Dinner and A Movie

 

A Sweet Celebration of Women Digital Photograph Inspired by the movie Grease (1978)

Artist Statement:

This photograph visually communicates ideas about female empowerment and the breakdown of traditional gender roles. In conveying the duality of women and men, I decided to use pink and black fabric as the background on the table setting. Historically, society assigned the color pink to the female gender, enabling a stereotype which was solidified around the 1950s. With this in mind, I thought it was important to incorporate pink, along with light pastries and beauty items, as a means for expressing the empowerment of women. With this concept in mind, I chose to design the layout of the table as if the female side holds more power and confidence by adding an abundance of objects and leaving the male side rather empty. The cracked plate with a flower in the center is meant to symbolize how women can flourish and transcend society’s expectation that they should be polite and girly and maintain a naive attitude about the world. By placing a single empty plate that’s proportionally smaller than the cracked plate, I emphasized how women can and should take up space in the world. Essentially, this choice is meant to communicate the diminishment of the level of control that men have traditionally exerted over women.

Idea #1 for Grease (Canva graphic b/c don't have objects yet)

Idea #2 for Grease (Canva graphic b/c don't have objects yet)

Installation Sketch Post Class Feedback

Experimental Sculpture Collection

Through the Glass Under the Surface Within the Orbit

Sculpture Collection, Full View #2

Through the Glass Balsa Wood, Masking Tape, Clear Packing Tape, Purple & Gold Ink 9.5" x 9.5" x8.5"

Full View #2

Full View #3

Detail

Within the Orbit Balsa Wood, Masking Tape, Wire, Gel Medium, Tracing Paper, String, Hot Glue, Silver Ink 9" x 2" x 9"

Full View #2

Full View #3

Detail

Under the Surface Masking Tape, Wooden Dowels, Wire, Gel Medium, Tracing Paper, Silver Ink 16.5" x 10.5" x 10"

Full View #2

Full View #3

Detail

Reflection Statement:

The non-representational sculpture collection visually communicates the element of line. Through the Glass reveals a pattern with horizontal and vertical lines, Under the Surface is constructed to show negative space using curved lines, and Within the Orbit creates a focal point by means of curved and diagonal lines.

While exploring the materials, I wanted to focus on finding a way to create sculptures that are visually appealing. My primary focus, however, was to allow the sculptures to have a commonality in regard to the materials. Even though the sculptures can be successful standing alone, I wanted the materials to overlap when the sculptures are viewed as a collection. Therefore, wood, masking tape, and ink are used in each sculpture. I decided to include masking tape because I had some remaining from the Masking Tape Shoes assignment at the beginning of the semester. I felt comfortable using this material and felt confident in my ability to utilize it as a formal element in Through the Glass and Under the Surface and as an internal frame in Within the Orbit.

I felt the shape created from wire, gel medium, and tracing paper in Under the Surface was not producing the results I wanted with respect to establishing pattern. That being said, I appreciated the ribs/skeleton look that I made using the wire, so I reassessed my plans and began using this shape as part of my negative space sculpture.

I want to keep exploring wire, gel medium, and tracing paper as I found that constructing forms with these materials was really interesting. I want to learn more about the woodshop since I was a little intimidated by it and didn’t end up incorporating any pieces of wood into my sculptures besides the more easily manipulated balsa wood and wooden dowels. Ultimately, this Experimental Sculpture Collection allowed me to explore how to respond to materials. As someone who typically makes plans and likes to carry them out to completion, the process of creating these pieces enabled me to take risks and stray away from my initial ideas. Making these innovative sculptures exposed me to new ideas such as using ink as a means for adding color and using string in a way that doesn’t make the art look too much like a craft.