Art 308: Sculpture Studio

Monica Milstead

Project 4- Intention Statement

I believe that people reorganize and re-accumulate items that they deem precious or important.  Of course, organization automatically implies some sort of importance—time was taken to regard the object and move it into a more satisfying order.  This order implies that it is necessary, and that the person needed to organize these things in order to come back to it later. 

Collections of objects go beyond simply organizing them—it implies that there is a larger body of a single object.  They can at times seem pointless—the objects that are desired aren’t really of use.  Take baseball cards: they function as a symbol of something everybody wants—athleticism, strength, endurance.  But they are pieces of paper stored carefully in protective containers.

Containers, or boxes protect the contents.  It separates them from the rest of the world.  Boxing something highlights the objects inside as something important, but it might not tell why.  Collections of multiple boxes imply that all of the objects contained are related.  This containment also controls, collects, and refocuses the objects inside. 

I have chosen to focus on this aspect of collecting and boxing things in order to play a game between waste and preciousness.  The objects or materials I am collecting and boxing are all by-products: used matches, cleaning rags, charcoal ashes from a grill, and others.  These are items that are cast aside in part of a greater process and not examined closely.  By placing them in hand-made, hand-painted boxes, the by-product is elevated.   There is also a sense of system and ordering, as the boxes are color coded red, yellow, and blue.  Perhaps all of the items in the red boxes are related, or perhaps they beg that question. 

Why elevate something completely useless? Why highlight it?
I intend to place something absurd or unexpected into your consideration, something usually unnoticed or neglected. What makes an object precious to the point of collection and preservation?