More Thoughts on Display

Does the way a collection of objects is arranged reveal clues about how it will be interpreted by the viewer?

I've been playing around with different configurations for displaying the leaves. I've settled on two different methods. On the shelf of objects, I will arrange a single loose stack of monochromatic leaves. This will draw connections between the methods of working and also aid in connecting family, cultural and historical narratives. The uniformity of color in the leaves suggests consistency and uniformity of identity. The variety of shapes and sizes reference individuality and growth/maturity. This makes it easily acceptable as a family unit.

The crux of this work's content is individual vs. group/cultural identity. That being said, I've determined that displaying the leaves as a continuous row hung along the wall at eye level is most suitable for supporting the content. In this way the viewer must engage each leaf as a unique individual, that varies in color, size, shape and method of making from its neighbor. From a distance, the leaves merge into a line. In this way, unique, differentiating features of each leaf become less evident, establishing a group identity. 

Thoughts on Display

"Sand and stone are Earth's fragmented memory. Each of us, too, is a landscape inscribed by memory and loss." 

-Lauret Savoy

With the semester coming to an end, concerns on how to present my work at the residency in June have come to the fore. Since the beginning of the semester, the systems employed by natural history and anthropological museums to present narratives have informed my work. During this time, I've created objects with the intention of presenting them using methods of display typical of those institutions.

After spending time visiting museums this semester and revisiting images from museums I've been to in the past, my goal is to take a closer look at the language of display. What do I respond to most? What about the presentation warrants that response and why? Does the way a collection is arranged reveal clues about how it will be interpreted by the viewer?

My Tumblr blog has served as an archive for images I've taken of museum displays. Some of my favorites are posted below. I also recently started a Pinterest board to archive images of artist's work that use methods that I find inspiring in terms of display and presentation.

Tellus Science Museum - pedestals at alternating heights

National Center for Civil and Human Rights - interactive image and text display

Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology - tabletop diorama

Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology - Dia de los Muertos cabinet display

Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology - Dia de los Muertos cabinet display (detail)

Harvard Museum of Natural History - covered pedestal display

Harvard Museum of Natural History - tabletop Plexiglas box display

Harvard Museum of Natural History - botanical table display

Harvard Museum of Natural History - botanical diagram displayed above table

Harvard Museum of Natural History - specimen jars illuminated from below

National Museum of the American Indian - combining image and object

National Museum of the American Indian - wall text

Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology - wall display includes objects, diagrams and wall text

Ode to My Younger Self

Drawings

This piece started as a loose set of contour sketches before moving to charcoal. I'm excited to start working on the color studies along with the ones for Charity Ann's form this week.

Landscape Form

As Charity Ann's form began to take shape, I noticed that certain aspects the abstracted landscape became anthropomorphized. This reminded me of the first meeting with my mentor earlier this semester. A question she raised was "where in my body do I find the landscape?" This question and my realization concerning the first form led me to push merging body and landscape even farther in this piece. 

Another step has been added to the process; building an oil clay maquette before starting the armature. It helped me better understand the form, making it easier to build in components. I've been struggling a bit with the armature. Although this form is much more sturdy, efficient with material, and accurate to my drawing than Charity Ann's, the trade off is that it takes much longer to build. The construction method has evolved from loosely formed wire mesh stuffed with newspaper to an aluminum wire contour with the mesh sewn on to create the form. I am also combining this method with  sewn and stuffed burlap components. 

Plaster Relics

The original firefly casts work perfectly with this narrative. I've made several new ones. Three are variation of the original form. A fourth incorporates a mason jar, drawing connections between this series and the firefly jars. I finished off the jars by tea staining their muslin covers. I'm not super enthusiastic about the outcome of the jars, I think the idea needs to be developed further. The new cast objects are made as a single casting and carved instead of combining two separate castings together. My mentor suggested tinting or painting the plaster. My plan for this week is to add color to the existing objects and hopefully to cast a few new ones.

Narrative

I have not written the narrative yet for this body of work. I'll post updates as this develops.

