Ambivalence & Hope

Rochester Institute of Technology

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2007

Ambivalence & Hope

Jeremy C. Stipano

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Rochester Institute of

Technology

Athesis submittedto the

faculty

of

The Collegeof

Imaging

Artsand Sciences

In candidacy forthedegreeof

MastersofFine Arts

Ambivalence & Hope

Jeremy

Charles Stipano

Chief

Advi

s

or

Bruce

Sodervick

A

ss

ociate

Advi

s

or

Don Arday

Associate

Advi

sor

Zerbe Sodervick

Associate Advi

so

r

Jessica Li

eberman

Department

Chair

Don Arday

Date

Date

Date

Date

Date

Final Approvals

Bruce

Sodervick

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Don Arday

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Zerbe Sodervick

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Thesis/Dissertation Author Permission Statement

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I understand that I must submit a print copy of my thesis or dissertation to the RIT Archives, per current RIT guidelines for the completion of my degree. I hereby grant to the Rochester Institute of Technology and its agents the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in all forms of media in perpetuity. [ retain ali other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) ali or part of this thesis or dissertation.

Print Reproduction Permission Granted:

I,

Jeremy Sti pano

,

hereby grant perntission to the Rochester Institute Technology to reproduce my print thesis or dissertation in whole or in part. Any reproduction will not be for commercial use or profit.

Signature of Author: _ _

J_e_re_m~y

_

S_t_i.:...p_a_n_o

______

Date:

Print Reproduction Permission Denkd:

I, , hereby deny pennissiQD to the RIT Library of the Rochester Institute of Technology to reproduce my print thesis or dissertation in whole or in part.

Signature of Author: _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Date: _ _ _ _ _

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Electronic Thesis

&

Dissertation (ETD) Archive

L

Jeremy Sti pano

,

additionally grant to the Rochester Institute of Technology Digital Media Library (RIT DML) the non-exclusive license to archive and provide electronic access to my thesis or dissertation in whole or in part in all forms of media in perpetuity.

I understand that my work, in addition to its bibliographic record and abstract, will be available to the world-wide community of scholars and researchers through the RIT DML. I retain all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation. I also retain the right to use in future works (such as articles or books) all or part of this thesis or dissertation. I am aware that the Rochester Institute of Technology does not require registration of copyright for ETDs.

I hereby certify that. if appropriate, I have obtained and attached written permission statements from the owners of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation. I certify that the

version I submitted is the same as that approved by my COmmitt~;

I

JU / . r']

List ofIllustrations

p. 3

Jeremy

Charles

Stipano, 2005,

Ink

Drawing Study

to show animatedmovementof Ambivalence andHope.

p.4

Jeremy

Charles

Stipano, 2005,

External Ambivalence.

p. 4

Jeremy

Charles

Stipano, 2005,

Internal Hope.

p. 5

Jeremy

Charles

Stipano, 2007,

_{Six Planes of}aCube.

p. 6

Jeremy

Charles

Stipano, 2007,

_{Point of Origin.}

p. 9

Jeremy

Charles

Stipano, 1993,

Blind Contour Line

Drawing

_ofaStill Life.

p. 9

Jeremy

Charles

Stipano, 1993,

Contour Line

Drawing

_ofaStillLlife.

p. 10

Jeremy

Charles

Stipano, 2007,

Drawing

ofa WillowTree.

p. 11

Jeremy

Charles

Stipano, 2007,

Drawing

ofan Oak Tree.

p. 12 Monique

Prieto, 1997,

acrylicon canvas.

p. 16

Jeremy

Charles

Stipano, 2005,

Ambivalence.

P. 16 Nick

Taylor, 1982,

Untitled Burnedwood.

p. 17 Alberto

Giacometti, 1957,

Annette.

p. 18

Jeremy

Charles

Stipano, 2005,

DetailofAmbivalence's Head.

p. 19

Jeremy

CharlesStipano,

2005,

Hope.

p. 19

Jeremy

CharlesStipano, 2005, DetailofHope's Head.

p. 20 Henri Matisse, 1904,Seated NudewithArm onHead.

Thesis Statement

Am-biv-a-lence

[am-BIV-e-lens]

n. 1.

Simultaneousexistence oftwo_conflicting

desires,

_opinions,etc.1

Hope

[hohp]

n. 1. Expectationof

something

desired.2

Thepremise ofthis thesisstatementistochoosediscernthe ambivalencesthatexistin

one'sheartand mind. There isalwayshopethatthe path chosenisthe correctone. Once

the choiceis_{made, starting down}thepathisthehardpart. Thetravelermust

bend,

_twist,

crawl, andturn to _staytrue to theselected courseat all cost. Inthese travelsone _may

experience self-disappointmentas well as accomplishments. Successesandfailuresmark

key

points onaperson's lifeline. Marksappearinwood as_{checks, cracks, shakes,} and

knots. Whetherthesemarksaremeasuredin_minutes,

hours,

daysor a

lifetime,

we all

haveour owncontributionsthatwehavemade onthisworld.Everyonejourneysthrough

hisorherownpersonallabyrinths in hopeof

finding

innerpeace,causingthetraveler's

soultocometo terms withitself.

Atthe timeof_creatingthis showIwas_experiencing a season ofdistressandfailure. I

was_standing at acrossroads in_myown personal labyrinth.

Many

obstaclesin_my

journey

causedmeto haveanattitude ofambivalence.

My

_ridged, aggressive, anddominant

personalityatthispoint in my

journey

was not_allowingmetobetruetomyself. This

1

HarperCollins Pocket Webster

Dictionary

p. 16. 2

showisabout_{my coming}to termswith myself.

Understanding

thecracksandchecks of

mypast.

Excepting

themforwhat_theyare. _{Then moving} forwardwith a new attitude,

one ofhopeand_{therebychanging}thedirectionof_{my life journey. In}orderto dothis I

neededto uncover_mypoint of origin.

To symbolize_mytravels, Icreated gesture woodforms thathavea sense of curvilinear

movementthatbendandtwist through theirenvironment. The linequalities ofthese

pieces capturedtheattitude ofananimalthatnever rests. These formsarehumanisticin

nature. Ambivalence andHopehavesimilarline _qualitythatarefound in blindand

contourline drawing.

I exploredtwo-dimensionalandthree-dimensional forms. WalnutandZebrawoodwere

usedto fabricate Ambivalence. Thisanimalisticformsymbolizedthedominant forceof

mythesisshow. _Hope,themate_piece, was madeoutof_mahogany and_canarywood. She

representedthesubmissiveforceofthe show, mypolaropposites.

Theother piecesandmaterials thatsurroundAmbivalence andHopeaid in settingthe

tempoandstage fortherestofthe show.Paintandfoundobjectswere usedfor making

mono-prints,whichhelpedmebetterunderstandthe forms AmbivalenceandHope were

totake. Thesemono-prints werereinforced

by

studiesI selectedfromnature. Between

thesetwo studies Iwas provided with aninitial understandingofthecreatures' potential

movementsandhow_theycouldbeportrayed. Thismovement wasreinforced

by

ink

Ink

drawing

_{study for}animated

movement of

AmbivalenceandHope

Jeremy

Charles

Stipano,

Circa 2005

Thereweretwo experimental pieces as_well, whichreinforcedtheinnerpersonalitiesof

Ambivalence andHope. The firstpiece, InnerHope,wasmade out of_{glass, copper,}and

plaster. Thispiece illustratedtheideaofinner

light,

aura, and soul.Themateto Inner

HopewasExternal_Ambivalence,which wascreated from handmade_paper, broken_glass,

copper_shards,

dirt,

and wire. External Ambivalencerepresentedthesignificance of

outer-ridgedness caused

by

lifeobstacles. Reactionsto theproblems one faces intheirown

journey

maycause innerturmoil. This innerturmoilis stuffed

deep

down inside oneself

External Ambivalence Circa 2005

Jeremy

Stipano Mixed Media

Internal Hope

Circa 2005

Jeremy

Stipano Mixed Media

Thereciprocalprocesses of

life, death,

_rebirth,and_myownintuitionand analysis were

the

driving

forces behind_mywork.Themediums andprocesses Iinvestigatedwere

painting, mono-printing,ink

drawing,

blindcontourline

drawing,

contourline

drawing,

printmaking,assemblage,

fabrication,

welding, andideation. Thematerialsused were

wood,cooper, handmadepaper, glass,light,pulp, dirt,andfound objects. Ialsoused

The

Point

ofOrigin

Every

journey

has a

beginning,

_{middle,and end.}

Along

_theway thereare internaland

external circumstancesthataffectedthepath. Tounderstand _any

journey,

onemust

understandthe

history

ofthe individual. Tounderstandthe

history

of anindividual

journey

one mustfindthepointoforigin. It ispossibleto findthepoint of origin or

center pointin anythree-dimensionalspace. The scientific methodfor

doing

this iscalled

geometric centeror centerof gravity.Thisidea canbe easilyunderstood

by

_examininga

simpleboxstructure.

/ Point 6 I / bottom

ofbox

Six Planesof aCube

JeremyCharles Stipano 2007.

Thiscube couldbearoom ina_house, aboxone places sacreditems

in,

a_sculpture, or a

human being. Pointoneis located ontheright side ofthe box. Pointtwo is locatedonthe

leftside ofthebox. Pointthreeis onthefrontplane ofthe box. Pointfour is onthe

box. These arethe sixpointsthatmake _uptheplanesofthebox. All ofthesepoints come

together to form three linesthatintersectat thebox's center, the point of originin the

three-dimensional form.

Point of Origin Seventh Point

JeremyCharles Stipano 2006.

Oncethepoint of origin is

identified,

oneknows where aperson's labyrinth began. The

concept of a

dot,

thedot ofself,completed, and placedin theinfinite universe, given

everything itneedsforsurvival,isan _amazingconcept. "Wouldyoulookat all those

stars, I mean youlook_up and you think Godmade all ofthatand still remembered to

make a _tinyspecklike _me, is kindof

flattering

really."'

I wantedtodiscoverthepathGod

created forme whenhe created _mypointof origin.

Iwas oncetold that the pastis alreadyoverand_onlygood forreflection, but donot _stay

thereandreflect_{very long. The}future isnothereyet;all youhave is today, thismoment

or _{point, the}now.

Enjoy

itforwhatit is at_present,the present, andapresent. Once_today

isover you will neverhave it back. I am_startingtolearn_{the meaning}oftheabove adage

by looking

to _mycenter and_{slowly coming}toterms with_mypastinordertochange the

A Dot and Its

Path

Through Life

Paul Klee once _said,"All aline

is,

isadotthatwentfora

walk."4

Iused blindand contourline

drawing

to represent one's

journey

throughlife. Both the

blindand contourline

drawing

start with asingle_point, thepoint of origin. Aswith _any

journey, obstacles arethe encountersthatneedtobeaddressed. Howtheproblem is

resolvedwill havean impactonthe line. Eachlines'

beginning

point mighthave started

inthe same_place,but dueto thehindrancethateach encountered andhow _theyhandled

thecomplicationallow each line andthe_{line's quality}to differgreatly.

Blindcontourline

drawing

isamythologicalprocess(Reference A). Thistypeof

drawing

is

drawing

in itspurestform. Therulesinthis typeof

drawing

arethatthe_tip of a_writing

implement,

inthis examplea_pencil, cannotbe liftedoffthepage. Theartist's eyeis

steadily focusedon one point oftheobjectinthestilllifeandisnot allowedtoviewthe

page until the

drawing

is complete. The_tipofthepencil _slowlycrawls _alongonthe

drawing'ssurface. Thepencil recordsthelinethat the eye sees andtranscendsitto the

paper. This typeof

drawing

has a spontaneousand whimsical feelto it. Theprocess

releasestheinner energiesthataretrappedin inanimate objects,makingthemappear

animated. Theblindcontourlinecapturestheessenceandintuitivenature oftheobject

being

drawn.

4

Paraphrased

from,

Pherotic SketchBook

(1925)

p.6 "Anactivelineona_walk,

moving

freely

without goal. A walkforwalk sake. Theagentisa point thatshifts position.

i*r-*jss(&^w

Blind Contour Line_Drawing

ofaStill Life

contains aseashell,plaster_hand,etched

glassvase,and a_claywire sculpture

JeremyCharles Stipano

Circa 1993

The second

drawing

is a contourline

drawing

(Reference

B)

withtwomaindifferences.

