Within a Tree
2ft 9in x 2ft 2in Cardboard and glue February 2022 A global issue has been showcased through the effects on nature. Societies reject conservation efforts, repeatedly rejecting acts of environmentally friendly practices in their lives, creating a norm. Evans’s composition and technique in the cardboard medium inspired my piece. Using recyclable resources to address these issues felt poper. Hamilton’s conceptual aspects inspired me to connect humanity to nature by twisting branches to shift the branch straight into my arm as a wearable sculpture. |
INSPIRATION The main inspiration I used for this project was Katie Martin-Muerer. She is a professor at UWM. a project she introduced was this hybrid hero cardboard project. Her students at the university were also key inspirations. She presented a presentation for us, providing different ideas and techniques. She also provided us with other artists who use cardboard as a medium for their sculpture art. Ann Hamilton’s body object series was very interesting for me; specifically, her Untitled (body object series) #5-bushhead. This piece replaced a part of her and leads the viewer to read into questions about embodiment and sensation. It produces questions about the functionality of the body. These questions and impressions of her sculpture helped lead me to creating my own. I wanted to encapsulate the sensation of this hybrid theme, incorporating a tree with my body, using a part of my body to serve an extraordinary or unusual purpose similar to other works of Ann Hamilton. Aside from Ann Hamilton, Lauren Frances Evans used interesting techniques that inspired my own work. Her use of ripped pieces of cardboard to generate texture in her sculptures gave me ideas as to how I could accomplish texture for the bark of my project. Using the ripped sections of cardboard, she created the texture along with the curvature of the piece. A large piece of cardboard is much more difficult to curve than smaller pieces. This helped me lower my experimentation because her production provided me with the idea of using smaller strips. Another technique of Lauren Frances Evan that I was inspired by was the monochromatic cardboard used. She solely used brown cardboard for this specific piece, Omphaloskepsis. I appreciated this because I felt that it made an almost simplistic look to the overly textured and complex sculpture. This technique looked clean and perfected to me, inspiring me to do the same with my own sculpture. |
PLANNING
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My planning for this project began with idea brainstorming and then design sketches. Looking through different inspirations courtesy of Katie Martin-Muerer, I was assisted in my idea brainstorming. During this phase, I considered whether I wanted to do an alter ego or a hybrid hero, although it was the same project, I saw these to be different. I decided upon a hybrid hero, choosing a tree, combining myself with the tree to create a hybrid with something of significance and importance to me and to everyone. I planned out a first rough draft of my idea to get critiqued by my teacher and an institute professor. This plan was to wrap myself in bark around my waist, legs and arms, smaller branches erupting from my arms and the leaves dangling down. Scraps or purposely cut pieces of cardboard used to create texture of the bark. The sketches to the left were my first planning sketches for this project. I presented this idea and was critiqued, advised to make modifications such as wrapping the trunk around me instead. Using this new advice I was guided by my instructor. This was similar to the first idea, still maintaining the same texture and leaves ideas. From this plan I was then advised to instead create branches and the trunk of the tree to wrap around me, my body, neck, starting at my hips rather than my feet. Twining in front of my chest and then wrapping around my neck and erupting up behind my head. This would incorporate myself into the three opposed to transforming myself into a tree. I created a hybrid of myself and the tree, becoming two separate forms in one figure. |
PROCESS
The beginning of my process was during the first stages of my planning, using the idea that my body would be the trunk of the tree. I stripped a piece of cardboard that was larger than the circumference and height of my torso. I ripped the top layer of the cardboard from a thicker box. This box has a thin layer, corrugated layer, then another thin layer. This type of cardboard is what I used for my entire project. I held this around my torso, not sure how to attach it to other aspects of the project or how to keep it in place while wearing it. After getting it critiqued, I scrapped this idea and began experimenting with other techniques as to how to make a frame of the trunk and branches that would twist around me rather than wrap a top layer around elements of my body
The beginning of my process was during the first stages of my planning, using the idea that my body would be the trunk of the tree. I stripped a piece of cardboard that was larger than the circumference and height of my torso. I ripped the top layer of the cardboard from a thicker box. This box has a thin layer, corrugated layer, then another thin layer. This type of cardboard is what I used for my entire project. I held this around my torso, not sure how to attach it to other aspects of the project or how to keep it in place while wearing it. After getting it critiqued, I scrapped this idea and began experimenting with other techniques as to how to make a frame of the trunk and branches that would twist around me rather than wrap a top layer around elements of my body
I began with simply using strips of cardboard that were cut to my desired length of the circumference of the trunk. I used strips that were no wider than an inch and a half in width, larger at the base of the sculpture and becoming smaller in width towards the tops of the branches. Instead of using a specific technique, I curved the strips into a circular shape, gluing ends of the strip together. I made the ones at the base of the tree to be wider than the ones growing up the trunk, seen on the right.
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I connected these now circle strips together with no less than three connecting strips, much smaller in width. These connectors are what allowed for curvature in the sculpture as a whole. Each one of the connectors were of different lengths to avoid the circular trunk growing straight up. I strived for the organic form of nature and natural trees. I used this same technique to create the branches, seen on the left, and unfinished frame of the branch.
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after finishing the frame of the tree, I began cutting numerous strips of the corrugated cardboard, as long as I could get them and varying in width. i sliced slits through one top layer of the cardboard, specifically in between the bumps of the corrugation. this experimentation allowed for a more perfected curve look. these strips are seen on the right.
