Outdoor 30 minute installation

For my 30 minute outdoor installation, I was inspired by a previous assignment in Contemporary Drawing Practices, ephemeral marks in the landscape. Using shells found on site, I created a drawing within the landscape. As I was making the drawing in the landscape, people were walking by, intrigued by what I was doing. I really enjoy responding to my environment, and I liked how it was directly related to the environment by using components of it.

Indoor 30 minute installation

Materials Used: Plastic and wire hangers (found object)

For this installation I decided to use an array of hangers to play with the idea of chaos, consumerism and identity. I hung the hangers from the ceiling to create an environment that conveyed a sense of clutter, without the clothes that normally occupy the hangers. Layering is an aspect that shows up a lot in my work, and I enjoyed the layers the hangers created in space. There is a tension between chaos and order that is prevalent throughout my work. Where do they meet?

Spell of the Sensuous #3

"Although contemporary neuroscientists study "synaesthesia" -- the overlap and blending of the senses -- as though it were a rare or pathological experience to which only certain persons are prone, our primordial, preconceptual experience, as Merleau-Ponty makes evident, is inherently synaesthetic. The intertwining of sensory modalities seems unusual to us only to the extent that we have become estranged from our direct experience."
"Nevertheless, we still speak of "cool" or "warm" colors, of "loud" clothing, of "hard" or "brittle" sounds. The speaking body readily transposes qualities from one sensory domain into another, according to a logic we easily understand but cannot easily explain."

I decided to respond to this writing with a watercolor piece that displayed a nose and a mouth. Focusing on color to represent the senses -- smell and taste, I blended blue and red to depict the 'blending of the senses' Abram refers to in the reading. Using "warm" colors, I represented this phenomenon that our senses blend together in ways in which we cannot easily explain. This idea is very intriguing to me, and it was fun to respond to my own senses in my process.

Spell of the Sensuous #2

"The encounter with other perceivers continually assures me that there is more to anything, or to the world than I myself can perceive at any moment." Page 39 

I was given a National Geographic calendar that features your typical landscape image (Similar to your default Mac desktop). I wanted to combine different elements in each months' photo to create my own surreal, idealized landscape. I used layering to bring a few of the images together in order to speak on my perception of the world, and to appreciate my experiences with nature. 

While adding my marks to the calendar, I thought about the juxtaposition of the man-made, structural world and the natural world. It was interesting to think about having a set schedule versus being out in nature with the sun and moon being the only real indicators of time. 

Touch Response

The Hand

In response to this particular chapter, I wanted to portray the importance of hands in regards to the fact that hands are the pinnacle of expressing emotion. Hands are an important part when it comes to displaying emotion and creating almost anything.

Kissing

Watercolor on paper

In response to the chapter on kissing, I wanted to show the mutual sharing and involvement when two people kiss. There is a transfer that occurs between too humans when they kiss.

Masking Tape Shoe

Artist Statement

Making shoes out of masking tape was a project that took several steps to complete. In order to complete this task, I first had to make observations on how the different materials were constructed and fit together in order to assemble the final object. Doing so, I came to realization that I needed to disregard my initial understanding of a shoe. I began to view the shoe as a form I had never seen before. I paid close attention to the various components that joined together in order to create the end product. I enjoyed taking apart and recreating the shoes.

In Process Photos:

Final Solution:

Soap Carving

In Process Photos: