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Tuesday, May 9, 2017

Adriane Colburn, Artist, based in San Francisco and New York













Artist Statement

Over the past several years I have developed a series of installations based on the complex relationship between human infrastructure, earth systems, technology and the natural world. In these projects, large cut paper wall-works are in conversation with manipulated objects, photographs, drawings, video and projected light. 
My installations are extracted from the data, images and video I have collected while participating in scientific expeditions to remote, wild places such as the arctic and amazon. The work reflects on these far-flung environments and the overall state of nature in an age where few stones remain unturned by man. I am particularly interested in romanticized notions of wilderness, the alteration of nature by industry and climate change and the relationships between scientific exploration and exploitation. In participating in these expeditions and generating work from the aftermath, I am reckoning with how our thirst to understand and visualize a landscape can irrevocably disrupt it. 
The large wall-works are made from photographs and drawings that have been transformed through a system of physical removal that results in abstracted images that are informed by voids as much as by positive marks. These fragile and often sprawling constructions are frequently paired with more direct or physically weighty fare in the form of found objects and imagery that points more frankly to the subject matter. At the core of all my work is a fascination with the way that our attempts to make sense of the world around us through maps, data and pictures result in abstractions that are simultaneously informative, formless and utterly ambiguous. 


Marcel Duchamp, Artist



Paris Air
1919

A glass phial filled with genuine Paris air, this Readymade acts as a type of portable souvenir, which Duchamp originally gave to his friend Walter Arensberg. Duchamp had a pharmacist empty the ampoule, which originally contained serum, and then seal it again once air replaced its original contents. Accordingly, (and in typical Duchampian fashion) Duchamp attached a label with "Serum Physiologique" ("Physiological Serum") printed on it (Schwarz 676). As Ramirez explains, in this state Paris Air, unlike most other Readymades, is "extremely fragile" (46).

Image and text from toufait.com.  More to read.  Link here.

Student Blogs, Summer 2017

Wednesday, May 3, 2017

John Quick, Student Work


Final solution for the 3D to 2D assignment. 



Image manipulated in photoshop. One of many steps. 




Original sculpture made with balsa wood, pins and tape. 
approx. 11" x 8" x 3"

John Quick, Student Work


Student Work


Michelle Mallard




Sarah Weisman







Megan Lennon





Lane Weinheimer




Marcus Chan

Caitlin Lopez, Student Work





Going Nowhere
balsa wood, straight pins, wood glue
approx. 2.5" x 5.5" x 2.5"








Glass House
packaging tape, balsa wood, straight pins, masking tape, wood glue
3" x 7.5" x 3"





Stuck...
paper, wood glue, balsa wood
3.5" x 2" x 3.25"





In Process:


My first sculpture focused on rhythm. To achieve this, I glued two long skinny pieces of balsa wood together, and then sanded them once they dried to create a cylindrical form. I then folded my sand paper and sanded grooves that swirled around the form. I laid out straight pins using the grid on my cutting mat and poured a layer of wood glue between them. lastly, after drying, I stuck the shelf or step-like structures along the curving paths made by the grooves. This resulted in a rhythm created by the uneven steps as one spins the sculpture using the pins on either top or bottom. 




With the second sculpture I explore space. I had the idea to create a space that was transparent to the viewer, so that no aspect of the space was closed off from sight. To do this, I chose to use packaging tape for the outer structure, rather than masking tape. The inner dome is another space, that can be viewed from the bottom, and is pierced by straight pins which lift it about 3/4" from the surface that it rests on. I made this using a balsa wood circle that I cut lengthwise, then sanded and put grooves on each and wedged them together. I then added triangles of masking tape and dots of wood glue. I was inspired by some shells that are round with tiny bumps on them. 




My final sculpture emphasizes texture. I started by attempting to create a pulp out of the paper by shredding it into small pieces and soaking it in water for a few days. My plan was to create something soft and cloud-like, however, the paper did not break down in the water. I then decided  to saturate the paper with wood glue to make a sticky paste. I formed a lump with a dent similar to a bowl, and allowed to dry. I then stacked three squares of balsa wood, glued them, and sanded them into a ball, which i placed into the dent. the smooth soft texture of the ball contrasts with the rough hardened texture of the jagged paper to emphasize both. 





Megan Lennon, Student Work





Key Russell, Student Work





Artist Statement
The bandages symbolize keeping emotions together during a relationship and mending after a relationship ends. I posed the model to touch different parts of the body. These body parts are important, as each area is symbolic. The head represents a person thinking logically in a relationship and attempting to rationalize emotions. The heart represents feelings you cannot choose or rationalize. I think the heart is where feelings form even if they are not expected or wanted. The pelvic area represents sexual desire. Covering the chest, head, or torso may allow for the other two to express themselves more openly.


Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Mason Mushinski, Student Work



Heightened Senses is a mock company that sells pocket plushes to help babies sleep. Building off the meaning of my Memento project, this product is made for babies to rub their thumbs over a soft, silk area of fabric. The object is supposed to give babies a sense of security and relaxation in order to fall asleep while building on their sense of touch.

"Touch is the first sense to develop in the womb and is probably the most advanced at birth, says Dr. Yogman. Babies thrive on lots of physical contact, which makes them feel cozy and loved. "More than any other sense, touch ensures bonding between a parent and baby," says Laura Jana, MD, coauthor of Heading Home with Your Newborn: From Birth to Reality."

Source: Carol Sjostrom Miller, Photos Jim Franco. "The World According to Babies." Parents. Parents, 11 June 2015. Web. 24 Apr. 2017.






Memento Project







Memento is centered around a particular memory of my childhood. When I was born, my great grandfather gave me a yellow plush rabbit. The rabbit is made of pale yellow cloth and has silk ears. At about five-years-old I accidentally tore a hole on the rabbit and my mom sewed the hole back together with bright blue thread. The touch I associate with the memory is the rubbing of the silk ears. I was told that as a baby I would rub my thumb on the silk ears in order to fall asleep. 

The memento is constructed of three materials: cloth, silk, and thread. I used the blue thread to sew the yellow cloth together and measured out my own personal thumbprint for the silk. My thumbprint sits atop the piece so that when it is held the thumb naturally sits on the silk. The silk tag was also added in order to show the commercializations of the product which was originally branded with the  "Fisher Price" logo. 



Heather Snyder, Student Work








Title: Scale and Focal Point
Approximate Dimensions: 8" x 8" x 4"
Medium: Paper, Masking Tape, Hot Glue





Title: Repetition
Approximate Dimensions: 8.5" x 9" x 6.5"
Medium: Balsa Wood




Title: Texture
Approximate Dimensions: 6" x 7" x 4.5"
Medium: Balsa Wood, Wood Glue




Process Photos: