Destination
Exhibition Text
"Destination"
Rock and Aloe Vera
April 2017
42 cm x 27 cm x 19 cm
This choice piece "Destination" revolves around the theme of healing and harmony. The inspiration came from 'Garden of Stones' by Andy Goldsworthy. The mediums are carefully chosen as symbolism to healing and harmony. 'Destination' explores the idea of living in harmony with our environment which starts with small decisions in our lifestyles. Dalai Lama once said, "Because we all share this planet earth, we have to learn to live in harmony and piece with each other and with nature. This is not just a dream, but a necessity".
Planning Sketches
For this project, I wanted to explore how can message be delivered through the use of natural material. First idea was to have rose planted onto the rock to symbolize romance with a sense of danger given by the thorns. Second idea was to have a cactus planted onto the rock to symbolize endurance. Finally idea was to have an Aloe Vera planted onto the rock to symbolize healing and harmony. I want to explore the idea of trans-generational thinking because I feel that in our modern age, we've lost our long-term goals and instead we work on short-term goals and fix what we can in our life time.
Inspiration
For my choice piece, the inspiration came from Andy Goldsworthy. He is a British artist who work with variety of natural materials to produce unique temporary artwork. He usually work with any materials in nature that he find interesting ranging from snow, ice, leaves, rock, flower, twigs, etc... And before his work is washed away by nature, he captures his artwork with his camera. One of Goldsworthy's works that really inspires me is the Garden of Stones. It is a installation of 18 boulders at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York City created in September of 2003 to dedicate to the memory of those who died in the Holocaust and honoring the survivors. In Hebrew tradition, the number 18 represents life and stones are often placed on graves as a symbol of remembrance. The stones are melted using flame torch method. Goldsworthy then selected Quercus Prinoides , a species of dwarf oak that will grow up to 12 feet tall. The Garden of Stones memorial is a tribute to the hardship, struggle, tenacity, and survival experiences by Holocaust victims. Garden of Stones displays a contrast between ephemeral and timeless, between young and old, and between the unyielding and pliable. It shows how nature comes to survive in unforgiving places. Goldsworthy's work evokes a sense of miracle where nature can survives in uninhabitable places like rocks. I plan to incorporate Goldsworthy's medium into my piece but in a smaller scale and different species of plant. I really admire the metaphors and symbols that Goldsworthy used for the Garden of Stones memorial, but my piece will takes on a different perspective while still utilizing similar medium.
ExperimentationFirst after bringing the rock home, I decided to lay the rocks in different position just to get a feel for the aesthetic potential in different perspectives. I also marked the rock with red color for possible placement of the Aloe Vera. Then I preceded to test out different methods to make a whole on the rock. First, I used a core bit to drill into the rock. This turned out to be unsuccessful because the blade was not sharp enough. Next, I tried to use a sharper twist bit to drill into the rock. However, this method was a slow process with little to no result as the bit failed to penetrate the rock. These bits I have were quite dull, and therefore was impossible to make a deep hole. Finally, I decided to try a traditional method which was to chisel bit by bit to create a hole. Fortunately, this method worked even though it was a slow process. For the final product, I experimented with variety of scene for photographing the piece.
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ProcessFor the rock, I went around parks and lakes to look for a rock that would fit for this project. On my way around South Shore park, I encountered a piece of rock that was right next to a playground. I found it very odd and dangerous for the rock to be there so I decided that it was a good idea to take this rock away from this vicinity. The first thing to do was to wash the rock to clean off the dirt from the park. I used a red color pencil to draw a circle approximately in the center of the rock. For this process, I used a 1” x 8” x ⅞” chisel. The chiseling process was slow because It took about 3 hours to chisel out one centimeter deep with a diameter of about 3 centimeters. Once in awhile, I pour in water to clean out the excess rock being chiseled out. I had to wear earbuds to listen to music and block out the high pitch frequency of the chiseling. The chiseling process took about 5 days with 2-3 hours of work each day. After chiseling the rock to a depth of about 5 centimeters, I got the Aloe Vera ready to be planted. First, I took out the plant to measure its root, which was about 4.5 centimeters. Since the hole on the rock is about 5 centimeters deep, it was good to get planted there. To get the soil to settle down, I pour in some water and repeat with some more soil. Once the soil is solid and the plant is able to stands up on its own, I moved the rock to the photographing site to snap a photo as a final product.
