Sculpture Studio Spring 2012

Project 1: Process

For my first project, I focused on the process of growth and development.  Through multiple avenues, I wove together different methods of creation into a dialogue concentrating on growth.  I incorporated the use of traditional arts and processes: narrative language, poetic language, manual and repetitive manipulation, and the classic but simple art of book, into the piece.  I hoped that through my choice of material and structure, language and the medium on which we communicate would blend together; both would be seen as integral parts of the growth process

Going into the creation of the piece, I knew I wanted it to focus on a repetitive action, on the mixture of language, and I knew I wanted the action focal point to be centered on the growth of trees.  I understood the most meaningful means of displaying my work to be through book format. The progressive growth of a tree: getting larger page by page, the material taken from a tree now creating a tree, displayed on another structure created from trees—all of these elements built my dialogue of process.  The material is crucial to the piece, but the creation is also in the hands of the material—I manipulated the strips of paper into twists, but the paper could hold its form, or it coul unravel. 

The language aspect of material also plays a major role in the process behind this piece.  Though the poems, short stories, and haiku, were all written out in calligraphy on the paper used for the tree substance, once the paper was stripped and twisted, the words became indecipherable. A letter might be visible here and there, but mostly the creative writing about trees was broken down to black marks and lines.  I intended for the language to be hidden from the viewer.  We know that something was written on the paper, but we do not know what it is.  Just as large Oaks and Willows have their own sets of stories hidden beneath their bark; long winters, summer climbs by neighborhood children, memories of shaded love affairs, my trees have stories written by some of the greatest authors known, and by college students hidden in their creation.  The words of our lives’ experience with trees create the branches and trunk.

The book format was used to create an experience with the viewer that could not be had if I had made separate panels and placed them on a wall.  I wanted the audience to be able to handle the piece—to pick it up, to feel the woven paper, and to turn the pages.  The twists of paper were both woven together to create larger units, as well as woven through the pages of the book, to unify the material and concepts.

Although my concepts were apparent and all contingent on process, the three-dimensionality of the trees did not proportionality relate to the art of the book, or at least the page size used.  While the growth was very visible, and the viewer could easily pick up the piece, the larger trees began to engulf the page and their branches became slightly tangled when the book was closed (to the small extent it could be).  To appease this issue, I could have moved past the traditional book format and created a structure that the viewer would have to walk 360 degrees around.  This structure would still focus on the concept of growth and development, but would remain stationary.  Another possible concern with the piece might be the element of language, or text.  I believe that the text’s strength remains in its hidden appearance, but I am someone who is privileged to the tree’s contents.  Attempting another perspective, I can see how outsiders may not fully appreciate the incorporation of the text without some sort of context. Possible remedies could be a recording of the poetry and narrative, a paper compilation of all of the writing samples, a list of the pages next to the book with the corresponding title of each piece, or even a live reading of the texts incorporated in the trees.  I believe connecting the audience more with the text would give my piece more significance and weight.

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