UWM: MIXED MEDIA
ALONE
Size: 35.56cm x 35.56cm x 35.56cm Medium: Mixed Media (Glass, Wire, and Tile) Completion: November 2018 Alone uses a wire figure dancer, inspired by Edgar Degas Blue Dancers, to represent my creativity and freedom when I'm left alone. Using a tile, bought from Lowe’s Home Improvement, is meant to convey a sense of security and stability within my own bedroom. Which is inspired by the visual representation of Ann Hamilton’s Ghost A Border Act. The 3 glass walls, cut from Lisbon Storm, Screen & Door, are expressing how easy it is for someone to break down my walls and interrupt my thoughts.
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INSPIRATION
When first looking at Ann Hamilton's, Ghost A Border Act, I felt lonely and emptiness. The reason I felt empty was because there was so much negative space throughout this piece. Not only did the negative space create the feeling of loneliness but, also, because there was nobody in this room, making the room feel dead. The more I looked at this piece the more I started to interpret being alone in a different way. Most people see being alone as a bad thing but imagine being in a room alone, nobody watching. You would feel free and open to do whatever you want because nobody can judge you. That's how I feel when I am in my bedroom, safe and free. Although all someone can do is open my bedroom door and disrupt my thoughts and try and put their input. Since glass is easy to break, I figure, I would be able to represent the thought of someone being able to easily walk into my bedroom through glass walls.
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According to www.aaronartprints.org, Degas wanted to "capture their unique poses in a candid fashion, along with their surrounding and all the elements of the backstage scene. He essentially was painting candid snapshots of dancer". Every time I saw this piece I always thought they were actually dancing. Finding out they were captured when they were getting ready made me connect more to the piece. This perfectly represents how I express the meaning of someone walking in your bedroom and cause your creativeness to drop. These dancers are so free doing their preps but at any moment they can be interrupted by an outsider. I decided to use a dancer in my piece, not only because it connects to the Blue Dances background story, but because dancers move so effortlessly and free. When you're alone in your bedroom you are not trying to put a show on for anyone, making you move effortlessly because there is no pressure of any eyes watching you.
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PLANNING
Since I was little, I remember being told, "there's more fish in the sea.". As we grow older this starts to apply more to our lives. In my sketch the fishing rod would not represent a relationship with anyone in specific but, people in general. There are so many people in the world and we all our a different person, we all have our own ideas and thoughts. I am the ordainment, in the sketch, hanging from the fishing rod. Out of all the people in the world I am only a small percentage of our population. Since everyone is different and we all as a singular are only a small percentage, our thoughts are delicate and fragile. It is like sometimes we are trapped in this ordainment and can fully express our creativeness.
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As we grow older we start to notice and become fearful of being judged. All we want to do is express our feelings and thoughts but most times we get shut down or misinterpreted. I know that for myself I use my room as a way to express myself. The things I hang up, the way I have things organized, or the color I paint my walls. When I'm in my room I feel free, I can do whatever I want with no restrictions. Something strong and solid like a rock could represent the floor. Sometimes people can come in and enjoy what I show off but then eventually they try to give their input about what could be different. This can be expressed through glass walls because they are so easily broken.
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Sometimes I feel like everyone is always trying to see things their way, and not want to be open minded to listening to what others have to say. In this piece I will get a box and only cut one side open, forcing people to see things from my perspective. On the inside of the box I will have a little representation of my bedroom, because I feel as though I can not always express myself through words but through my art. I use my bedroom to hang a lot of my creations or ways that explain who I am as a person. I want the inside of the box to have more negative space because it will leave people craving more. If people crave more then maybe they will start to appreciate people more and listen to their thoughts. I will have my photography inside the box along with fairy lights. My photography is meant to represent how I perceive our world and it gives others a chance to see that. Fairies are delicate and gentle, so I will but those in the box because I feel delicate when showing my thoughts and art work. I will keep a note on the ground made up of all adjectives the explain me. Some of these words I will have made up myself, then I will ask others what they think. This is meant to represent that whenever someone enters my mind they leave an impact in my life. Also after they are able to see how I perceive the world, they become more connected with me and may now have new ways they appreciate me.
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PROCESS
Tile and Glass Room Process
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Wire Figure Process
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EXPERIMENTATION
When I was creating the skeleton for my wire figure, I had never created a skirt before. I tried to make the skirt become one with the legs. By doing this I realized that if I were to put another wire connecting the to ends of the skirt, the legs would not be able to move. Instead of having the middle piece I was left with this. Having a skirt like this would not work because there would not be as much dimension to the the skirt as I wanted.
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Here I had started to make another version of the skirt. Instead of having the skeleton of the skirt symmetrical, I made the thigh disappear and used it to help create the skirt. I did not want the skirt to lay straight across the body, I wanted movement. By bringing the edge of the skirt up I would start to create a flow of where the audiences eyes would look. I was unable to execute this idea because, if I were to use the thigh as the make up of the skirt, once I start wrapping wire around the audience would notice the thigh is missing.
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REFLECTION
Similarities
Differences
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ACT RESPONSES
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
The Blue Dancers were able to inspire me so much that I chose to create a dancer out of my wire to represent the freedom. Along with Ghost A Border Act, the visual ascetic inspired me to create my own interpretation from the piece. These two inspirations together helped create a light and effortlessly looking piece.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Edgar Degas went through a time of painting many dancers. Normally, these dancers would be candid backstage preparing for a performance. Degas was able to capture an effortless moment and make them look as if they were doing their own performance.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture,etc. while you researched your inspiration?
That two pieces of art work can visually look very similar but have two completely different meanings. Inspirations could be completely different and maybe a different medium was used but, how we execute and explain our art is what makes them different.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
My idea is how our bedrooms are our safes spots and being alone is not always a bad thing. You can be creative in how ever you chose but, it's when someone enters our rooms and states their opinions we loose ourselves.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
As artists we all interpret visual art in our own way. Not every piece is meant to represent the fake set up things in the world but, the more raw things in people's lives.
The Blue Dancers were able to inspire me so much that I chose to create a dancer out of my wire to represent the freedom. Along with Ghost A Border Act, the visual ascetic inspired me to create my own interpretation from the piece. These two inspirations together helped create a light and effortlessly looking piece.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Edgar Degas went through a time of painting many dancers. Normally, these dancers would be candid backstage preparing for a performance. Degas was able to capture an effortless moment and make them look as if they were doing their own performance.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture,etc. while you researched your inspiration?
That two pieces of art work can visually look very similar but have two completely different meanings. Inspirations could be completely different and maybe a different medium was used but, how we execute and explain our art is what makes them different.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
My idea is how our bedrooms are our safes spots and being alone is not always a bad thing. You can be creative in how ever you chose but, it's when someone enters our rooms and states their opinions we loose ourselves.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
As artists we all interpret visual art in our own way. Not every piece is meant to represent the fake set up things in the world but, the more raw things in people's lives.
BIBLIOGRAPHY (MLA)
“‘Ghost: a Border Act.’” Art21, art21.org/read/ann-hamilton-ghost-a-border-act/.
Admin. “Blue Dancers by Edgar Degas.” Go to ., 8 June 2016, painting-planet.com/blue-dancers-by-edgar-degas/.
The Yellow Cow by Marc Also Known as Gelbe Kuh, www.aaronartprints.org/degas-bluedancers.php.
Admin. “Blue Dancers by Edgar Degas.” Go to ., 8 June 2016, painting-planet.com/blue-dancers-by-edgar-degas/.
The Yellow Cow by Marc Also Known as Gelbe Kuh, www.aaronartprints.org/degas-bluedancers.php.