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using the strips from above, I began wrapping the frame to reduce the negative space create more strength and stability. i used wider strips for the base of the tree and thinner strips for the top, only covering the majority of the frame, not the entire thing. I did this simply to add support to the frame, I was still planning on covering this with strips that would represent the bark, this meant that this portion of the process, along with the frame, did not have to look perfect or pretty. the important part of this step was to maintain the structure and shape. this step is visualized in the three pictures below.
CRITIQUE
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between Ann Hamilton's piece (top right picture), and my own, there are many similarities. one, for instance, is that we both incorporated our heads into our sculptures. however, as she covered her head with hers, i surrounded my head, allowing my face to still be visible through a hole. we did use different materials to create our artwork, but were still able to conclude with similar themes. the similarities that my own piece and Lauren Francis Evans's piece (bottom right picture) hold is the material, texture technique, and organic form. our themes are very different and not coordinating, however, we were both able to create out sculptures with cardboard, using strips to curve around the figure of the artwork in an organic motion to produce the curved final product. |
REFLECTION
overall, I was fairly happy with the final product. although my planning took a turn and I ended up producing a piece that looked completely different from my first idea, my main message is still able to be produced. I believe that if i had place the cardboard strips that were to resemble the bark of the tree, in a more uniform manner, the final visual would look much neater. along with thins, i believe that I could have been more careful with the glue use. there are some sports where, close up, the glue is visible.
overall, I was fairly happy with the final product. although my planning took a turn and I ended up producing a piece that looked completely different from my first idea, my main message is still able to be produced. I believe that if i had place the cardboard strips that were to resemble the bark of the tree, in a more uniform manner, the final visual would look much neater. along with thins, i believe that I could have been more careful with the glue use. there are some sports where, close up, the glue is visible.
CONNECTION TO THE ACT
1. Clearly explain and describe how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationship between your inspiration upon your artwork
The technique of using different lengths of strips in a semi uniform manner is a direct cause-effect relationship between my own final sculpture and Lauren Frances Evans’s piece. Both of these use the strips to produce the texture over an organic form. The use of incorporating my head more so of the rest of my body into a piece of the environment resembles Ann Hamilton’s work that I was inspired by. Transforming my body into the environment and arousing questions around the functionality.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Ann Hamilton's approach to this topic was to create questions around the embodiment and purpose of function in her work. Turning her head into a piece of the environment connected these questions from the purpose of her function to the purpose of the environment’s function as well.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration
while researching for inspiration, I have discovered that artists can use their own body to contribute to the meaning of their work. this adds new meaning that would not be represented if it was simply the art itself.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspiration research?
the enhancement of the environment and cardboard technique. Ann Hamilton's piece that inspired be assisted me in my search for enhancement of the environment theme where as Lauren Francis Evens helped me find a unique and useful technique to create my project.
5. What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the bases of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
all art can have a sense of ambiguity; sculptures included. this means that there can be multiple different meanings or themes taken from a piece of art depending on the perspective of the viewer. although the artist may mean one thing, others can find a different significance to the piece.
1. Clearly explain and describe how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationship between your inspiration upon your artwork
The technique of using different lengths of strips in a semi uniform manner is a direct cause-effect relationship between my own final sculpture and Lauren Frances Evans’s piece. Both of these use the strips to produce the texture over an organic form. The use of incorporating my head more so of the rest of my body into a piece of the environment resembles Ann Hamilton’s work that I was inspired by. Transforming my body into the environment and arousing questions around the functionality.
2. What is the overall approach (point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Ann Hamilton's approach to this topic was to create questions around the embodiment and purpose of function in her work. Turning her head into a piece of the environment connected these questions from the purpose of her function to the purpose of the environment’s function as well.
3. What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration
while researching for inspiration, I have discovered that artists can use their own body to contribute to the meaning of their work. this adds new meaning that would not be represented if it was simply the art itself.
4. What was the central idea or theme around your inspiration research?
the enhancement of the environment and cardboard technique. Ann Hamilton's piece that inspired be assisted me in my search for enhancement of the environment theme where as Lauren Francis Evens helped me find a unique and useful technique to create my project.
5. What kind of inferences (conclusions reached on the bases of evidence and reasoning) did you make while reading your research?
all art can have a sense of ambiguity; sculptures included. this means that there can be multiple different meanings or themes taken from a piece of art depending on the perspective of the viewer. although the artist may mean one thing, others can find a different significance to the piece.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Mongiovi, Laura. “Ann Hamilton, Artist.” Ann Hamilton, Artist, Blogger, 12 Jan. 2014, foundations3ddesign.blogspot.com/2014/01/ann-hamilton-artist.html.
- Frances Evans, Lauren. “3D Work.” OMPHALOS: Exhibition Statement, 2015, laurenfrancesevans.com/omphalos.
- Mongiovi, Laura. “Ann Hamilton, Artist.” Ann Hamilton, Artist, Blogger, 12 Jan. 2014, foundations3ddesign.blogspot.com/2014/01/ann-hamilton-artist.html.
- Frances Evans, Lauren. “3D Work.” OMPHALOS: Exhibition Statement, 2015, laurenfrancesevans.com/omphalos.