Project 3: Altered Cast

Title: “everything I wanted”
Materials: Plaster, Plaster cloth and Clear plastic tubing
Approximate dimensions: 12 x 6 x 3 inches

Preliminary work:

Memory chart:

SM_FA19_Proj2_Memory_Chart

Preliminary Idea:

Images:

Making Process:

Finished piece:

Project 4: Inhabitable Space:

Title: “everything we needed”
Materials: Bristol paper, white embroidery thread
Approximate dimensions: 13 x 16 x 10 inches

Preliminary work:

Proposal:

Fa19_Proj4_InhabPart2_Proposal_Questions (1)

Preliminary ideas:

Images:

Final installation:

Sound accompaniment:

Reflection questions: (for both projects)

1. Write a short poem using any form (including free form) in which you evoke the nature/feelings/character/atmosphere/sensations of the memory you cultivated through the making of your project. Your response here should be creative and specific, with the only guideline being that you should not relate a narrative. Instead of laying out a narrative or timeline, allowing the memory to unfold through phenomena, space, material, embodied experience. Use adjectives, verbs, and nouns from your memory chart and proposal to evoke a sense of embodied experience and a sense of place.

Those are the hands
That find places rarely touched –
With memories cleverly hidden
For so long from so much.

Kind are hands that hear the stories
Words cannot explain,
Daring to soothe the hours and years
Of weariness and pain.

Full of grace those gentle hands
That truly and deeply truss,
For we don’t feel how much it hurts
Until a touch begins to heal us.

2. Part 1:Describe your process of making an alginate body mold and a plaster cast, and explain when and how in that process you altered the cast including how you decided on the gesture, orientation, and alteration process. Explain any material choices you added to the plaster.

To make an alginate body mold, I discovered that it is imperative to have everything prepared or set up before even you even consider combining the alginate mix with water. Once I felt as ready as I possibly could, I began to pour the powder alginate mix into a filled bucket of cold water. It is important to note that the volume of water that you use dictates the size of your mold, so seeing that I needed as much of my arm covered as possible, I opted to use the largest bucket at my disposal – a 5-quart mixing bucket. Typically, I was informed that alginate requires a 1:1 ratio with water. As soon as I started the process of steadily pouring the alginate, I made sure to start a timer set for 8 minutes as there is a limited window to work with this material. Similar to plaster, as I poured and gently stirred with my hand, I made sure not to pat or pack anything down – keeping the alginate fluffy. Had I not followed this step, the mixture would have been too thick. When the mixture resembles the consistency of pancake batter, that is when you know it is ready to leave for a bit. By around 5 minutes, I had my preferred body part (i.e. my, and my classmate Camille’s, hands) plunged into the alginate mixture, trying as hard as possible to remain still. A tip I was told during this little section was to make sure that our hands touch the bottom of the bucket and then slowly rise up to a rested/ desired position. Time is very important, so if the alginate has a bumpy texture then you know that you lost that batch. It does not take too long before the alginate quickly sets around the limb to form the body mold. When the timer went off at 8 minutes, I and my generous assistant Camille were able to slowly wiggle out our hand, with the mold being ready for casting.

For making the plaster cast, the ideal ratio for any plaster mixture is 2 parts plaster of Paris powder to 1 part water. Unlike the process of making an alginate mold, there is no one set time for everything to occur. I just needed to gradually pour water into a bucket full of a powder plaster mix until “dry islands” formed at the top of the container. When this happens, I allowed it to sit for 2-3 minutes, making sure not to stir! Not being able to see much water, any lumps and being left with a homogenous mixture are all indicators that the mixture is ready for the next stage; stirring. Using my hands, I made small movements with my fingers, avoiding any whipping motion in order to decrease the chances of having any air bubbles. When I lifted my hands, and the mixture appears to be similar to the consistency of yogurt or cream, then I poured it into my alginate mold. Usually, the drying time depends on the size of the cast, but for my project, I left mine to dry for a solid hour and a half just to be sure. When set, the cast should feel cold and clammy. That is when I was able to chip away the alginate to reveal the finished plaster cast.

