Sculpture Time

Casting - Demo

Because I am muddleheaded and need these pictures to remind me what to do...

Set up container

Breathing in plaster powder is not good for health, so remember to wear a gas mask. (though I don't think we did that... more applicable for when mixing the sand.)

Add water and mix in plaster in incremental amounts until the mix is the texture of pancake mix.

Remember to spray oil / pam? so that the plaster will not stick to the other plaster piece.

splatter some plaster before pouring in the rest.

The result = YAY

Chapter 7 – the art of Lucas Samaras

Lucas Samaras did paintings at first after he graduated from Rutgers University with a major in art, but turned to using different media such as found objects, like many of the artists in his era. He was attracted to the Happening & avant-garde, both of which he took part in. What made him different from other artists was that he explored the theme of selfhood rather than social relevance and connection.
In his installation Room #1, he recreates his own room with things from his personal life, and in the center of it all is a single bed. The author feels that Samara's piece represented the gathering of pieces that makes up a person's identity, which needs to be done before being able to intergrate art and life together. The absence of the human figure emphasises the presence of someone that was there before. Many key symbols in the room such as the bed, where many intimate things take place, and the chair, which in early buddhism represents someone or a ghost who is no longer there, or “a sculpture base from which the real sculpture, the human figure, has escaped”.
This fixation with chairs led him to create more “chair transformations” in 1965 – 1970.using materials ranging from razor blades to wool and flowers, these symbolized the different aspects of human characteristics. Transition from 2 – 3d. For example, the monochrome painting functioned as “diagram of oneness/emptiness/ the void” in the fifties. About 1960, it became predecessor of Minimalist sculpture. Using the monochrome idea, Samara created a monochrome surface on which a nail sticks out toward the audience – instead of inviting people to touch, it is like a defensive armor, an outsider attitude that keeps people at a certain distance. More examples of his works that portray such a quality include pin-covered books & boxes. The author points out that boxes were “like a book” with information about things rather than simply just things itself. Important to flux artists as a break with aesthetic tradition because of its portability, its invitation to be found, and that it bypasses pictorial treatment. However Samara's box works have more in common with Cornell than with the Flux artists. Not about statements against easel painting or representation or the museum. Focus on inside & outside of box, suggesting secrecy & privacy, offering only a peek of its contents. Despite the prickly surface, they still invite the viewer to perhaps open the box, but only if they dare to take the risk – it is a take at crossing boundaries to find out more about the other party.

Casting - Research

Allen Peterson
http://www.allenpeterson.com/artwork/terrain-map-globe/696
Title: Terrain, 2004, cast iron
WIL: the repeating shapes interacting with the environment reminds me of a digital landscape, liek we are entering into a different world.

Artist: PaintMonster
http://paintmonster.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2010-08-12T08%3A00%3A00-07%3A00&max-results=7
title: unknown
WIL: simple shape that is open to different designs! The artist also shows his/her process of casting, which is an interesting read.

Artist: Shelley Curtis
http://www.kellysgalleryatjoseph.com/bronze/bronze_sculpture_tour/bronze_casting_tour.html
WIL: Another artist that shows her process, this time of bronze casting. the smoothness of the form is beautiful.

Artist: Tony Cragg
title: Companion, 2008
http://freeartlondon.wordpress.com/2010/03/16/ (scroll right to the bottom of the page)
WIL: the organic shapes give it the impression of growing, and the treatment of color gives it an airy feel.

Rachel Whiteread - Ghost (Review)

From the video, I learnt that Rachel wanted to make a cast of a room which someone like herself might stay in after coming out from college. Her small exhibition included 4 pieces , which would be found in the actual room and by casting the space of the room, Rachel “mummified the air in the room”.

The challenges she faced was that it took some time to find the grants, space for exhibition, and the room itself for casting, and it was an ambitious project for a young artist like her at the time. She was 27, out of college 3-4 yrs, took waitressing and other jobs on the side to support herself at the time, and did not have luxury of being a full time artist.
The experience from her works "closet" & "torso" helped her know the steps involved in casting large objects. Other artists that she looked at for 3-dimensional ideas include Ashley Veneer , Francesco Pierre paintings. how to piece the component parts together, perspective,
window, door, fireplace key element places, had to be cast in a certain way in order to be retrieved from the actual room

having no water, no electricity, she had to borrow these from the neighbor. As she had no car, she used a bike to transport materials like plaster. Despite the inconveniences she still enjoyed the process.

had to make false, flat foundation, the height of the room was inconsistent
flick plaster on wall, using hesiant in place, built 2-3inches
metal framework inside the plaster
when making the piece, the walls n room were made from plaster n glass, horse hair very old plaster, the walls were falling apart, fragile environment to cast
had to consistently repair the room while making the piece, can be seen in actual casting

go to studio spent 6 weeks on frame work
saw the light shining on door n light switch, eureka moment of the viewer being the wall

man in bristol had been in prison enclosed in a space u can't get out of, reminded him of being inside his pocket.
She felt touched by his thoughts
she thinks pple read all sort of things
piece to do with aura, physical dimension, where we eat, sleep, die, spend our time

Metal - Torch Welding

Kim gives Mike a demo on how to weld. :D

Hey Mike, I think you look really cool with those goggles. :)

Metal - construction

Bending the metal rods to get the exact curves I wanted was challenging. Also, as the round form of the rods make it hard to hold together, I needed a second pair of hands to help me hold it while I used the torch to weld it together.

Now time for the waves! Experimenting with paper a little bit.. I did not want to waste the usage of the metal, even though I had extra. Using Bristol board, I cut a sample shape. At first I was planning to trace the shape exactly, but I found it easier to free-hand the design.

With Mike's help, I learnt how to use the plasma cutter!

The first few tries came out terrible...

... but after switching to the other machine with a better tip, the cuts became much more smooth.

before polishing and after polishing the metal.

note to self: don't wear rubber-soled shoes when dealing with hot metal..

Did not take photos of attaching the waves to the main structure..which was also a struggle because again, due to the round edges of the rods, it was hard to hold together.
It came out alright, and again, I feel that if I had cut one more piece, it would be more complete.
overall, even though it came out quite different from the sketch, the piece turned out pretty well and I was able to utilize many of the workshop's metal tools.