and the ones that make us more strong, wise, and a better decision maker. By life being the way it is. So in my opinion the way that life is being portrayed us, is by just being so beautiful and unique, because of the things and people that from them we get knowledge, love, and new characteristics of how to enjoy and live our own live better. So at the end when that really big piece of ice wall that separates you from the outside world melts down, from it just life is gonna come out of it, and you will be a new person. As life you have been reborn base of the feeling and the experiences that you were able to go through that makes the person who you are today.
REFLECTION
First of all, base on the presentation given on the introduction of the project I got inspired by some of the artists that had me kind of inspired. However, by looking at the video of another artist in Mr. Chads website I got more inspired by the way this sculpture was portraying his pieces and how wonderful he was talking about his artworks meanings that really inspired me to combine my ideas from his ( Andy Goldsworthy) and the ideas of another artist ( Stuart Haygarth) that I got in mind. Also how by explaining what I wanted to do, to my friends and family, their comment got me inspired to do some changes that let me find the actual form of the sculpture that I was going to elaborate for the project. Also how my dad help me for the development of my ice cubes by giving me his ideas and comments on the materials that would work easier to make the ice cubes and to make the form of them would pretty close to cubes. At the same time, by looking at the different art movements and artworks got me a little push to really develop the structure of the piece and the meanings behind it, that I really wanted to represent through the piece.
RESEARCH
- Mixed Media, Haunch of Venison. (n.d.). Retrieved April 05, 2016, from http://www.theartsdesk.com/visual-arts/mixed-media-haunch-venison
- Leader, J. (n.d.). 11 Unique Birthing Traditions Around The World. Retrieved April 06, 2016, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/04/30/world-birthing-traditions_n_7033790.html