Considering my preliminary idea, I knew I wanted the extra extension of the arms and not only the hands and wrists of my plaster cast. So, using malleable cardboard as a mold, I replicated the shape of my arm and attached it to the wrists of my plaster cast using plaster cloth. Once dry, this enabled me to carefully drill holes a diameter smaller than the clear plastic tubing I bought, and then wrap it around, and eventually insert it to the hand. Therefore creating the “invisible bond” I had envisioned.

3. Part 2: What kind(s) of inhabitable space(s) in the real world inform the inhabitable space you made? Carefully and specifically describe the structure, materials, processes that you used to make your inhabitable space. Describe how these choices contribute to the quality, character, psychological state, sensations, and atmosphere you would like your inhabitable space to evoke from your memory.

I wanted to create an installation that vaguely mimics the look and feel of my childhood bedroom at night. I hoped to add an auditory element that alludes to the soothing lullaby my mom sang to me as she tucked me in. As well as create paper “blankets” or “bedsheets” that include a combination of hard and soft edges. Lighting and the absence of it also played an important role by setting my desired mood and tone of the space – which is one of both peace and harmony as well as sadness and pain.

In terms of materials and processes, I used a combination of slots joints – lightly cutting into the paper using an Olfa knife and fitting each flap into the designated slots to create a seamless connection, sewing – each finished folded piece of paper with white embroidery thread to create the illusion of a single unit despite it actually being made up of multiple pieces, folding – bending and manipulating the cut sheets of bristol paper to create volume and intrigue.

4. Write about two specific ways your work for this project relates to the work of artists we studied for this project, which includes artists from the videos, the readings, and class lectures and make sure to explain the reference you are making beyond obvious formal features.

The first artist, that I was inspired by, was French-American artist Lousie Bourgeois. In particular, her deeply moving hand sculptures. Since the early 1940s, Bourgeois has consistently relied on her own life journey for subject matter and inspiration. Through her unique sculptural works, Bourgeois explores memory, emotion, and strength in the hopes of connecting with viewers on a visceral level. When I was introduced to a few of her plaster hand sculptures, there were so many questions that sprung to mind. Who do they belong to? What or who are they suppose to represent? Why are they cut off? Where are the bodies to which they used to belong? As a viewer, these hands hold each other, tightly. They seem to physically and metaphysically intertwine and grip each other as an attempt to prevent the other from leaving. They reflect our every-day gestures and the infinite tenderness of loving, sharing, giving and exchanging, but can also easily depict agony, anguish, separation, and abandonment as well. All of these observations are what lead me to develop my own hand cast that depicts these similar feelings but in a way that is personal to my experiences.

The second artist served as the main source of reference for the creation of my inhabitable space. Andy Singleton is a paper artist and illustrator based in Wakefield, England. His work is an exploration of the natural and manmade world through intricate paper cuttings, paper sculpture, hand-drawn illustrations, and large-scale installations. I was intrigued by the ways in which he was able to manipulate such a readily available, and usually underrated, material like paper in a way that creates the illusion of volume, depth, and artistry. His technique of using an Olfa knife to cut out organic shapes and openings, in which he later bends or wraps the paper around, is something I tried my hardest to employ and infuse with my own personal style/taste. Seeing as paper artists or sculpturists are not as widely recognized in comparison to artists from other disciplines, I have also included a link to Singleton’s official website for more information: http://andysingleton.co.uk/contact

5. Part 1 and Part 2: Discuss the design elements of mass, texture, and volume and their relationship to each other in your project.

Large, simple forms, such as the folded pieces of bristol paper, could have easily carried a heavy visual weight and appear dotlike, had it not been for the crevices or open spaces in between. In doing so, the exaggerated curves and organic forms convey a sense of buoyancy and lightness. On the flip side, surfaces with complex contours and interaction with their internal and external space (both positive and negative) carry less weight and become more line-like. This can be said for my altered plaster cast which, in relation to the repetitive and free-forming space surrounding it, feels as if it has been reduced to a simpler or more minimal shape. When creating the inhabitable space, I experimented with the idea of filling in or extracting parts of the space, as well as giving the perception that the space within a volume has been filled and therefore the volume contains mass to some degree. The consistently smooth texture of the bristol paper, the tubing and the environment in which the paper structure and cast were placed/displayed in, spur the illusion that even the hand itself is smooth and refined despite it actually having deliberate markings and strokes on its surface.