The

differing

characteristicinthis type of

drawing

isthattheartist canlookdownatthe

paper; howeverthe_{writing implement is}not allowedtoleavethepage. Thesecond

difference isthat theinstrumentusedto createthecontourline

drawing

line wasa pen

withblue ink.

*-y

f'

I_f f''i__

Contour Line_DrawingofaStill Life

containsaseashell,plasterhand, etched

glassvase,and aclaywiresculpture.

Circa_1993,JeremyCharles Stipano

Reference B

Eventhough therewere a minimal numberof obstacles thatdifferedbetweenthese two

contour

drawing

is_tighter,more _ridged,anddefined. The blindcontour

drawing

ismore

sprawling andcarefree. Throughtheprocessofcontourline

drawing

a more realistic

image iscreated. Theviewer can_clearlysee alltheobjectsinthestilllife. In blind

contour

drawing

the formsoftheobjects arenot as apparentto_{viewer; imagination}on

thepart ofthe vieweris needed_{for recognizing}what some oftheobjects are.

Viewing

a

blindcontour

drawing

requires_thinkingmore_{abstractlytherefore allowing}theviewerto

recognize allthatis

happening

inthedrawing.

When viewing both drawings Iattemptto_personifypeople andtheir_personalitytypes.I

sawtwo_{different personality}types onthepagesbeforeme. Theblindcontour

drawing

represents a

forgiving,

_carefree, energeticpersonthatwent withthe flowoflife. Thistype

of person sprawls_alongthroughlife andisnot

deeply

rooted. Thisperson's root structure

wouldbesimilarinnaturetothe rootstructure of a willowtree thatspans acrossthe _top

level of_{the soil, going}whichever_waythe earth willletalow.

Below Ground Level

DeepUnder Ground

Drawingofa Willow Tree withroot structure

JeremyCharles Stipano 2007

The contour_line

drawing

_{symbolizes a more}

conservative_{person, rigid,} stiff andtaut. I

can almost feel the tensionand precisioninthelines. Thistypeofperson's root structure

is similarto theroot systemofan oak_tree,

having

sprawlingbranchesthatsearchfor

water and onehugetaproot that penetratesthe earthlikea_{drill seeking}a constant and

stable water source.

DeepUnderGround

Drawingof Oak Tree

withrootstructure

JeremyCharles Stipano 2007

Let us continuethisdiscussionofline

by

_viewingareproductionofMonique Prieto

paintingtitledThe OtherSide,circa 1997. Thedimensions ofthe_{painting below}are

72-by-69 inches. This image is_courtesyof_ACME, Los

Angeles,

California andPat

Hearn

Gallery

New _York,New York.

Monique Prieto: On The Other_{Side. 1997,}acrylic oncanvas,

72-by-96 inches._{CourtesyACME,}LosAngeles,andPat Hearn_Gallery, New York.

Take amomentto_carefullyviewthispainting, concedingthat a reproductioninabook

does notdo justiceto the

paintings'

true colors.Thequestion couldbeasked: Do yousee

anyshapes inthis_paintingthatremind you of people?Ifso,what shapes? What

characteristics dothese shapeshavethatrelateto thepeople you are now_associating

themwith? Howisthecolor_{communicating}the shape's mood?Whatkindof mooddoes

thecombination oftheshapeand color portray?

During

myundergraduatestudies atThe College ofSaint_Rose,

Albany

New

York,

Isaw an articlein Art in Americatitled TheNineLives _ofPainting. Ihavecarriedthis

magazine around withmesince 1998. This iswhatart critic RalphRubinstein, for Art

andAmerica,hadto_sayaboutthe above_painting September, 1998.

"There are nointermediatezones, no

interceding

_planes,justthese smooth

contoured,oftenbiomorphic silhouettes against unpaintedcanvas.While thistype

of compositionhas obvious precedentsin Color Field_painting, italso relatesto

thecomputersoftware ("Painter

3"),

whichPrieto employsto

develop

her

compositions.

