creationsim

my final project for my three dimensional design class was a project about density. the assignment was to choose a theme; using that theme gather as many objects relating to that theme as possible and randomly assemble them together as if a black hole were sucking it all in creating the most visually dense sculpture possible. the random assemblage of theme related objects was supposed to comment on the theme.

a hoarder by nature this was a difficult project for me to get an idea for. i have almost everything i have acquired through the years, but i did not want to use those things i have saved all these years to just glue together. i did not want to spend a lot of money buying random objects to glue together and essentially throw away. liking origami, i decided i was going to make several origami pieces and glue them together. as i got more into the idea i decided to buy origami paper and dollar bills and create the objects in their natural form. i then thought of my past multiples project with hands and thought hands would be a nice edition to the piece.

the first day we had to work on it in class i had not even thought about it until pulling into the parking lot that morning so i found some paper in my bag and began folding. commenting to everyone on their chosen themes as he walked around the class that day, he seemed to ignore me until about 15 minutes till the end of the class when he makes a comment that i will have twice as much work as everyone else because i will be making my pieces and that i will need at least 100. now the majority of the class had far less then 100 pieces to their projects and as he said had half the work that i had. that did not seem fair but i said okay and assured him i was ready for the challenge. the second day we had class time to work on it we had almost a week in between classes in which we were supposed to be working on it. i had the paper i intended to use bought, a few things folded and lots of unfolded paper to fold in class. i had not had as much done as my teacher felt i should of due to everything being due in all my other classes and this project still running for over a week. i anticipated the weekend to really get this project going. he was not pleased with how little i had finished and i told him i still planned on putting a lot into it and i was going to take advantage of the next weekend. he walked away unpleased.

knowing from the start that he did not seem happy with the idea i stuck with it and put my work in. i came to class pretty satisfied with my project. he walked around grading the projects. he talked to almost every student, touching, turning, really examining and studying each project. when he got to mine he stood behind me just staring, i could feel his eyes burning through my back just judging it and uninterested. he then had us stand in a circle around the room and discuss the successes and failures. when someone brought up my piece he seemed displeased that they discussed it in a positive light, his only comment being "its not the most aesthetic piece of the class" and quickly asking for someone elses thoughts on other pieces.


images of the piece from various different angles.







the person who discussed my piece brought it up in the context of the piece successfully redefining the theme. she noted that origami is traditionally a very delicate, dainty, beautiful art and in this context it is thrown together creating a pile or a mess creating a new context.

while that was not the meaning i had in mind, i easily agreed with what she had to say.
taking art classes has not only encouraged me to explore various media beyond the scope of my normal artistic context, but also the convey and articulate meaning in my artwork, in essence using my art as a voice. i have developed the bad habit of creating and then compiling a meaning that can be conveyed as opposed to using art of convey and idea or message in my mind.

i came to give meaning to this piece as an idea of creation. hands are used to do, make, create; scattered throughout the piece, the "owner" of these hands (in this case the viewer) is doing or creating. origami is a representational art where "the world" can be created in paper. the piece comes to convey that YOU should create the world you want to live in.


not only is this piece intended to convey that message, but i feel that my creation of this piece speaks to that message. it was obvious from day one that this idea was not one the teacher liked yet it followed all the guidelines and i was up for the challenge it presented. i was passionate about my theme and stuck with it. through that, i create my own "world", one fulfilling and satisfying to me, despite the sacrifice of my grade.