Ceramics in a sculptural direction has helped me think of visually translating themes and concepts that apply to my other works. Either in ceramics or sculpture, a three-dimensional piece allows the viewer the observe and interpret meaning. I aim always to let meaning flow and translate from every direction in which the sculptural piece is observed. In regards to finding a meaning, I always think about placement of a piece as if it were part of world, exposed to life and/or death. However, with background in painting, meaning translates differently. Knowing that a painting will just end up a wall, the meaning of the work is self- contained, exposed and observed from one direction to the viewer. Few will disagree about two-dimensional work as self-contained, but in my understanding of working with concepts, three dimensional work has allowed the information gathered from concept become less self-contained. If I were vague to speaking about a painting, I would say that is because I consider myself more a sculptor than a painter. Or if the other way around, I consider myself more a painter than a sculptor. This is rather a result of equalizing the amount of translation contained in both mediums for the viewer to interpret.
In regards to keeping both two and three dimensional tie within a body, my work somewhat renders a story. Each piece containing a story with vague details continuing to the next piece or rather just relating to it. Whatever I couldn't tell in painting, I would attempt tell in sculptural direction in ceramics. Hopefully what I get in doing so is to understand how I can break the self contained barrier I see in two dimensional work, which is simply figures in composition and a simple background.
In a conceptual direction for the ceramics medium, time and identity reoccur less. Birth was in fact a concept that carried the identity theme. This concept was explored during my study in two dimensional works. I found that birth would somewhat build for an audience seeking connection. In general, birth is the starting point in connection, the process involves time and creating value. The direction was influenced by a conversation I had with mother colleague of mine about babies born with harlequin-type ichthyosis. I asked why keep it, give birth to it if you know the child is only given a days of life after birth. She told me that the connection that develops overtime is something a mother would want to keep lasting for as long as it takes. The care a mother would have to give to herself to her child inside creates a value you should not waste. The concept to that idea of giving value to yourself and to everything else your feel is a part of your life is that fear will help you understand the time and value you put in your spirit. For example not knowing the fear of birth is not the pain from giving birth, but the uncertainty of what the child may look like or something worse. If it is something worse, I would assume a mother would feel like a failure to bringing a new life into the world. Even if a child has a few days to live, all the love gathered from the connection before birth can only be given for the few days of life. Overall, I could not explore various translations of the birth concept from what is basically is. Although a few themes about fear and uncertainty managed to carry on in my approach to self-identity.
Identity however, was becoming a tiring concept to render supported by themes involving work-stress, cyberspace addiction, social interaction. The approach pretty much kept me uncertain of how to conceptually tie in a body of work of various mediums. Going back to working in 3-D, my goal is not to waste all that I've gathered from the previous concepts I tried to explore. From what I've collected in the past, blindness, uncertainty, connection, and choice are spiritual elements in which I will render and build upon to tie in my body of work. As of right now, life and death as one is what my concept comes down to. In the most applicable way, life is what a consider a floating boat making it's way through waves. Knowing that it'll eventually sink, the first thing to do not to keep it floating, but to move it to the right direction. Rendering that concept into 3-D, I want to take step back from keeping my imagery straight forward and instead merit the idea of vagueness tying into my concept of life and death. Thinking ahead of future projects, I want to take the narrative of a piece to continue onto other pieces without an ordered sequence. I feel this way it would easily tell an audience that nothing happens with complete certainty. I plan to carry blindness as an element for fear of what might happen, or might not happen. My plan is to create a body work that will speak about what is supposedly in the center of life and death. However, my work usually intends to ask meaningful questions rather than giving a message.
1st one!
ReplyDelete