LAB 01: Object Analysis
Object #1
- Name the object: Aluminum wire Skull
- Describe the object (size, colour, material, handmade, manufactured, etc.):
Roughly lap sized, silver colored and built via hands and pliers
- What is the intended function(s) of the object:
Aluminum wire can be used for electrical wiring, welding or in this case used for artistic purposes
- What is the cultural context of the object?
(What era was it made? Is there a geographical connection? Is there a connection to gender, class, or a culture? Is the object taboo, a banal everyday item, or sacred, etc?)
Aluminum Wire has connections to the Trades (Electricians and Welders) as well as the Arts. The human skull is synonymous across cultures around the world as a symbol of death, whether the object is taboo or not is ones own perception of the symbolism of the human skull.
- Do you have a personal connection to the object?
(Does the object conjure a memory, symbol, or reaction for you on a personal level?)
I have a connection to the object because I made it roughly 2 years ago in a previous class
- Name the ways the object can be manipulated? (Broken, wrapped, filled, burned, stitched, etc.)
The wire can be bent in many ways, can be flattened into any shape, glued or melted
- Mental Associations 1: Name three (3) things/elements that have a commonality or similarity to this object.
-Creativity
-Senescence
-Inspiration
- Mental Associations 2: Name three (3) things/elements that are opposite or in contrast to this object.
-Bordum
– Blooming Life
-hindrance
Object #2
- Name the object: Bowtie
- Describe the object (size, colour, material, handmade, manufactured, etc.):
Palm-sized, cerulean green bowtie manufactured from silk
- What is the intended function(s) of the object:
To tie around the neck to wear formally
- What is the cultural context of the object?
(What era was it made? Is there a geographical connection? Is there a connection to gender, class, or a culture? Is the object taboo, a banal everyday item, or sacred, etc?)
It was made in 2023, there is a connection to formal fashion, the object is not taboo and is not an object for everyday use
- Do you have a personal connection to the object?
(Does the object conjure a memory, symbol, or reaction for you on a personal level?)
The object makes me reminisce upon the recent wedding of my best friend in august
- Name the ways the object can be manipulated? (Broken, wrapped, filled, burned, stitched, etc.)
The item can be ripped apart, burnt, cut and stitched back together
- Mental Associations 1: Name three (3) things/elements that have a commonality or similarity to this object.
-Comfort
-Joy
-Remembrance
- Mental Associations 2: Name three (3) things/elements that are opposite or in contrast to this object.
-Casual Fashion
-Discomfort
-Forgetfulness
Object #3
- Name the object: Wooden Mannequin
- Describe the object (size, colour, material, handmade, manufactured, etc.):
Hand-carved wood, Aluminum rod, brass screws
- What is the intended function(s) of the object:
To use as a pose reference for the human body for drawing
- What is the cultural context of the object?
(What era was it made? Is there a geographical connection? Is there a connection to gender, class, or a culture? Is the object taboo, a banal everyday item, or sacred, etc?)
The item is commonly used by artists to get an exact pose for a reference, there is a large connection to drawing whether it be traditional or digital and is usually never taboo
- Do you have a personal connection to the object?
(Does the object conjure a memory, symbol, or reaction for you on a personal level?)
I have no personal connection to this object as I have never used the item
- Name the ways the object can be manipulated? (Broken, wrapped, filled, burned, stitched, etc.)
It can be burned, unscrewed and moved around via its moveable limbs
- Mental Associations 1: Name three (3) things/elements that have a commonality or similarity to this object.
-Creativity
-Inspiration
-Motivation
- Mental Associations 2: Name three (3) things/elements that are opposite or in contrast to this object.
– Uninspired
-Unimaginative
-Lethargy
Object #4
- Name the object: Roll of Scotch Tape
- Describe the object (size, colour, material, handmade, manufactured, etc.):
Plastic case, metal, and cellophane tape and mass manufactured
- What is the intended function(s) of the object:
For quick temporary repairs, arts and crafts and as an adhesive
- What is the cultural context of the object?
(What era was it made? Is there a geographical connection? Is there a connection to gender, class, or a culture? Is the object taboo, a banal everyday item, or sacred, etc?)
Verry wildly used as a quick fix for broken objects or just plain arts and crafts, and is a rather mundane household object/tool
- Do you have a personal connection to the object?
(Does the object conjure a memory, symbol, or reaction for you on a personal level?)