Along

withtheblatant figure/ground

format,

the 1997painting,

"OntheOtherSide"

displaysanothertypicalPrietotrait: a sense of animationthat

verges oncomic. Twocrooked vertical

lines,

oneorange and_red,divide the

6-by-8 _{foot painting into}two _roughlyequal areas. Thethree

individually

distinct

upright shapes totheleft onecadmium_orange, anotherfadedgreen, thethird

pale blue arepositioned sothat_theyappeartobe

leaning

againsttheirregular

orange

line,

who'sweight_theynearlymatch. Thefive smaller abutted shapes on

theright side aremore

formally

varied and_vibrantlycolored palepurple,

violet-blue,

lemonyellow, adeeperpurple,magenta and insteadof

inclining

toward

the center

line,

_theylean away. Huddled together, _theyalmost seemtobe

shrinking in fear from themoreformidable arrayof shapes ontheleft. _Thus,the

bent lines inthe center appeartocreatenot_merelyaformal division but a

psychological oneas

well."

"Shethinks _nothingof_{wedging her forms}together

the _wayachild might stufftoys back intoabox that's toosmall forthem...Some

viewers_{may carp} atthefact that theseebullient compositions are computer aided,

butothers (like_me) willbe tooswept_up

by

thevisual excitement on offertogive

adamnhow itcameinto the

world."

Art InAmericap. 97

Lines canrepresentpeople andtheirmoods. Combinedwiththeuse of color andgesture

thesemoodscanbemagnified. What mayappeartobe asimple cartoon-likecontourline

drawing

with shapes cantranscend_{into something}much more.Weseethisintheabove

painting On TheOtherSide (p. 12).

The Show

Iconstructedthe environmentofthisshowto represent

discovering

thepoint of one's

origin, understanding how life'sobstacles shape pathsandthe_comingto termswith past

external circumstances. Allowance isgiven fortheparticipant tochooseor changethe

direction oflife's

journey

sothat theline formed

by

the traveler's

journey

_mayreflect

theirinner

being

and not_simplyexternal circumstances.

Lucky

bamboo, inkdrawings,

studies fromnature, curlywillow, experiment_pieces,AmbivalenceandHope were

assembledtoillustrate balance between_{chaos/harmony,}

life/death,

and

ambivalence/hope.

The materials selectedtocreateAmbivalencewereblackwalnutandzebrawood. These

woodsare _{extremely hard}and were not_easytocarve.This piecehasapresence, similar

tothat ofNick Taylor's UntitledBurn Woodpiece. Thewood ofAmbivalenceis_very

darkandappears void-like atfirstglance.

My

sculpturehasalargerthanlife-sizescale,

defensive stance,and gestureto

keep

the vieweratbay.Ambivalence is _verydominant

anddefensive representingthe_personalitytypeofacontourlinedrawing. Ambivalence

was madetorepresent_{my stiff,ridged,}externalpersona. Here ismore proofthat

two-dimensional lines cantranscendofftheirpage,intothree-dimensional spaces.

Ambivalence

Jeremy

Charles Stipano 2005

Untitled Burned Wood Nick Taylor

1982

TheoutercontourofAmbivalence is _{strong,threatening, tense, causing}of_mythesis show

todistancethem-selves

by

_standingoutof_{striking distance}ofAmbivalence. Forthe

braverviewers thatdidapproach,theywere ableto examinethebeautifulnatural layers

created

by

thetree's naturalgrowth pattern inadditionto the unnaturallayers created

by

the stacklamination

process.7

Theses layersallcombinedtocreateAmbivalencessocial

history

and contour. The headofthis piecehas some_{holes penetrating into}thebrain

TocreateAmbivalenceandHope Iusedthissimple_{woodworking process, stack-lamination,along}with

templates tocreate_mythree-dimensionalforms. Thestepstoperformstacklaminationare:_Layoutall

scrapwood collected.Examinethe grains, patterning,andthicknessof each piece of wood. _Overlaythe full-scalesketches ofthemodels. Selectthewoodfromthecollected scrapstolieoverthesketches and stackthem toappropriateheightsthatachievedesiredthickness. Drawthegeneralform fromthefull-size sketch ontothewood.Takethedrawnon woodto thebandsaw and cut outthegeneral shape.Repeatthis

