Advanced Sculpture, 2014

Project 1: Process

Intention Statement & Images

S. Natasha Mercado
ART308
2/24/2014
Intention Statement Process Art

            For this first project regarding Process Art my main goals were to show the systematical process making, repetition, and the natural workings of my materials during a chemical reaction involving whole milk, dishwashing soap, and food coloring. I wanted to show the systematical process done with my hands while also letting the materials interact with one another, freely, to naturally create the final product. In order to capture both the process making and final product I decided to video tape the process using a rectangular screen to focus on the five by four columns. My prime focus throughout the project was to show the combination of hand labor work, as the process starter or “action”, and then to show the “reaction” created by the three main materials (milk, food coloring and soap). Through the video, the audience can visibly see the work of my hands making the same repetitive gestures going from bowl to bowl versus the different natural amorphous shapes and color combinations created by the materials.

            I used the art of repetition by connecting the foam bowls together in order to form one whole piece made up of various parts instead of showing them individually. By making the work be made out of five rows and four columns and repeating my hand movements by following a specific procedure I was able to achieve a repetitive process. The systematic procedure to creating this project was the process of adding one material after the other per foam bowl. I first added the milk, then a few drops of food coloring, and finally a few drops of dish washing soap. I followed this exact procedure with each bowl and then let the materials act afterwards. My goal was to show the audience the materials I was using by placing them within the film barriers next to the four by five columns and use this act of repetition with my hands movements, as my own labor, in order to show exactly what I did to get the final product. To me, the process was the most important part of this sequence because without the repetitive action there would have been no “reaction” created by the materials.

            As I move along the bowls my hand gestures appear to be the same throughout the piece, again portraying this act of repetition. I begin by pouring whole milk onto each bowl by slightly bending my hands and pouring the milk at an angle, then, I would squeeze small bottles of different colored food coloring onto the milk, and lastly, grab the soap and squeeze a couple of drops with one hand. This specific interaction with my materials produced a frequent and repetitive action. I wanted to show the amount of control I had over the piece throughout time and how these repetitive movements with my hands influenced the final product’s direction. I lost complete control of the final product (although I chose what to show the audience at the end with the film) regarding the aesthetics within the work or the “reaction” by letting my materials act naturally with their own chemistry in order to create whatever shapes and color combinations they chose.

            After going over the repetitive procedure of pouring the milk, food coloring, and soap in these foam bowls, I chose to let the organic elements of the materials interact with one another alone in order to create their own final product. By letting the materials interact with one another in that “magic” session at the very end after pouring a couple drops of soap on the bowls and following the same procedure I was able to let the materials in each bowl interact individually by allowing them to have their own characteristics. Although all bowls ended up having different amorphous patterns and mixtures of colors I took control again over the piece by restricting the formation of the overall product with the laid-out pattern of five by four columns. By having this systematical pattern I was able to have each individual final product become part of a whole to make one artwork. I wanted to show the difference between the repetitive hand gestures which were my own controlled movements while following a similar procedure over and over again and, like Tara Donovan, the act of letting your materials flow and work with each other to create the final product. In this case, it was the chemistry behind the milk, food coloring and soap as well as the interaction with the shape of the bowls that created the final product.

             At the end of the video the viewer was not only exposed to the end product each bowl individually created with its contents but s/he was also able to see the product as a whole due to the zooming out onto the screen showing the five by four columns from where I started the whole process. This effect lead me to gain the control back over my piece as to what I wanted the audience to be the last thing they look at –the product as a whole. By using this systematic procedure of showing the materials I was using, placing the bowls in columns, repeating my hand gestures 20 times, and allowing my materials interact freely with one another I was able to show the control held within the piece as well as the “steps” it took me to go from the beginning to the end of the project: what I began with, the actions I took, and the product I ended up with.