Old School
Exhibition Text
Old School
September 2017
Metallic bucket & teapot
Old School is a commentary on the way our society perceives success and how it leaves a void within ourselves. The inspiration came from Fountain and In Advancement of the Broken Arm by Duchamp. The sculpture is an exploration on choices and their connection to the conceptual idea of the piece. The sculpture is created to evoke at sense of emptiness and insufficiency within the audience. The display of the piece is simple yet illogical with an oxidized look to take the quality distraction away for the audience.
Planning Sketches and Artist Connection
Inspiration
ExperimentationTo experiment with the idea of emptiness and insufficiency, I played around with the materials that I have such as a metal cup, a bucket, and a teapot. I experimented with the choices on the placements of these objects by themselves and on each other. My first idea was to hang up the metal cup with a thin metal chain. There is a considerable amount of negative space within the cup. The cup is in mid air leaning almost half as if it is about to pour out some water, however it is reviewed that there is nothing within the cup. With this idea, I played with the feelings of the audience when they look at the piece. Another idea was to place the metal teapot on the right handle of the metal bucket with a metal chain falling out of the spout. This is a juxtaposition between two objects that are made for different purposes to challenge the conventional idea of art. The contrast between the functions of these two objects is important to the conceptual idea of old school. When you use something is that not efficient or fit into the function of something else. Finally, I experimented with oxidizing metal to reduce the light reflection of the shiny metal teapot. I mixed hydrogen peroxide with vinegar, and salt to create an acidic solution and submerge the metal cup into the solution for a couples of minute. The solution did not react with the metal how I anticipated it to be with several attempts, therefore I abandoned the idea to leave the metal in its full coat.
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ProcessFirst, I used a flat screwdriver and a hammer to pry out the handle bars and hook. The circular bucket was deformed after I pried out the handlebars, therefore I bent it back to the circular shape. Next, I made circular line using a blue sharpie as an outline to carve out using a hammer and a flat screwdriver. I intentionally made the hole smaller than the spout diameter so that there is will room for error, and the bucket would fit on the top of the spout. As a component of the conceptual piece and to add weight to the teapot, I added rocks into the teapot and sand to fill in the negative space. However, after the teapot is full it still wasn’t able to support the heavy bucket. To solve this problem, I added water to the pot so that it can settles down into the sand and hopefully weighs down the teapot. Once the teapot is heavy enough so that it could hold the bucket at the top of its spout, I washed the piece so it would be more presentable for photographing. To set up the photographing background, I used large white sketching papers taping to the walls and white lights to eliminate shadows. After the lighting is good to go, I photographed the piece in different angles for process.
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CritiqueI’ve taken Conceptual Art as an inspiration for this project to explore the impact of my choices on the conceptual idea of the piece. Old School shares some similarities with my inspiration Fountain and In Advancement of the Broken Arm by Duchamp. Similar to my inspiration, I focused primarily on the conceptual idea of the piece rather than its quality and aesthetic pleasure. Both of our artworks require in-depth analysis beyond the objects of the piece themselves. The medium is similar between Old School and my inspiration because they are read-made objects. It was intentional to use the ready-made objects and take their functions away to prompt a question. As in my piece, I took the qualities and functions of the teapot and bucket away to challenge the conventional perception of success in our society. There are also differences between my Old School and Duchamp’s work. Duchamp often did nothing to his artworks beside from signing them and displaying them. Whereas in my piece, I combined the teapot and the bucket into one piece and oxidized them to take away their metallic quality. The purpose of Duchamp’s Conceptual Art is to question the definite of art and see how his choices affect the way the audiences perceive his artwork. In contrast, Old School is a commentary about way we look at success in our society that left an empty void within us.
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ReflectionThe experimenting process was the hardest part of this piece because I had to explore the possibilities of putting my concept into a physical sculpture. At first, the conceptual piece was cumbersome when I put the teapot on top of the bucket. Therefore, I decided to combine the two objects into one so that it is easier to digest the idea. One of the challenges that I’ve came across was the glossiness of the metal teapot, which created a burnt spot when photographing. I thought about painting or spraying the metal medium so reduce their light reflection. However, it went against my goal which was to take away from qualities and functions of these objects. If I were to paint the teapot, the meaning of the color of texture would be too conflicting for the audiences. The teapot’s weight was taken into consideration that it is much lighter than the bucket. As a result, I used rocks and sand to fill in the negative space to weigh down the teapot so that it could hold up the bucket. To solve the light reflection of the metallic teapot, I decided to oxidize the teapot and the bucket to further take away their values and qualities. This would also allow it to be easier to photograph the piece without any light reflection into the camera. However, the acidic solution did not reaction the way I anticipated it to, therefore I abandoned the idea and just photograph the piece the way it is. With the placement of the objects, I’ve learned to appreciate the minimalism in conceptual art that seems to be so simple, yet so in-depth.
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Meaning
Old School is a commentary on our society. It explores about the notion of American Dream and how we are raising our younger generations. There are many inventions throughout the course of history such as cars, houses, and cellular devices. However, our outlooks and the way we learn remain conventional in our culture. There is a conflict and tension between our curiosity and neophobia. Therefore, the feeling of emptiness and insufficiency will always remained within our society. The school system remained conventional for centuries that teach students to study for grade instead of mastery. The school system is similar to the way we view American Dream as in that we set out a certain set of criteria for success. The American Dream varies to everyone, however it involves some form of financial stability. In like manner, the school system set a strict criteria for a successful exam. With Old School, I want to challenge the routine within our society to redefine success and happiness. It is often a luxury to chase our own dreams because very often we live someone else's dream. The sand within the teapot is an anchor to hold the piece together, however it evokes a feeling of stagnation because of its solid property in a liquid container. Similarly, we live in this world to look for purpose, but it is often the responsibilities and obligations that hold us down and create a stagnation, thus preventing us to expressing who we are inside. The combination of two objects used in different functions challenge our neophobia and creativity. It evokes a sense of revolution on the fixed-mindset of our society to explore other ways for fulfillment.
Connection to ACT
- The inspiration has a significant impact on my artwork as shown through the abstract and conceptual style. Similar to conceptual art, I’ve taken the functions of the materials away to show the audience a new way to look at the world.
- Duchamp focuses solely on the ideas rather than the “retinal pleasure”. He wants to challenge the question of what is art. By taking the utilitarian objects and put them into different roles, he invites the audience to think.
- In my inspiration research, I’ve made a generalization that in conceptual art founded by Duchamp, the craftsmanship does not matter because the purpose is to have the audience wonder and intellectually approach the artwork.
- The central theme to my inspiration research is conceptual art. In abstract conceptual art, the artists’ choices defy the fixed definition of art.
- During my research, I’ve made an inference that Duchamp signed “R. Mutt 1917” on the fountain because he wants to separate himself from the artwork so that he could humbly listen to the criticism on his work.
Work Cited
- “MoMA Learning.” MoMA | Marcel Duchamp. In Advance of the Broken Arm. August 1964 (Fourth version, after lost original of November 1915), www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/marcel-duchamp-in-advance-of-the-broken-arm-august-1964-fourth-version-after-lost-original-of-november-1915. Accessed 29 Aug. 2017.
- The Art Story Contributors . “Marcel Duchamp Biography, Art, and Analysis of Works.” The Art Story, www.theartstory.org/artist-duchamp-marcel.htm. Accessed 29 Aug. 2017.
- “MoMA Learning.” MoMA | Marcel Duchamp and the Readymade, www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/themes/dada/marcel-duchamp-and-the-readymade. Accessed 29 Aug. 2017.
- Tate. “'Fountain', Marcel Duchamp, 1917, replica 1964.” Tate, www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/duchamp-fountain-t07573. Accessed 29 Aug. 2017.