processuntilallthedesiredpieces arecutout._Layout paper ontheworkbench._Laydownthebottompiece of woodtobestack-laminated.Placethenext piece on_topofthebottompiece anddoublechecktoseethat theyline upcorrectly. Oncesatisfied withpositioning,gluethe_topofthebottompiece andthebottomof

thenext piecesthataretobe laidon_topofit. Placethesecond piece on_topofthefirstone. Pressdown untilglue comes outaroundtheseams. Repeattheprocessuntilallthepiecesforthatsection are compiled. Clampthepileof stacked woodtogetherand_applyenoughpressureto the_clampsothattheglue oozes out thespacesin betweeneach plank._{Wipe up}excess gluewitharag.Allowwoodtocurefortwenty-four hours.Once theprocessiscompleteandthepieceshave bondedthesculpturecanbecarved, shaped, sanded,andapatinaappliedforafinalfinish.

cavity. Onecould speculatehowtheseholeswere made. Could_theyhave beenmade

by

Ambivalence

defending

Hope!

Annette_(Annette)

Oiloncanvas,

36 1/4"

by28 1/2"

Alberto Giacometti

1957

Albert Gicomettie's paintingAnnette, circa 1957 created

by

hasa_{very holocaustic feel}

andlook. The humanistic formofthewomaninthe_paintingappearstohave

imploded,

leaving

behindthe remains of a skeletal structure. These remains appear on thecanvas as

a void ofdarkness. In thevoided areawhere a woman shouldhavestood,stands adark

tar-likehumanistic form. The form standsat attention and appearstolook forward.

Annetteperhapsis standing inshock atthe implosion thatjusttookplace. Maybeshe isa

spirit in search ofher missingpiecesthatcouldhave been scattered

by

her innerturmoil.

Thewood usedtocreateAmbivalencewasdiscarded scrap from furnituremakers.

They

discardedthesepiecesofwoodwithouthesitation. Ithought_theywerebeautiful. These

scrapswere_patientlycollected overa period oftimeuntil therewereenoughofthem to

createAmbivalence. I feltthat the_scrapwood symbolizedthe experiencesofAnnette.

When Isaw all thesebeautifulpiecesofwood and rememberedAnnette's implosionand

theholocaustsurvivorsthatwerescattered. As IassembledAmbivalencethroughthe

stack-lamination_process, Iremembered allthe tension _{in my}

body

I feltas a child and

theimprisonedpain Ihadwitnessed

during

_mystudiesof art. Iwantedthere tobe an

underlying internalconflictinAmbivalencethatsymbolized_myown_{inner turmoil,}

therefore ImadeAmbivalenceappeardarkanddefensive.

Creating

sculpture

by hand,

usingtheprocessof_{stack-lamination, the}use of_my

hands,

Ibegantoreleasesome of_my

owninnerpain inanoutwardfashion. Theviewer could sensethetensionintheart and

have aconversation withit. Iwantedtheviewerto see the

beauty

and strengththat could

riseout ofdiscardedscraps andturmoil. WiththisintentionAmbivalencewasborn.

Ambivalence

Detail_up ofhead

Jeremy

Charles Stipano

2005

Hope

Jeremy

Charles Stipano 2005

Hopewas createdfrom mahoganyand_canarywood. Both woods arehardand exotic.

Hopewas notassembledfrom discardedscraps of wood. Most ofthe_mahogany inthis

piecewas cut offfromthe mostbeautifulpiece of wood Ihadever seen. Theplank of

mahoganythatwas purchasedtocreateHopewas eightfeet

long,

four feet_wide, and 3/4

ofan inchthick. Iboughtthewood on sight,rough cut. Ididnotknow whata gem Ihad

until 1 ranitthrough a planer afewtimesand sawthebeautiful _cathedralingwood grain.

Ithen realizedthat thiswood contained a solid unwaveringundertone ofthechurch that

is Christ. Thered ofthis wood reminded me ofhis bloodandtherosethatsymbolizes

Mary, the mother ofChrist. Both thisboardand

Mary

werevirgins. Bothvirgins gave

birth to_amazingentities.

