ARTWORK PROGRESS: artwork installation

Sculptural intention

The intention was to create two low plinths and one human form which are intended to be visual ques to the concept of identity. On one of the plinths is a scale abstracted human form which will be seated. Acting as a que to discuss the external/projected identity. The empty plinth discussing the internal/self identity. This empty spot is an invitation to the viewer to become a participant, in search of their own "self".

The first step was to lay place the two 'plinths' on the ground, and position them so that they were square to the nearby church building, east facing. 

using the 'plinths' as a guide, holes were dug underneath. Deep enough for two layers of brick to be stacked underneath

Bricks were then laid in the holes where the plinths would be sitting. Rapid set post mix was used on the lower layers to create a large plug and the upper layers used rapid set concrete mix, which was used on the figure.

This is the pattern for the bricks underneath the 'plinths' with a half brick filling the corner. This patter was alternatively repeated for multiple layers underneath the 'plinth'

The plinths were then placed ontop of the bricks and concrete. Using a spirit level, tape measure and a timber plank as an additional check the two plinths were leveled and squared against each other. This was allowed to set over night.

The next day the sculpture was moved next to the plinths, a wet mix of rapid set was made and applied to the plinth. And the sculpture was set into place. 

Above is the completed installation, with my 2yr old daughter. She had been 'helping' me install the work and couldnt wait to sit with the 'sitting man'.

ARTIST STATEMENT

2347QCA Interdisciplinary Sculpture 2

Working title

Know that I am

View Fullscreen

Aim of the project

In response to Project 1: The Body, Identity and The self the intention was to discuss the concept of identity. Using the writings of Nick Inman as a starting point in his book, Who on earth are you? (2013), Identity come from two main forms. The self and The perceived self. The self is how you see yourself ( the inside) , The perceived self is how others see you (the outside).

The search for understanding of self is not passive but an active persuit. The approach taken in creating this work is one from gaming. For example in writing, you show not tell and in gaming you take it further, you do not show. You provide the experience for someone instead of showing them the experience. My interest is to provide the opportunity to partake in an experience. The experience I am exploring is the connection to the self and the spiritual/divine.

The intention was to create two low plinths and one human form which were intended to be visual ques to the concept of identity. On one of the plinths is a scale abstracted human form which is seated. Acting as a que to discuss the external and projected identity. The empty plinth discussing the internal/self identity. This empty spot is an invitation to the viewer to become a participant, in connecting with their own "self".

The intention with the human form itself was to to reduce the form down to its basic components. I am interested in the generalities not the particularities of the individual to create that connection to the self.

This piece now acts as a center piece for the kingscliff community gardens, where it is installed, changing the tone of the space. The intended tone being one of peace, contemplation, intimacy, connection and spirituality.

To understand this work, one needs to interact with it. For the purpose of presentation within the university context the intention has been to document the interation between audience and artwork through a series of photographs. These photographs have been displayed via projection through a webart platform which transitions between the photographs.

Theoretical Framework

What is the issue you are addressing in the work?

The issue that is being addressed in the work is one that is raised I the title of the work, Know that I am . And that issue is, 'I am what' ?

There is an unbridgable gap between the intimate self and the rest of the world.The inner self is insubstantial. The outer self really has nothing to do with you at all. The important elements of identiy are inside and are out of reach. This raises many questions as to what you are:

For identity to work, does this mean you must remember who you are. Are you only to be what you recall.

Are you a collection of memories and sensations that are interpreted by your senses ?

Are you truly alone, after all other people cannot hear or see "you".

In the end, Am I alone ?

Is death the end of your life, your identity your everything.

What was the motivation for doing the work?

Understanding and questioning of the self is a question we have been asking ourselves since antiquity.With the biggest question of the self being, are we alone.

It is in those moments of clarity that we get a glimps of that answer. An answer that is unique to the individual.

Studio Methodology

How did you create the work and was process important in its creation and why?

Refer links to creation process …

(brief description of process)

The process of creating the work was constructive, with a planned process.

• Creation of marqette and digital mockups
• Wire armature and mesh
• Concrete application and texturing
• Installation
• Recording process of interaction.
• Preperation for presentation of the recorded interation

For me this process has been important as it acts as an analogue for our building of an external identity. In the way we do our hair, the clothes we choose, our careers, friends etc.

Context

Compare and contrast your work with  two  other practitioners in the field who have similar aims to yours and support your conceptual ideas.