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CritiqueMy choice piece “Destination” shares some similarities with my inspiration from Garden of Stones by Andy Goldsworthy. Similar to my inspiration, I used a rock to plant my Aloe vera. Both of our pieces emphasize on the contrast between ephemeral and timeless, and between the uninhabitable and pliable. However, there are also some differences between my piece and Garden of Stones. Goldsworthy piece is a memorial for the victims of Holocaust. While my piece is just a comment on our state of existence. The rocks in Garden of stones are a symbol in Hebrew tradition that represent life and remembrance, whereas the rock in my piece is a metaphor for mother earth and how she came to nourish life on the uninhabitable. Garden of Stones is a collection of 18 boulders, while my piece focuses on one rock with an Aloe Vera on top. To Compare the techniques, Goldsworthy chose to melt his boulders using flame torch to create a smooth cut into the rocks. However, for my project I did not have the equipments to melt the rock, and my backup method of drilling the rock did not work neither, so I decided to go at the problem with a traditional way which was to chisel the rock bit by bit.
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ReflectionThis project particularly requires several basic tools and techniques into creating. I had to research many ways to create a hole in a rock. One way was to drill the rock and chisel out the rest. Another way to do so is to saw the rock up and chisel the rest out. It is very important that I drill or saw up the rock to make it easier to chisel the rock because then there will be more weak spot which will require less effort and labor. However, my first attempt to drill the rock was unsuccessful because the drill bit was not tough enough to drill through the rock. Chiseling the rock turned out to be a labor. It took more time than I anticipated and a lot of patience because I can only chisel about 20 mm an hour. I also had to worry about the high-pitch noise of the chiseling because I don't want to get complaints from my neighbors. I also got several injuries during the chiseling process by accidentally hammering my hand. Since I bought the Aloe Vera at the same time when I brought the rock home, and the process of chiseling the rock took a long time, therefore it was crucial that the plant is being watered everyday to keep it fresh until the planting day. From this project, I’ve learn many safety precautions for chiseling rock. First, it was very important to wear earplugs or earbuds during chiseling because the high-pitch frequency can damage your ears. Second, it was also important to wear safety goggles because chiseling a rock will have flying pieces of rock and you don’t want those to damage your eyes. Overall, I really enjoyed this project because it taught me patience and determination. If I were to repeat this project, I would try to obtain a boulder instead of a rock.
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Meaning
For my choice piece “Destination”, it takes on the theme of healing and harmony. The earth is about 4.6 billion years old, there were only rocky volcanoes at its early birth. But somehow life came to thrive in this hostile uninhabitable. This give us a sense of miracle in the impossible. It gives us something valuable in something that only happened once and probably will never again. Aloe vera can be used as remedy for skin conditions such as burns, sunburns, frostbite, cold sores and etc… Therefore to me personally, Aloe Vera symbolizes healing and harmony. Since industrialization, there are numerous positive effects that it has upon the world such as bringing interdependence between rural and urban. This allowed the population to flourish because factories have no problem with satisfying demand. However with these benefits come along the aftereffects that are catastrophic not only to our health but also to the environment which is home to many other species. As an aftermath of industrialization, there is more pollution and an increase in global warming. The sad dilemma between other species and ours is that they can survive in harmony within the animal kingdom, while humans destroy other habitats to build their own. Therefore, my piece is a statement of trans-generational thinking on preserving the environment not only for our future generations but also for the other species that are also living on this planet. It is not the things that we do that will save the planet, but it is what we teach our children so that the environmental living style will live on for generations, which will have a greater impact than the temporary things that we're attempting to do today. We have the responsibility as the smartest species on earth because the planet does not need us to go on but we, humans, certainly do need the planet to survive.
Connection to ACT
- My inspiration from Garden of Stones by Andy Goldsworthy has a great impact on my process as I use the medium that Goldsworthy also used for this piece. My materials include a rock and plants. However, my piece is in a smaller scale comparing to Garden of Stones.
- The overall approach Goldsworthy has regarding the topic is to honor the victims of the Holocaust. Many of the symbols of Garden of Stones are from the Hebrew tradition. This piece is sacred to the remembrance of those who survived and those who lost their lives during the horrible event of World War II.
- I’ve discover that rock is a symbolism for remembrance and the number 18 symbolize life. I’ve made a generalization that Hebrew tradition value the idea of remembrance.
- The central theme around my inspirational research is healing and harmony.
- I’ve made an inference that the oak tree that Goldsworthy used to plan on the boulders symbolize endurance and that the memories of those victims in the Holocaust will live on.
Work Cited
- Library, Cornell University. "Cornell University Library Digital Collections." Andy Goldsworthy Garden of Stones - Cornell University Library Digital Collections: Campus Artifacts, Art & Memorabilia. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2017.
- Mohin, Andrea. "Stones Full of Life and Memory." The New York Times. The New York Times, n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2017.
- Goldsworthy, Andy. Passage. Verona: Harry N. Abrams, 2004. Print.
- "Garden of Stones: About the Process." Garden of Stones: About the Process. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2017.
- "About the Garden of Stones at the Museum of Jewish Heritage." About the Garden of Stones at the Museum of Jewish Heritage | Cornell Botanic Gardens. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Mar. 2017.