6. How does the design principle of repetition plays a role in the organization of space or material in your Project?

Elements that I chose to repeat included the following: The folds and connections of the bristol paper (e.g. slot joints, sewing), my chosen materials – bristol paper, the audio file of mom singing, the arrangement of the folded pieces of paper as well as the repeated lighting element – free-standing warm orange lights tucked underneath the paper crevices. Each decision was an attempt to create a cohesive and fluid structure that, along with the visual and auditory accompaniments, will help to evoke a strong response from the audience.

7. Explain how you tailored your inhabitable space to your cast, or how you customized a space specifically for your cast to inhabit (discuss ergonomics, contact points between structure and cast, the relationship between surfaces, the size of the space, and the proportion of negative space to your altered cast).

I chose to use bristol paper not only because I already have it at my disposal but also because it is fairly forgiving in terms of bending and manipulating it to create organic formations. I intend to mimic the look and feel of my worn bedsheets, with the addition of sharp and straight folds and edges as a way to portray my juxtaposing thoughts and feelings on my memory. I think by attempting to loosely wrap the bristol paper around my cast, by tucking or folding or connecting separate pieces together, I was able to visualize the safety and protection of being secluded in my bed as a toddler. In terms of the size of the space in relation to my cast, I am planning on having the inhabitable space be as big, if not larger, than my cast, to suggest a reliance on real-life proportions.

8. Discuss how and wherein the classroom you presented your finished project, and why you chose to display your piece that way.

I chose to display my project on top of a metal table because, when the lights were turned off, the warm orange lighting from the electronic candles I placed in between the paper folds, is reflected off of its surface and therefore creates this ominous but peaceful effect. Besides resting on the metal table, the structure also leaned against a window that had a white curtain drawn, in order to eliminate any distractions and to ensure that the viewer’s sole focus was on the piece/project. Ideally, I hoped that the audience would be able to sit on either side of my cast and loosely reenact the memory for which this project takes inspiration from. The cast and it’s placement somewhat indicated that it is to substitute for the audience’s own hands when they stand beside it but during the presentation, the audience seemed to be more entranced by the audio accompaniment and the alluring lighting. I chose this method of display because I felt that it would directly involve my audience and have them hopefully feeling as if they were a part of the memory, or at least understand the sentiments behind the memory through my point of view.

9. Discuss other important aspects of your project not mentioned above, such as how you delineated interior/exterior space, how you designed a threshold, how energy flows into, through, and out of your piece, how senses besides sight are involved in experiencing your project, how you used light or color, or anything else you wish to discuss.

There is a combination of positive and negative space that is either subtly implied or clearly indicated. This should help to create the illusion of both depth and foreshortening despite there being a limited height and width for my inhabitable space. In terms of color, I chose to use black and white and greyscale as my color palette as a way for me to pay homage to vintage or retro settings (particular in film and media due to lack of technicolor or saturated colors in general) and to allude to the fact that the memory I wish to take inspiration from is a vague memory from my childhood, and is not as complex or as highly developed as more recent memories I have now. Light, more or less, is only going to be visible underneath the paper folds and around the hand-cast, but otherwise, I intended for the classroom to be as dark as possible (suggesting a nighttime setting).

10. To you, what is the most important or exciting aspect of your project or your process for this Project?

What I considered to be the most important or exciting aspect of this project was having the freedom to visually translate and compartmentalize a deeply personal memory of mine into a three-dimensional structure and then a mini installation. Moreover, the challenge of sharing and communicating the abstractness of this particular memory to my peers; who are also developing artists, was to some degree a very enlightening and therapeutic experience. As they viewed and discussed my work, I had the opportunity to learn of the shared vulnerability of the human experience – especially when those who spoke of their reactions or associations of my work, somehow related it to their own great personal and emotional journies.