In my research two artists were integral to the resolved work Mariana Abramovic and Alberto Giacometti .

I resonated with the interactive aspect of Mariana Abramovic's a minute of silence and how it explores the relationship between the performer and audience.

I was also interested in the the recording process of the experience for participants and found the film 'the artist is present' which documents the exhibition was particalarly insterested. The sculptural composition and recording process of her work, and of num june pak, greatly influenced the process used to document my own artwork and in the installation. The most notable difference between the works being hers exploring the relationship between performer and audience where as my interests lay between the audience the object and 'the self'.

The other key artistic influence was Alberto Giacometti's Walking man and the stylised male figure, with no individualised aspects that conveys the human condition. I chose to further abstract the human form till I felt that I had reached a minimum of information to convey a 'humaness'.

Conclusion

How is your work performing against your aims and theoretical framework?

Do you have any evidence for this?

At the time of writing this conclusion the work has been installed for almost two weeks. And I have had the luxury of being able to receive feedback and photographically record interactions with the work. 

 The conceptual intention behind the work was successful as responses  to the work were varied and often viseral. Participants projected their own interpretations onto the figure, some seeing a woman others a man, envisioning prayer, meditation, contemplation, rest, connection and peace. . An  unexpected outcome of the work was that after participants had interacted with the work, memories had been stimulated. All participants told me a story afterwards, some from child hood, of their children/partners/siblings. 

ARTWORK PROGRESS: recording of the interaction with the sculpture

Rationale
As interaction with the artwork is the way of understanding the work, this interaction has been documented through photographs. Participants were seater for atleast 1 minute before the photo was taken. Photos were taken over a several day period. The only direction the participants were given was to sit with the sculpture.A program was written specifically for the presentation of the interaction. This post includes the actual slideshow software used to display the interaction of the participants and the unedited photos of the interaction, Photos included in the slideshow have been edited to maintain a general composition and have been compressed to be web friendly.

View Fullscreen

ARTWORK PROGRESS: sculpting with concrete

Rationale
This post covers the process of applying rapid set concrete to the wire mesh and armature. Rapid set concrete hardens in 20mins and cures in 48hours. Making the process of working with it easier and faster but at the same time requiring you to commit to completing the artwork in one session.

Preperation 
Materials required
5 bags of rapid set concrete ( sand and cement mix without gravel, essentially a mortar mix)
trowel
large paint tray for mixing
bucket of water
measuring cup ( for water to concrete ratio)
concreting gloves
dust mask (due to toxicity of rapid set concrete)
large coarse hair paint brush


Step 1: Position the sculpture 
Choose a place that will have shade all day, this will increase you work time on the surface of the concrete. This place will also need access to water and be a place where concrete spillage will not be an issue. You will not have time to clean up during the creation of a large work due to the setting time of the concrete. I chose to create the work on a trolley so that I could move the work for installation afterwards.




Step 2: concrete application
This process will have a rough finish and have to be done as quickly as possible. The intention is to get as much of the wire mesh filled and covered in concrete as fast as possible.
The mix ratio of the rapid set concrete is:
1 part water to 8 parts concrete
This mix will create a concrete that is similar to a soft clay consistancy, it can be molded to a shape and not fall. Note that ratios change with humidity, heat etc. You will need to play with a mix first before attempting a large sculpture.
The concrete is then applied to the mesh from the bottom to the top. filling the legs and hips first so that they are solid then working your way up to the head. then down the arms from the shoulders.
You have to apply the concrete itself with a firm, bottom to top, single application. The finish will be very rough. But that is ok. The concrete will have started to set by the time you cover the entire form which means you can begin surfacing almost immediately.





Step 3: Surfacing
Once you have covered the entire form in concrete, the lower portions of the sculpture will have hardened enough to begin texturing. Using a large (15cm) damp/wet coarse hair brush (hog hair) brush the surface of the lower half of the sculpture and work your way up the form. You will find that the concrete will smooth out as you brush. If there are any major inconsistancies in the form you can add more concrete to the surface and brush out.
Once this basic brushing has been done all over the form, go back over the surface with a soft wet brush. Continue this process until the desired surface texture is achieved.




Pictured below is the method for doing the undercuts of the arm, paper/plastic molds were used.



