“Weather Or Not” is of great interest to Jesse Rasmussen and Casey Hochhalter due to the nature of raw clay forms potentially recording environmental activity. As emerging artists, our work is deeply rooted in capturing the temporal processes of the life and death of natural forms. Rasmussen’s forms incorporate the trompe-l’oeil technique to describe how time affects objects found in nature. His sculptural forms capture the growth process of trees as they twist and gnarl during the trials and tribulations of the life process. These forms capture a moment in the life of a tree that suggests a passage of time and a record of environmental factors.
Similar to this, Hochhalter’s intensely colored, curvilinear sculptures use the language of abstraction to imply both flora and fauna as they are engaged in the dynamic processes of living. These forms are constructed as systems that appear to move, sway, breathe, reach, recoil, deteriorate, grow, or otherwise respond to water, atmosphere, weather, gravity, and sunlight. Both sculptural concepts introduce an imaginary exchange of energy, a fictional interplay that suggests the dynamics between a living being and its environment. These two styles of making are simulations that convey the temporal effects that changing environments have on natural forms. “Weather or Not” will give us the opportunity to make a large scale sculpture that is truly affected by its environment.
As an experienced and compatible duo, our proposal is to construct a wheel thrown and hand built sculpture that combines Hochhalter and Rasmussen’s styles of making. We plan to construct approximately an eight-foot sculpture that alludes to driftwood as a figure interacting with abstractions of flora and fauna. This sculpture will be constructed with a steel skeleton, which will provide support as well as an interior and conceptual dimension if exposed to erosion by the elements. During this forty-eight hour period we will install the skeleton in a chosen location, and set up a temporary tent system for weather prevention during construction. A ceramic wheel will be incorporated to throw parts that will be manipulated and assembled to the steel structure for hand carving and final adjustments. During this time of intense wheel throwing and construction of the project, we will be open to the public for observation and interaction.
Our intention in creating a sculpture that alludes to figurative driftwood interacting with abstractions of flora and fauna is a reminder that humans are deeply connected to the dynamic processes of life and death in nature’s systems. The metal skeleton if revealed by environmental conditions, is intended to comment on human construction as it exists within our environment. The activity of clay slowly falling off and revealing the internal structure becomes part of the installation as a metaphor for life and death in nature’s complex system. This proposed sculpture provides a visual stance connecting the human individual to the environment, thus underscoring the importance for preserving and nurturing the natural world. Through this sculpture we aim to create awareness about the environment as it naturally occurs as a work of art.
Installation site piers 62 & 63 Seattle, WA.
No comments:
Post a Comment