Ode to Charity Ann

In my last post, I mentioned a series of narratives unified through the use of meandering lines. The first of these narratives is that of my fifth great-grandmother, Charity Ann. I've been developing this work through drawings, a two-piece, papier-mache sculpture, plaster casts, and a written narrative. 

Drawings
I started by making several charcoal drawings. My favorite two are posted below and I plan to create a few more as color studies. I was recently inspired by a show of Elio Rodriguez's work that included study drawings. Those drawings helped the viewer see each sculpture differently as well as being beautiful in their own right,

Landscape Form
The papier-mache on the largest of the two forms will be finished today. It will take several days to dry before they can be finished off with color and surface treatment. I've been collecting images of work that I find inspiring in terms of form and surface. While the work dries this week, I will experiment with a set of papier-mache test tiles. In thinking about how I wanted to work with narrative for this series, I looked to artists like Susan Hiller and Gregory Crewdson. I like the ambiguity between fact and fiction in their work. Crewdson's work also contains an otherworldliness that I really respond to. I always look for ways to incorporate my interest in film into my work. A few weeks ago, I had the idea to source color for this series from specific scenes in films that could add narrative and emotive insight into story that I am trying to tell.

Plaster Relics
For each narrative, I plan to make one or more plaster casts of the negative space capturing a gesture made by my own hands. For this work, I've made a couple of maquettes. I'm not entirely convinced that they capture the gesture the way I intended, however creating them gave me a better idea for how to achieve what I'm looking for. If the weather permits the next works in this series will be attempted early this week. 

Narrative
The short narrative that will accompany this work recalls a fictionalized version of an actual event. This memory narrative focuses on the description of a place through the senses. How it will be used is yet to be determined. Posting as wall text, inclusion in a book, and recorded narration are all under consideration.

Meandering Narratives

A meandering line is a rich metaphor. It can refer to a river, stream, road, branch, vein, journey, narrative, or time itself. Up until now, I've used it as a motif in my work to signify one specific place, but I'm discovering it permeates everything. I've been collecting stories of my relatives and ancestors where meandering bodies of water serve as the setting and also play a major role in the narrative.

I started with a set of gesture sketches, one for each narrative. I will create a set of drawings, plaster cast objects, and papier-mache forms to depict each one. I will also write a narration to accompany each collection of works. I'm still considering whether the narration will be recorded or provided in text.

Mentor Meeting Notes

Artists

• Arthur Dove 
• Bryon Kim 
• Isamu Noguchi 
• Leonardo Drew 
• Rose Marie Trockel 
• Dario Robleto 
• Whitfield Lovell 
• Niki de Saint Phalle 

Books
Poetics of Space – Gaston Bachelard

Things to consider

• Personal mapping/archaeology 
• Use of a legend to read a map 
• Keep drawing. The drawings are loose active and expressive. They are also a gift. A method for exploring ideas to add color to 3D objects without experimenting on the work. 
• Get in the habit of making samples. Start to build a library of samples for material, surface, and color. Take detailed notes and include this information with the sample. 
• In regards to the creeks, think about time and sequence 
• Strive for forms that are richly processed (not just one thing) 
• Make everything that comes as an idea, don’t try to make a consistent body of work, edit later 
• Experiment with adding color to plaster works. It might make the work feel more complete and less familiar. 
• In regards to the leaves, the specimen display emphasizes individualism and the content is more loosely implied. The monochromatic stacks are more mysterious. 
• Consider how rigorous I have to be with personal/family content driven choices 
• Where is the line between aesthetic and being faithful to memories? 
• Expand the spectrum of work, include everything from diagrams/maps to objects 
• Pedestals are the most neutral way to view a 3D artwork. Consider frames/pedestals as furniture contextualizing artwork within its time. Experiment with shelves/brackets, cabinets, tables, a set of shelves? 
• Start experimenting with object arrangements. Look to modes of natural history display to start putting these objects together. 
• If each object is one word, what sentence would they make when assembled together?