Project 3 - Found Object Assemblage
Before beginning this project, our class visited Westmont's Ridley-Tree Museum and the Sullivan Goss gallery downtown. Both locations currently feature assemblages - Westmont's museum has a retrospective of Tony Askew's work, while Sullivan Goss has a collection of assemblages by local Santa Barbara artists. It was interesting to see Tony Askew's work a second time, as I had already seen the exhibit once before. The first time I didn't really like the exhibit much at all, and I still don't love his art style. However, the second time, I was looking specifically for how he constructed his pieces. More carefully investigating each assemblage in this manner led to a greater appreciation at least for the intentionality in the construction of each piece. The Sullivan Goss exhibit was in the process of being set up, which was super fascinating to see. I liked seeing the range of approaches and final products that all fell under the umbrella of "assemblage."
For my project, I found materials from Alpha Thrift Store. Out of all the things I found, I ended up using three mugs as the primary objects to alter. My original concept was to create a wind chime of sorts out of broken mug pieces. I didn't know if it would be possible to make a functional wind chime, but that was my goal.
I started by breaking the three mugs and separating out an equal amount of ceramic pieces from each one.
I had some difficulty in deciding where and how to display the finished piece. I knew I wanted it to be outside, but I wasn't sure how to hang it, without undue difficulty, at a suitable height for viewing. In the end, I hung it off a piece of wood in a stairwell outside.
I think my assemblage was a success; it functioned practically as a wind chime and made nice clinking sounds in the wind as it slowly spun. The spiral shape and the pattern of broken mug pieces were visually pleasing. The components were sufficiently altered, while still maintaining the core identity of their material.
Overall, the critique went well - classmates commented on the form and process, along with the way it spoke to line in a three-dimensional way. I was pleased with the final result and especially relieved that it didn't fall and that all the pieces stayed intact!
As was mentioned during the critique, I think I could definitely make some improvements in terms of the construction of the frame and the supporting strings attached to it. If I had more time and expertise, I would have liked to make the frame so that each segment was connected to the next on the same flat horizontal plane, as opposed to stacked over each other. The strings also didn't end up looking very good; I hadn't thought through the physics of how the weight distribution of the ceramic pieces would affect the balance of the wood frame. Because of this, the strings ended up pretty wonky to offset the heavier side of the sculpture. I could either re-do the strings entirely, or add more strings to create more of an intentional effect. A last adjustment would be the location. The stairwell worked well enough, but was by necessity temporary. If I were to install this piece for a longer time, I would prefer to have it hanging off the side of a building's outside ceiling/overhang. For this I would need to find a better method of counterbalancing the weight of the sculpture (if it was hanging off a wood piece) and also extend the string so it reached a suitable height.
At the critique, I offered some possible meaning behind my finished assemblage. The altered mugs represent the times my mom and I sit and drink tea and talk about our days, which we did almost every day in my later high school years, and still do when I'm home. The breaking of the mugs and subsequent reconstruction into something new speaks to family relationships and people as a whole. We are all broken people, imperfect and a shadow of what once was. But if we come together, we can be remade into something new; our jagged edges can be wrapped with care, emphasized, and made beautiful as a part of a larger whole. The broken pieces of the mug can never again regain the form they once had, but their brokenness does not preclude the creation of a new and unexpected beauty in their unique imperfections.
For my project, I found materials from Alpha Thrift Store. Out of all the things I found, I ended up using three mugs as the primary objects to alter. My original concept was to create a wind chime of sorts out of broken mug pieces. I didn't know if it would be possible to make a functional wind chime, but that was my goal.
I started by breaking the three mugs and separating out an equal amount of ceramic pieces from each one.
I then constructed a wooden frame for the pieces to hang from by cutting a wooden dowel into equal lengths and drilling holes on the ends of each section. I used pieces of a wooden skewer to connect the overlapping wood pieces.
I debated for a bit about how to best attach the broken ceramic pieces to the frame; I considered fishing line but it wouldn't cinch tight enough to stay in place. I thought about wire but didn't like how it looked on the pieces. In the end I chose embroidery floss, which I think adds homey and comfortable connotations and provides a contrast to the jagged edges of the ceramic pieces.
I then began tying each piece to the frame using fishing line. I chose this for the durability/strength, along with the fact that the clear color wouldn't interfere visually with the parts of the sculpture I wanted to emphasize. I considered a lot of possibilities for how many pieces to hang and how to arrange them. From the input of a friend, I decided to create a spiral shape instead of just hanging the pieces all from equal lengths.
I had some difficulty in deciding where and how to display the finished piece. I knew I wanted it to be outside, but I wasn't sure how to hang it, without undue difficulty, at a suitable height for viewing. In the end, I hung it off a piece of wood in a stairwell outside.
Overall, the critique went well - classmates commented on the form and process, along with the way it spoke to line in a three-dimensional way. I was pleased with the final result and especially relieved that it didn't fall and that all the pieces stayed intact!
As was mentioned during the critique, I think I could definitely make some improvements in terms of the construction of the frame and the supporting strings attached to it. If I had more time and expertise, I would have liked to make the frame so that each segment was connected to the next on the same flat horizontal plane, as opposed to stacked over each other. The strings also didn't end up looking very good; I hadn't thought through the physics of how the weight distribution of the ceramic pieces would affect the balance of the wood frame. Because of this, the strings ended up pretty wonky to offset the heavier side of the sculpture. I could either re-do the strings entirely, or add more strings to create more of an intentional effect. A last adjustment would be the location. The stairwell worked well enough, but was by necessity temporary. If I were to install this piece for a longer time, I would prefer to have it hanging off the side of a building's outside ceiling/overhang. For this I would need to find a better method of counterbalancing the weight of the sculpture (if it was hanging off a wood piece) and also extend the string so it reached a suitable height.
At the critique, I offered some possible meaning behind my finished assemblage. The altered mugs represent the times my mom and I sit and drink tea and talk about our days, which we did almost every day in my later high school years, and still do when I'm home. The breaking of the mugs and subsequent reconstruction into something new speaks to family relationships and people as a whole. We are all broken people, imperfect and a shadow of what once was. But if we come together, we can be remade into something new; our jagged edges can be wrapped with care, emphasized, and made beautiful as a part of a larger whole. The broken pieces of the mug can never again regain the form they once had, but their brokenness does not preclude the creation of a new and unexpected beauty in their unique imperfections.
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