I used this specific roll of scotch tape to fix my PAL as the laminate began to fall off a year ago
- Name the ways the object can be manipulated? (Broken, wrapped, filled, burned, stitched, etc.)
The plastic shell can be burnt/melted and broken, the tape itself can be folded and ripped apart
- Mental Associations 1: Name three (3) things/elements that have a commonality or similarity to this object.
– Repairs
-Creativity
-Urgency
- Mental Associations 2: Name three (3) things/elements that are opposite or in contrast to this object.
-Destruction
-Unimaginative
-Deferment
Assemblage Stories
-Stupor
O joyous one
Of stupendous stupor
eschew of sobriety
rejoice in celebration
and bask in revelry
-A Birthday to Remember
Miles awakes from his 2 hour Sleep Tindinitus burdens his wooden Cranium, he looks at his wooden torso The words “Happy birthday!” Glued upon him He begins to recollect the memories of the prior night, he equips himself with Wooden risers and brandishes his Plastic weapon as he Prepares for war. A birthday Cake tank bursts into the fray, Miles braces for impact as a Candle is launched from the tanks Саллол He awakes in the midst of silence in the birthday battlefield
-Party like your Dead!
As Percy lifts his Glass towards his undead jaws A Viralent Melody Plays as the liquid flows out of his mandibles A Small Chuckle transforms into loud bellowing laughter He lights up the Candles Petruding out of his skull and Proclaims “Let us drink to the dead!”, he Chuckles as the words leave his jaw.
Collab Questions:
Ideas for assemblage
- Aluminum wire willow tree
- Ceramic hand holding a wire rose
- Aluminum wire Hands paired with ceramic hands
Assemblage:
I played around with a few ideas, few of them seemed a little daunting for me so I had to choose something a little more manageable, my first choice was a ceramic hand that would hold a flower. I found the gesture of a hand to be quite surreal as well as a good option as it was an easy object to make.
Stage 1
The first hand i made had its fingers all break
Second hand was made in response to the first failing
The Aluminum wire i used to stengthen the fingers failed
Stage 2
Stage 3
Project Intent: Senescence
I played around with a few ideas but they all seemed to share the same common theme; the concept of life and death. I had the intent on working fully with wire and then mixing it with another object, however, that was not the main point of the assemblage project so I had to completely scrap that idea (especially because it would take 4 weeks). I had to scale back to something simpler, I had the idea of borrowing the idea of making a ceramic hand from my sculpture class. I wedged the clay at home so I could work at my own pace, but that came at the cost of the stability of the hardened clay which crumbled apart the very next day. There was however a strong message that was created by the hand crumbling away exposing the aluminum wire like exposed bones, this was unintentionally poetic and alluded to the decay of the human body. However I still feel I could have put more effort into how the hand would be displayed, the amazon box was a last-minute choice which I butchered trying to cut off the top parts with scissors. If I were to do this project again I would choose something different than a box to display the hand, possibly a plant pot to go with the soil brimming with growing with grass
Artist research: Brian Jungen
1.
-Brian Jungen was born in Fort Saint John British Columbia in 1970 and is currently working in North Okanagan
– Jungen studied at Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design then studied at Concordia University
– He makes assemblage artwork by recycling consumer goods and turning them into whimsical machinations
2.
– Brian works by gathering average consumer good and reassembling them into unique new items as a contemporary style
– The way he can take normal items into new items as well as turning them into Indigenous culture is an interesting take on consumerism
– He uses many items to make his assemblage work i.e.: used Nike shoes, skeletons and other meaningless items
– The concept for his work seems to meld the world of Indigenous art mixed with consumerist items, this seems like an allegory for his swiss-Dane-zaa heritage.
– His work elicits strong feelings as anti consumerism as well as the feeling surrealism akin to the works of Man Ray
-The artist says that the inspiration for his Nike Shoe Assemblage was from when he went to a museum where he found most Indigenous art to be mythologized, he then seen a pair of Nike sneakers and pondered the significance of the two.
-My only question about his work is how the creator comes up with super complex ideas that merge ideas/concepts/culture on such a grand scale.
5.
-I find his use of everyday mundane items to be quite meaningful in a playful whimsical way, I also can relate to his disdain for consumerism.
6.
-I hope to use more mundane objects in a way to capture the playful way Brian uses everyday items for his work.