2023.27.2- 2023.3.3
In this lesson I need to make pieces using clay.
I want to make models about the final work. So I chose to use white clay so that I could see the shape of the model to the best of my ability.
My final work is related to a snake. I want to make a snake necklace and so far only the body of the snake has been identified using real beads. But neither the shape of the snake’s head nor the proportions of the snake’s body have been decided yet. In the end I decided to use clay to help me make a quick and clear comparison of the image of the snake I wanted to refer to.
I made several different snakes, and the most characteristic parts of the snake, from photographs of the different species I had researched in the previous lesson. For example the full body of a colubrid and the head of a cobra. The full body and pattern of the African viper. The eggs of the snake. Venomous teeth and mouth, etc.
In the end I found the cobra to be the most attractive and so I made the ring with the image of a cobra.
Unlike the cobra, the colubrid is the most smoothly charming and universally appealing snake overall. I used them again for comparison and finally decided to go with the colubrid as the main element first.
I think making models in clay is a very in-depth and quick way of helping myself understand the form I want to compare.
Task：
My work:
This piece is a pearl necklace inspired by the word ‘space’, a derivative of ‘structure’. Through this work, the creator demonstrates his understanding of the relationship between social rules and people, which is variable.
In terms of the internal conception of the work, the rules of society are generally intended to be a mechanism to help people achieve greater benefits, but as time and space change the rules may become more constraining or even harmful to people so that the benefits outweigh the disadvantages. Time and space are almost always changing, so the relationship between people and rules is also constantly changing.
Externally, this ever-changing relationship is like that of a human being and a snake. This was my inspiration for the shape of the necklace, which I wanted to make in the shape of a snake. Snakes are often a source of crisis and constraint for those who don’t know them, and one always associates them with strangling their prey. On the contrary, in some countries, the snake is also depicted in legends as a guardian and protector of the family. This corresponds to the sense of bondage and the benefits and even security that rules bring to people in different spaces and times.
Finally. For the snake necklace, I chose pearls, a material that has been observed to be very versatile in all Jewellery. Pearls are available in long, loose chains or as chockers that fit perfectly around the neck in multiple loops, and many pearl necklaces allow the wearer to adjust the length and the number of layers themselves. This versatility is very much in keeping with the changing relationship I wanted to express.
References/inspirations/influences
This work was influenced by the installation artist Sarah Sze early on in its conception. She is an artist who is constantly exploring the world, while her work is consistently beautifully constructed and rich in her choice of materials. Many of her works can be viewed through different angles and different facets of the piece can be seen. The flexibility and expressiveness of her work have inspired me to want to make work that can be varied and relational.
I will then introduce and analyse it in four points: style, materials, sense of space and ideas.
Style：
Sarah Sze’s style is very special. Her visual art seems to possess a language. She has said that it is a futile quest for fragile wonder. Her work has always been innovative and experimental, ‘Since the late 1990s, Sze has created intricate assemblages of everyday objects that blur the boundaries between ‘Since the late 1990s, Sze has created intricate assemblages of everyday objects that blur the boundaries between painting, sculpture, and architecture.’ Her style is one of constant innovation, using a variety of materials to reconstruct her perception of the world. Through constant experimentation, she seeks to make sense of the world. Materials, ideas, and materials change with experimentation, but only her eternal quest for the truth of the world remains the same. This infinite quest for nothingness gives a vast experience of infinite forward beauty. This is precisely why almost all critics would comment that her work possesses a sense of grandeur. This article will then list the materials Sarah Sze uses to express her sense of space and ideology.
Materials：
The choice of materials is often driven by the artist’s need for expression, and Sarah Sze tends to use a variety of materials and media to express her ideas. Her choice of materials and the way she uses them is quite subtle. As Bruno Latour puts it ‘Sarah Sze gleans objects and images from the worlds both physical and digital.’ She specializes in constantly jumping between the macro and the micro, delicately using complex three-dimensional structures. She therefore always uses a large variety of materials. The almost metallic sphere of “Night today”, for example, is driven by an exploding line of wooden structures reminiscent of the Big Bang. Destruction, creation, kinetic time, and many other words close to the roots of the world. It is like an exploration of the beginning and end of the world, and like an eternal question to the viewer. She is good at making sharp, clear work out of hard stuff. Of course, she is also very good at making complex and ornate works from more soft or not quite firm and not quite soft enough wire. It’s like a space where time and matter are in complete chaos. “Hidden Relief” is just such a piece. It is made using a great variety of materials of different textures. It uses wire, silk, 3D printing technology, acrylic, light, and shadow effects, and so on. It expresses a room that is hidden in chaos with a touch of order. It creates a sense of peeking through various-sized gaps. Because of her rich and diverse forms of expression, her choice of materials is also rich and delicate. In ‘Shorter than the Day’, she uses several photographs of the sky. Many of them have the sun or sunlight in them. Sarah Sze is flexible in her choice of materials, which makes her work even more attractive.
Space：
The subtle sense of space in Sarah Sze’s work has been mentioned by almost all critics. This versatile sense of space allows for the possibility of multiple interpretations of her work. For its works are usually three-dimensional, hollowed-out wholes made of something. It is therefore possible to understand different things through different perspectives. The delicate spatial variations brought about by this beautifully massive structure make this work very complex and worthy of contemplation. Again, the example of ‘shorter than day’ is used. As mentioned above, this work looks like a huge sky. The structure of the metal bars and the photographs of the sky at different times of the day give a visual impression. However, if the distance is increased and the perspective is changed, the result is much different. If one is far enough away, the structure becomes a suspended spherical object, like the earth. The blue sky photo looks like the part of the ocean in the Earth at a distance. Likewise if you get very close, each photograph is still a kind of time period of the sky. If someone, as a viewer, were to look upwards from far to near as the structure rises, they would feel the time of day draining away at the speed of light. The changing structure interprets the work in different ways.
Sarah Sze’s thoughts and everything she shows in her work is informed by her own words – ‘I’m trying to find the moment that feels volatile or live …’ Her work has a constant sense of upward mobility in terms of style, choice of material and structure. The powerful sense of flow that can be felt in her work is very much linked to her ideas.
Thoughts：Sarah Sze’s thoughts and everything she shows in her work is informed by her own words – ‘I’m trying to find the moment that feels volatile or live …’ Her work has a constant sense of upward mobility in terms of style, choice of material and structure. The powerful sense of flow that can be felt in her work is very much linked to her ideas.
Reference：
Ebert, G., 2020. Fundreds of Photos of the New York Sky Are Pinned to a Massive, Spherical Sculpture by Sarah Sze
[WwW Document]. Colossal. URL https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2020/06/ sarah-sze-shorter-than-the-day/
(accessed 2.24.23).
Sarah Sze [Www Document], n.d. . Victoria Miro. URL https:/ /www.victoria-miro.com/artists/ 33-sarah-sze/ (accessed
2.24.23).
Sarah Sze [Www Document], n.d. . Victoria Miro. URL https:/ /www.victoria-miro.com/artists/ 33-sarah-sze/ (accessed
2.24.23).
Sarah Sze, Night into Day [www DocumentJ, n.d. . Fondation Cartier pour I’art contemporain. URL
https://www.fondationcartier.com/en/exhibitions/sarah-sze-1 (accessed 2.24.23).
Williamson, B., n.d. Sarah Sze IWww Document]. URL https://www.studiointernational.com/index.php/sarah-sze-
exhibition-review-victoria-miro-london (accessed 2.24.23).
Reflection：
Viola 