Step 4: Curing
As soon as the surface has been textured the whole figure needs to be wrapped in plastic for overnight storage. The sculpture cannot be moved or touched for a mimimum of 12 hours. Leave overnight.
The following day unwrap the sculpture, it will still be 'green' (wet). The curing process during the next 12 hours will need to be monitored. Once the concrete begins to dry out it will need to be gently wet down with water once. This will prevent uneven drying and possible cracking. The sculpture will then need to cure over the next 2 days before it can be moved.

RESEARCH: rationale behind presentation method

this post is underconstruction

(image source:  https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Marina_Abramovi%C4%87,_The_Artist_is_Present,_2010_(2).jpg )

Post discussion in week 11:
The dilema of this project is that my work is interactive and site specific, but it also needs to be presented for university assessment. So I must decide wether the work presented is a record of the artwork OR an artwork itself. Not both. To better explain this, taking photos or video of the work and people interacting with it is a document of the work. Where as providing a virtual reality experience of the work is an artwork in itself. And changes the experience and meaning of the work.

in first semester i presented what I understood as the record of the artwork as an artwork. The work was a VR experience .

think about 'the artist is present' ,what is the artwork:

• the video of the participants
• the active participation
• the stills of the participation
• the record of the emotional reaction of the participants

in the documentary titled 'the artist is present' the artist and her publicist deemed that the artworks were the performance, but the recording process of the performance was what most people would experience and limited edition prints of the works were (money) what most galleries and collectors wanted.

ARTWORK PROGRESS armature and wire mesh application

Rationale
The following contains a brief, step by step process of the armature construction for the final sculpture

Rebar frame


Step 1: preperation
Note the table in the top right hand background. On that table is a template of a human figure which uses the dimentions of my own body. These dimentions were marked out onto the steel rebar lengths (10mm thick 5m long) (left side of image) and preperation for cutting with an angle grinder were made.






Step 2: Legs and back
The first two lengths of rebar were bent into shape for the left and right hand leg and lower back. These were then welded together using an arc welder.






Step 3: Head
Two pieces of rebar were bent into the shape of a human head and neck, The previously welded legs were then laid down so the 'spine' was flat on the ground. The head was then welded to the spine




Step 4: Arms
Both the arms were then cut. The lengths were from the shoulder joint to the hand. These lengths were then welded together with an additional piece of rebar added for strength and to increase the welding surface area. (there is the likelihood that someone will sit on the figures lap so the arms need to be capable of taking the weight) These arms are then welded to the spine and to the points of intersection of the legs.



Step 5: Welding the form together
All of the previous welds were spot welds, these were then properly welded in preperation for adding mesh.





Mesh application

Step 1:Preperation
 A roll of 10mm hexagon mesh is laid out over the top of the figire template allowing 7ft of wire
A pair of fine wire cutters was used in this process as well as a roll of 1mm guage wire for tying to the rebar armature





Step 2:
The armature is placed ontop of the mesh and template




Step 3: Mesh application on arms and head
The first application of the mesh is on the arms and head. This was achieved by a cut across the shoulder line of the wire to the neck line and up the inside of the arm.





Step 4:Legs
The mesh is then cut from the base to the groin and wrapped around the legs and molded to shape.




Step 5: Forming
The wire mesh is then molded to the required shape, paying attention to the folds in the legs and shape of the feet.







Step 6: Torso application
Due to the process used the chest cavity is empty at this point. A secondary sheet of wire the total length of the template was cut. This was then folded in half vertically then horizontally twice. Doing this will provide a dense wire form for the concrete to adhere to.





Step 7: Refining the form
once all the wire mesh has been applied to the armature, tie wire is used to attach it to the armature. And the wire is bent to the desired shape.
At this stage it is important to refine the form as much as possible as the concrete will only be 1/2 inch outside the wire mesh when applied.

RESEARCH sculpting with cement

Rationale
The following are videos on how to sculpt with concrete. They include techniques on how to create steel/rebar armatures with mesh exteriors, and methods for mixing concrete to sculpting consistancies. The final video contains instructions on how to finish the surface of a mold based concrete sculpture, but the techniques are still transferable to all concrete based sculpture.

ABOVE: How to mix a concrete design for hand sculpting cement
[video source] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CPJb8BFpxZc

ABOVE: Hand Sculpting Concrete

[video source] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rHAOqgrvAOY

ABOVE: How To Make a Concrete Octopus

[video source] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZ2Fz4VmyVg

ABOVE: Make your own concrete statues - How to fix air bubbles and seams

[video source] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcvgUbHMwcY