Permanent Sharpie
Exhibition Text
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Planning Sketches and Artist Connection
Inspiration
Experimentation |
Process |
The beginning process involved many experiments with different ideas such as playing with leaves inspired by Andy Goldsworthy, and rock balancing inspired by Michael Grab. I love to play in the park with the natural materials such as leaves, twigs, rocks, and water. First, I collected leaves of different color from a tree in front of my house. To play with the color gradation, I rearranged the leaves from green to red. Then I separated them into smaller pieces and arranged them into a circle. I’ve noticed that there are also cracks on the bark of the trees, so I splitted up the leaves and inserted the pieces into the crack, which created a flow of color up/down the bark. When I visited the park by the creek, there were trees lying dead across the creek, so I placed the leaves onto the bark using water. In another experiment, I broke up the twigs and place them on the water. I used the negative space between the twigs to add in green leaves. Next, I changed the medium to boulders in the creek. I played with the rocks by balancing them. The experiment was enjoyable because It allowed me to be mindful of my body and the rocks that I interacted with. Even though the time it took to balance the rocks was painstaking, it was all worth it once the rocks click in place and stabilize. After I’ve taken an interest in casting a block of concrete, I experimented with the reaction between cement and different materials such as foam, woods, and plastic wrap.
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First, I went to Menards to purchase two bags of cement. Then, I collected various personal items to me such as tennis racquet, shoes, watch, books, trophies, tennis balls, and glasses. I used four planks of wood in various sizes and cardboard boxes to create a cast for the cement. Then, I prepared the cement with an addition of water and started to fill in the bottom on the cast up to about an inch thick. I intentionally left the surface uneven and jagged to create texture, which will be the interior of the cube. The concrete block is then left to dry for 48 hours. After it is dried, I went back to cast the four walls by rotating the cast. The length and thickness were haphazard as if the concrete cube has been breaking down. Next step, I cemented the personal items with an extra layer of concrete. After they dried, I used a hammer and a metal chisel to take out additional positive space within the cube to make it smooth and square. Finally, I painted the inside of the cube with white paint to bring the light in and create an emphasis on the blank white space within the cube. The white hollow space within the cube will be a symbol and contrast to the grey cement on the outside. For a final product, I took the cubes to a park, balanced them on a bridge, and photographed the piece.
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Critique |
Reflection |
The abstract structure incorporated with rock balancing Permanent Sharpie shares some similarities and differences with my inspiration from Wabi-Sabi by Michael Grab and Stack by Tony Cragg. Similar to Wabi-Sabi, Permanent Sharpie is a balance structure between three concrete blocks. They can both be described as ephemeral and fragile to natural elements such as wind and storm that have the capability to knock down the structure. Permanent Sharpie is also similar to Stack because there are miscellaneous personal items embedded within the structure similar to the compression of miscellaneous items in Stack. My piece is also inspired by the cube shape of Stack. However, there are many differences between Permanent Sharpie and my inspirations as well. Instead of a compressed cube like Stack, my piece is hollow inside the cube which is painted white to emphasize the negative space. The medium between Permanent Sharpie and Wabi-Sabi is also different. I used homemade concrete blocks to balance on each other, whereas Michael Grab used found rocks in an abandoned building. The process of Wabi-Sabi could be described as therapeutic, whereas Permanent Sharpie explores on the conceptual idea of fragility of our memories. The medium of Stack and Permanent Sharpie are different because I used personal items in my piece, whereas Tony Cragg used various construction materials in Stack.
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I’ve learned many things about the medium and the process from the project of Permanent Sharpie. The interaction with nature during experimentation was enjoyable. It allowed me to learn many things about myself and how to be aware of my surrounding. I’ve noticed my mentality as I kept on adding another rock. It was like gambling because I had nothing to lose and everything to gain. Despite of the enjoying experience playing with the leaves, I thought that the scale of the medium was not grand enough to be a fine artwork. My refined project shifted to a concrete cube structure that would be embedded with personal item. At first when I work with the cement I did not wear gloves, which dried up my skin quickly. I learned to use gloves whenever working with cement. With my first cast, I cracked the cement as I moved it in less than 48 hours. It was also due to the large amount of rocks in the cement mixture. Therefore, I decided to filter out the big rocks so that the cement block would be smoother and contain more cement. With only two cardboard boxes, the process of casting 15 blocks was slow, therefore I went to find more boxes that are of similar size to speed up the process. There were also natural elements that slowed down the drying process such as rain and cloudy days. To solve this, I moved the casts into my porch to let them dry away from possibility of raining. However, this also prolonged the drying process as there is more humidity inside than outside.
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Meaning
Permanent Sharpie is a balanced structure that explores the fragility of memories. The artwork is an existential piece that question our identity when memories become illogical. The essence of our existence requires memories and history that make us who we are. With this project, I’d like to provoke a sense of vulnerability by exposing them to the illogical composition of the materials. The personal items are embedded into the concrete, however it’ll be counter-intuitive as the other halves of these items will not come through the concrete walls. The sunken objects symbolize the fading of our memories. The inside of the cubes contradict reality as they are empty, which is my statement in questioning our memories. The title Permanent Sharpie is a irony by commenting that even permanent sharpie fade on certain materials. The balancing element of these cubes adds a sense of fragility to the cubes that symbolize memories. Permanent Sharpie questions our identities when we reach a certain age that our memories are starting to fade.
ACT Connection
- My piece has a transient quality similar to Michael Grab with his stone balancing because I want to address the fragility of our memories. The cube structure is inspired by Tony Cragg, who works with utilitarian materials to comment on the relationship between humans and natural world.
- Tony Cragg’s works revolve around the conceptualized utilitarian objects. He works to portray the materials in a new perspective that would further his understanding about himself and the world around him. Michael Grab’s works revolve around the transient quality of natural materials. He describes the process as therapeutic and mindful.
- I've made a generalization that the mindful process of rock balancing and its transient quality are similar to the Tibetan Sand mandala. The process is painstaking that could take weeks. In the end, they have a ceremony where they destroy the piece to emphasize on the idea of letting go. Another conclusion I've made about Tony Cragg is that his first profession in biochemistry made an impact on his pursuit in art. The conventional paradigm in the science world sparked his curiosity into the conceptual world that is not always black and white.
- The central theme around my inspirational research is abstract sculpture that comment on our society. I am intrigued by the ephemeral quality of the natural materials which could be incorporated into the fragility of memory.
- I’ve made an inference that stone balancing is a form of meditation as it allows us to be mindful and aware of the world around us. We can learn many things about the physical world and our existence from the painstaking process that requires a great deal of patience. I’ve made an inference that being constrained to the strict paradigm of science had a significant impact on Cragg’s aspiration in exploring about conceptualism.
Work Cited
- Buddhistartnews. “Tibetan monks demonstrate ancient form of Buddhist art and meditation in Bucks County.” Buddhist Art News, 25 Mar. 2011.
- Hall, James. “Tony Cragg and the sculpture wars.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 22 July 2011.
- “Galerie thaddaeus ropac.” Tony Cragg - Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, ropac.net/artist/tony-cragg.
- Tate. “'Stack', Tony Cragg, 1975.” Tate.
- Grab, Michael. “Spring 2016.” Gravity Glue, 14 May 2016.