Wood: Drawing III

In this assignment I felt that my concept was stronger than my actual final product. I got cut short on time for the project and had to make to with it being dark outside. The assignment was to use wood. Again I tried to make myself use wood in a way that most other people in the class hadn't even thought about using wood. My concept was centered around having imaginary friends when you were younger. They were there and only you could see them and interact with them, you controlled them and what they did. Because everyone has their own imagination there was no wrong way to portray these cutouts. Wood was a medium that allowed me to follow through on this idea I had. It was strong enough to stand in the ground but durable enough for me to cut and shape into my desired forms. I mimicked different poses of children in the wood cutouts and wanted the child to play next to them and interact with the figures, like it was their imaginary friend.

Transparent Layers: Drawing III

This assignment was interesting. It was one of the first assignments that was ambiguous as far as medium or subject to use. Other assignments have been specific to medium like thread and wood but "transparent layers" opens up new mediums and choices in designing. I chose to use transparency sheets. I had a friend pose for me in different areas doing different things. I photographed her, put the pictures into photoshop and erased the background. I printed the figure by itself on the transparency and then had the model hold the transparencies in the places she was before. I wanted to recreate "ordinary" sites that someone would see happening. In the photos though I wanted the viewer to really wonder what they were looking at. Was someone holding a blank transparency or filter or was something printed? Was something completely photoshoped into making the viewer think that no part of it is real? I wanted it to make the viewer stop and think about how they photo they were looking at was constructed and furthering my theme of manipulation.

Thread: Drawing III

For this assignment we had to make drawings using thread. I wanted to make something that no one else would do in class. Not that our class comes up with typical things, but sometimes the most obvious solution is the most boring and unstimulating creatively. I decided to use thread not as my medium or surface. I chose to use it as a tool in the process of these works. My concept was art by nature and things that I had no control over.

Side note: These projects aren't in order on my blog and I can't get them in order.

Anyway, throughout the entire time I was working on these assignments for class a reoccurring theme of me manipulating my work, whether that is me using the assigned material in an unconventional way or with me taking a concept and stretching and pushing boundaries and limits on what can be considered "drawings" with the assigned medium.

For this assignment though I pushed the boundaries and made these drawings that I had no control over, I only manipulated, in a way, how the thread was used for the assignment. I didn't wrap anything with thread or connect things with it. My process involved me going over to a friends house where they have smaller palm trees with palms that hang lower to the ground that I can reach. I tied some thread around the palm and let it hang down to the ground. From there I wrapped a sharpie marker to the end hanging on the ground and placed my paper on a clipboard under that. From there the weather made all the choices in mark making. It was a windy evening that made the marks specific to the day it happened. I am very pleased with how they came out and that I was able to do a mini series of them. I would love to be able to set up a large scale version of one and have it sit for an entire day or longer.

Cardboard: Drawing 3

For this project we had to make 8 drawings using cardboard somehow. I chose to go with using cardboard as my surface to work on. I used laser printer transparencies on an inkjet printer and transferred my images on to the cardboard since the ink didn't adhere to the transparency. Each print has two subjects. One constant and one variable. The constant was an outline of my head in profile which symbolizes me, and my head literally and my thoughts as well, what goes on in my head. The variable is different works of art. They vary between Barbara Kruger and some of my own work. I wanted to convey the concept of my own thoughts and inspirations on my work. I think that Kruger makes amazing works and she has even influenced a few other artists that I look up to like Shepard Fairey. Her work is very impact full and somewhat in-your-face or very direct in accusation to the viewer. In my prints I didn't want them to be about they specific works of hers but more of an awareness that her work is influential to me. Thus why her works are reversed and unreadable looking straight on. I first made 5 square prints and then finished with making 8 fit on rectangle panels.

Masking Tape: Drawing III

The assignment for this project was to use masking tape. On my last critique my professor kept mentioning that she sometimes classifies herself as an artist but doesn't limit herself to one medium. From there she continued to elaborate saying that she was a "visual communicator" I thought that that was an interesting and stimulating idea to think of art as visual. From there I wanted to explore a different way of being an artist. If you can be a visual communicator, could you just as likely be an audio communicator? The previous project was "wrapping" and "diagram" with those I wanted to make a visual spectacle and something that had to be lived in the present. With this masking tape project I recorded the audio from me using the tape in different ways to see what the viewer, or better yet, the listener thought of it.

Erase: Drawing III

This explanation is my erase project.

I got an idea to do a performance piece for this assignment. I wanted to erase my name from the class list in Drawing III at Flagler College. I set out to the registrars office and saw a young lady that I haven't seen working there before. I asked her if she could help me with an art assignment. She gave me an odd look and questioned what it was she could help with that I needed. I explained to her that the assignment I was working on was for a class and we had to "erase." I explained that I needed her to help me erase my name off of the class list, print me out a copy of the students in the class (minus my name) and then place me back on there because I need the credits. She continued to look puzzled. She told me that she couldn't help me with that because there are students names on the list and I can't have that information. I went on asking her if she knew that I could see the students in my class online on the class list. Her story then changed to I couldn't have the list because student I.D. numbers are on there and I am not allowed to have those. Fair enough. I thanked them for the information and went on my way. The next day I talked to some of the professors and got their backing and support. I went back to the registrars office and found the usual lady sitting there. I asked her if she could then help me with an art project. She looked up from her work and asked what it was that she could do. I explained my plan and she began to say something when a rude lady in a back corner office blurted out "We can't do that, someone came in yesterday trying!" I asked even if I get written consent from every classmate to use their numbers on this piece of paper for a project and she said no and couldn't give me an explanation as to why. I did not thank her, and left.

That is my story, my concept fell through and my experience is the performance as to my erase project. My concept got erased and I no longer am possible to make this happen. Even after numerous attempts to the registrars office. A performance work that was of a personal experience, an interaction.

I like the idea of pushing the limits on what art is. Some of you may not want to classify this as art but to me how can you tell someone what they do isn't art.

Maybe this is a new form of art for myself. "Selfish art" possibly? No one else experienced it and it was something I tried for myself, as far as you know I've made this up. It raises another point of can you even be erased?

And here, a photo of what I wanted.