Detailof

Hope

Jeremy

Charles Stipano 2005

The curvilinearform ofHope is verysubmissive and _{non-threatening,} quite beautiful and

welcoming. Hope's soul radiatedaninnerlightofwarmthand peace. Life's

circumstanceshave notcaused_{Hope's inner lightto fade. The}

grain ofthebrightyellow

canarywoodisinterlaced with

blues,

_greens,

reds,and purple huesthatenhancedthe

aura._Hope's soul appeared_strongand_nurtured, yet_{verysubmissive, allowing}theviewer

to come_{veryclose and examinethe}

sculptural inner

beauty

and socialhistory.

Seated NudewithArmonHead Henri Matisse

Bronze

1904

I firstsawHenri Matisse's Seated NudewithArmonHead, 1904, Bronze, as a

humanistic ingesture while _{simultaneouslyappearing bone-like}and naturalin structure.

This skeletal structure would, support muscletissue, tendons,andligaments ifassembled

with other similarbone like elements. This would allowtheindependent bone-like form

andthemuscle structuretowork_{together, giving}thewhole_group of parts asense of

animation ormovement. Thissculpture

by

Matisse demonstrates the wholegambitof

life,

birth,

growingpains, choice,entrapments,

fears, dreams,

_{ambivalences,} andhope

capturedinoneminimalistbrilliantwork of art. Thefigure is_tryingtopressits_wayout

of its own void.The sculpture appears tobe afull-size humantrapped inthewomb. A

unobservantviewercould_easilymissthis important information due tothe minimal

components thatdefine thissculpture.

The same _{quality is}seen inAmbivalence.Thesculpture at first_glance, seems aggressive

butuponfurtherinspectionthe viewer canseethe stack-laminatedpartsbecomethe

collective. The vieweris also able to seethewood grain of eachlayered sectionis

pushingagainstthenext grainedlayer in an uncommon way.Even though thepiece

appearstobesolid andrigid,upon further inspectionofAmbivalencetheviewer can

clearlysee ahodgepodge _assemblage,

holes,

_scars,and cracks.As theviewer spends

more observationstimewith thesculpture adeeperconversation withthework

occurs. Through this conversation,theviewerbeginstounderstand_{why Ambivalence}has

stanceit exibits.

Hopelongs forattention, contact,and affection.Hope bows her head in a submissive _way

welcomingthe viewerinto herspace and allows fora closerinspectionofherjointsand

seams. Thispiece is better defined. Thegrain matches _upcloserthanAmbivalence's,

causing lessstress andpressuretobeplaced onthewood. The_canarywood,which

impregnated the _mahoganythatcreatesHope, is also well placed. Thecolors andthe

wood grainthattraveled throughthe_canarywood, contrastingthe mahogany, drawsthe

viewerintoa_mesmerizinggazewithHope.

Th lo

The Lasso

Joan Miro

1927

The Lassocreated

by

_{Joan Miro Circa}

1927,

_{ismystepingstone, a}

deciding

factorofhow

atwo-dimensional surface such as a mono-printcouldbecome _{three-dimensional,}then

transcendback into atwo-dimensional form again. Thisprocess of_{visuallyvacillating}

two-dimensional andthree-dimensional space was _veryhard formetounderstand atfirst.

I embraceda_verysolid _{two-dimensional photography}background

having

littlesculptural

background, tothis point in_my life's journey. The Lassowas theperfect artworkto

demonstrate howaline canpenetratethe two-dimensionalsurface andbecomea

three-dimensional form. The overlappingofthe

line,

_changingdiameter, and use ofnegative spacethatmake _upthe composition; confirmedthepossible meansfor creatinga

three-dimensional sculpture from atwo-dimensional surface.

Miro alsoincorporatestheprinciples ofbalance and

harmony

andtheelement ofline and

lineweight. Theseare

key

_{elements and principles inmy}own work. Insightfor

translatingscraps ofblack walnut andzebrawood as well asbeautifulpiecesof_mahogany

and_canarywoodinto thecenterpieces sculptures excited me. Eachpieceillustrates a

separatepart of_mylife'sjourney. Togetherthe work createdan _amazing

dichotomy

that

has asense ofbalanceand

harmony

_{between AmbivalenceandHope.}

Nick Taylor's Untitled BurnedWood,Albert Gicomettie's_paintingofAntinette,Henri

Matisse'sSeated Nude withArm

Raised,

and _{Joan Miro's The Lasso helped}me as an

artisttorealizethepotentialhumanqualities _mysculpturescanconvey. Theworks ofthe

above artistshelpedmeto selecttheelementsofartandprincipals ofdesignthatwould

allow_myworkto_efficiently capture_mycomplete vision. Thisallowed _myartworkto

speakto theviewer.

