Room with a View
Claw.
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Meaning
- It captures your attention on land and when you reach the water it give a sense of awe when looking out.
- Create a feeling that they may be getting closed into the structure but relieved once they reach the lake..
- When they see the structure they would be curious. Go inside and make it seem as of the area is getting smaller giving a slight claustrophobic feeling, then it would abruptly open up and they would then feel relieved.
- It relates to the world physically in a way where people would be curious to go inside the sculpture and remember that the path leads to the lake when they reach the end.
- When you get out of the structure, the view of the lake embraces the viewer and relieves them of the small spaced area.
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- Path: the beginning of the structure are taller than the beginning, then it would open up into a small, round room almost and the area would continue on, then open up more revealing the lake.
- Portal: The entrance and exits of the different areas.
- Place: would be the small open area in the middle that is almost closed.
- The different heights and curves look like a claw that seems to be closing
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- The height of the walls decrease the further they get into the structure are important because it's slowly reveals the lake and the view.
- The part that seems like it's closing in is important because it's supposed to give the feeling of almost being closed in but loses intimidation later on.
- The piece flowing over the lake is important because it helps the viewer embrace the lake more by touching it and feel the different movements as they reach the end.
Artist and Inspiration
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Richard Serra is my inspiration for this piece. He is one of the most significant artists of his time and he is known for his large scale sculptures. I chose 'Tilted Arc', 'Snake' and 'Torqued Ellipse' because they all have an aspect I wanted to add into my piece. For 'Tilted Arc' I liked how it blocks the audience from a clear path, making them go around the sculpture and I wanted to demonstrate by almost splitting the beach in half. 'Snake' uses multiple walls, far enough from each other so a person can walk through them and I felt that it gave off a claustrophobic feeling. I wanted my piece to have a similar feeling but not as extreme as his piece. Finally, I didn't want my piece to be just two simple wall. I decided to look at some of his other pieces that have extreme curves and I came across 'Torqued Ellipse.' I like how at first sight, it's seems like there is no entrance but it does. I decided to add something similar by widening the middle but after a while it started to narrow again. Overall, I mainly wanted to focus on the feeling Serra's sculptures give off if I were to walk through them and how I could portray feeling or emotions in my own pieces.
The main goal of my piece was to embrace the ocean. To achieve this, wanted to combine and provoke certain feeling that are later taken away by the sight of the lake. Unfortunately the pieces of wood weren't as flexible as I thought they would be. So I chose to portray these emotions through a claw like shape that still has aspects of Serra's work. |
Planning
There wasn't really much planning to this project. It mainly consisted of playing around with materials until I felt like it would have the audience appreciate the lake once they see it. I used cut outs of paper and small paper stands to place and arrange the different pieces to see what can provoke certain feeling when a person walks through the sculpture. Other than playing around with paper versions of the basswood, I also drew small patterns of what the pieces would look like form a bird's eye view. This was mainly for myself to discover different patterns that I may want to incorporate to my piece. This also played a part during the process since the wood wasn't as bendable as I wanted it to be. So I created some sketches to see if I could create a design similar to my original idea for this piece. In the end I was able to find a placement similar to the original that didn't take all the attention away from the lake, instead it would guide a person towards the lake.
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Process
First, I had to have the right measurements to add the cardboard, which represents the beach, so I place the black cardboard, the ocean, on top of the brown cardboard and drew a straight line for the right width. Using an xacto knife, I cut the brown cardboard following the line. Then I created a curved line on the brown cardboard so that each piece was a different size. Using hot glue, I glued the smaller piece on top of the bigger piece to better represent the beach and it's layers. I then measured the size of each of the different pieces I planned to add on to the cardboard. Using a pencil and metal ruler, I measured in centimeters the sizes on a piece of basswood which was the main material. Then I sketched out lightly on the cardboard where the pieces would stand. After drawing out the placement, I used an xacto knife to carefully create slits for those marks so the basswood could fit and stand.