Inspired

by

these artists,Ihave beguntowork_primarilythrough intuition. Iamkeen on

emotion,

feeling,

movement,rhythm, and_timingin _mylife and inthe artthat I

create.

During

theprocessof_creating a sculpture, alltheseelementsand emotions came

together_{in my heart}andwere _passionatelytransformed _{into my}artwork.

During

this

process I losttrackoftimeandspace. The _tools,wood, and_myhands becomeone,

sendingme into a state ofecstasy,a

holy

_trinity,the threeof us engagedinthedance of

life, love,

and passion. Thisdance isa _veryintimateand sensual one,similarto thetango; hoursofshaping,

feeling,

and_caressingpass inaflash. Itransitionintoan alternate state

ofconsciousness.

My

intuitiontakes over,

leaving

no room foranalysis. Theintuitive

dance goes onfor_minutes, whichturn intohours, andthendays. I beginto_{feel very}

satisfiedand fatiguedwhen Iregainconsciousness from the ritualisticdanceofsculpting.

Final Thoughts

My

Soul is filledwithcracksandchecksthatarenow_onlystartingtoheal

during

this

stage of_mypersonal labyrinth.

Turning

discardedscraps of_{dead board back into}an

organic form has helped inthis

healing

process.This was accomplishedthrough the stack

laminationprocess andcarving.As I began

fitting

thecenterpieces of_myshow_together, I

couldfeel sparks inside_mysoul. Thesessparks remindedme ofchildhood_standingout

onMoon Street inthe darkness

holding

onto_{my first}sparkler andthemagicI felt from

theprocess. The flickers ofthe sparks werewarmandfelt_{alive, this} was an unusual

feeling

forme. Thesesparks from_mythesis showfellon some amberthatremained

buried

deep

_{in my} soul,_rekindlingaflame inside _me, aflamethatIthoughhaddieda

long

timeago. This flameturned intoafirethatwould not allow_anything or anyone

obstruct me from

finishing

_mythesis. The Phoenixof_my soulhad again risen out ofthe

ashes andtranscendedtoward theheavens. Thiswas _veryapparenttome atthe_opening

of_myexhibition. When I saw_myworkandthepeople's reactionsto_mywork_{my hope}

inmyselfwere reinforced.

Iwas asked atthe_openingreceptionforof_mythesisexhibition"wheredoyou see your

artpieces

fitting

inthegenresofart

history?"

Isaidthatisagood question. Thatquestion

was answeredformeinacritiqueIhadof_mywork one day. Aprofessorof mine said

thatthese creaturesfall somewherebetween highmodernismand

Saturday

morning

cartoons.

Iftheviewerfinds

familiarity

withthesculpture andthewords onthesepages and can

supporttheir

intent,

then theworkis speakingtothem. Thethesis investigationandmy

written thesispaperare _myown personallabyrinthandpubliccontributionto thefieldof

art. Iam grateful andthankfultohavehadthe timeto spend onthiscreativeresearch.

Through_mytrialsandtribulationsIhave learnedtolaugh

harder,

_crymore _often,andbe

abletobemore real withmyselfthanI everthought

humanly

possible. Iwanttowinthe

self-respectand cometo terms with me and_mypoint of origin.Ialso wantto surround

myself withtrue friendsthatare respectful andintelligent.81wantto beableto smile at honestcriticism andbe ableto thank thatpersonfortheirinsight. Iwantto seethebest in

all people. Iwantto

bend,

_{twist, crawl,}and

dig

inwith allIam worthto_stay true to_my

artisticjournay.

Every

lifethatI comeincontact withIwanttomake alittle

better,

even

ifit's_onlyinsome small way. To haveaccomplishedthesethingsisto_trulyhave lived.

Inravel, thereisno greatergift onthisplanetthan to have lefta positiveimprintonthis

world. Ibelievethatourworld isabetterplacebecause ambivalenceandhopeexist.

KP/MS

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