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Experimentation
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The main part I experimented on with this piece was the placement of the different walls. I had to figure out how I wanted the person to embraced the lake. I started out by using paper on top of a cardboard I didn't cut as smoothly as I wanted it to turn out. I experimented with not only the placement but the different shapes and how not to make so overwhelming that it takes the attention away from the lake. I also had to figure out how to stand the individual pieces since they can't stand by themselves. I used small pieces of paper and created little 'M's to help them stand. Although, they would still be knocked over from time to time, I was able to fix the issue with some glue. When I cut out the first piece of wood and tried to make it into the shape I was going for but it wasn't as flexible as I thought. I tries with several smaller pieces but the smaller they were the less flexible and more block-y. So I decided with alternative that have a similar shape only less curved. This made me come up with the claw like shape that fit with my theme and still helped reach my goal.
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Reflection
This was one of the hardest projects I've done thus far. I had a difficult time coming up with an idea and making this piece. Since I've haven't really done any architectural pieces, it was hard to predict how the materials work and whether or not it would change,. For instance, in the beginning I worked with paper and paper can easily be manipulated into different forms. From the very beginning I wanted to incorporate curves in my piece one way or another but after reaching the final steps, I realized the wood could easily break if it was bent too much. This cause be to have a frustrating time with the piece since I had to change it a couple of times in order for the piece to actually work. Luckily, after experimenting with different glues and the resistance of the wood, I was able to bend the wood enough to create similar curves to my original idea yet not put so much stress onto the piece.
My main inspiration for this piece was Richard Serra and his sculptures. His created his sculptures to draw out a certain emotion from the person who encounters his piece. Similarly, I wanted to create an emotion that would occurring when the person is in the structure but change when they encounter the lake. Serra's pieces are also very simple in a way where the placement and curves are almost uniform within themselves where as my piece the walls are not aligned and each one has a different branch. I felt that this was important to include in my piece since the main goal was to have the viewer not only feel a certain way about the structure like Serra's but it is also supposed to direct their attention the the lake.
My main inspiration for this piece was Richard Serra and his sculptures. His created his sculptures to draw out a certain emotion from the person who encounters his piece. Similarly, I wanted to create an emotion that would occurring when the person is in the structure but change when they encounter the lake. Serra's pieces are also very simple in a way where the placement and curves are almost uniform within themselves where as my piece the walls are not aligned and each one has a different branch. I felt that this was important to include in my piece since the main goal was to have the viewer not only feel a certain way about the structure like Serra's but it is also supposed to direct their attention the the lake.
ACT Questions
1) How are you able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork?
Richard Serra made his art pieces to create a sentiment in the audience. My goal was to create an emotion in the audience when they experience the sculpture.
2) What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author of my research was aiming to inform the reader of what Richard Serra does and his uniqueness. They also praised him for his work.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I discovered that if something, like art, were to trigger negative emotions to more than one person, it can cause an art piece to be taken down.
4) What was the central idea for theme around your inspirational research?
My overall theme is the simplicity. This piece is meant to catch your attention and redirect it to the lake.
5) What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I can infer that Serra's pieces weren't taken seriously out in public compared to in an art gallery. They were seen more as a nuisance than an actual sculpture.
Richard Serra made his art pieces to create a sentiment in the audience. My goal was to create an emotion in the audience when they experience the sculpture.
2) What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The author of my research was aiming to inform the reader of what Richard Serra does and his uniqueness. They also praised him for his work.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I discovered that if something, like art, were to trigger negative emotions to more than one person, it can cause an art piece to be taken down.
4) What was the central idea for theme around your inspirational research?
My overall theme is the simplicity. This piece is meant to catch your attention and redirect it to the lake.
5) What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I can infer that Serra's pieces weren't taken seriously out in public compared to in an art gallery. They were seen more as a nuisance than an actual sculpture.
Bibliography
-"Richard Serra." Richard Serra - Gagosian. Larry Gagosian, n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2017.
-Serra, Richard. Snake. 1994-1997. Weathering steel, three units, each comprised of two conical sections. Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa, n.p
-Serra, Richard. Tilted Arc. 1981. Weathering steel. New York City.
-Serra, Richard. Torqued Ellipse. 1996. Weathering steel. Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa, n.p.
-Serra, Richard. Snake. 1994-1997. Weathering steel, three units, each comprised of two conical sections. Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa, n.p
-Serra, Richard. Tilted Arc. 1981. Weathering steel. New York City.
-Serra, Richard. Torqued Ellipse. 1996. Weathering steel. Guggenheim Bilbao Museoa, n.p.