Monday, October 31, 2011

Wintersmith Park

So just go south on Stadium Dr. (Highland) past the football stadium and turn left on Scenic Dr at the first 4 way stop after the stadium.  Take that down to the first 4 way stop and continue straight.  Now you are in the park.  Follow the road and turn left after you pass the amphitheater.  Drive around the corner and you'll see the gravel parking lot and a makeshift softball field.  Park there at 1:00.

Simplicity is complexity resolved” Constantine Brancusi


To an engineer, good enough means perfect. With an artist, there's no such thing as perfect.” Alexander Calder

Sunday, October 30, 2011








Artist Profile: Albert Szukalski



Albert Szukalski was a Polish-Belgian born in Furth in Wald, in Bavaria, Germany, in 1945. He made many sculptures throughout his day, mixing these with media. Most of the sculptures I could find by him are made of plaster.
His most well-known sculpture is of “The Last Supper.” This sculpture, made of plaster, is set in Death Valley, by the ghost town of Rhyolite, Nevada. It has been said to be a startling, “unearthly and discordant sight” (desertusa.com). It is the form, or rather forms, of cloaked, ghost-like figures, appearing to be draped in towels or sheets. There are thirteen figures, each appearing nearly identical, yet slightly different, either standing or sitting on plaster chairs. Szukalski created this sculpture in 1984. He “intended for it to last for only a couple of years” (desertusa.com), yet it is still standing. It appears that Szukalski came to Rhyolite because he was fascinated with the ruins already present. One lady, who presumably knew Szukalski, said “that the idea had been in the making for a couple of years… it took him several months to complete this project” (rhyolitesite.com). A museum called the “Goldwell Open Air Museum” has been created at and around the sculpture of “The Last Supper” now. It was created in 2000, after the death of Szukalski, to help preserve his sculpture, as well as others that have been added.
Another interesting sculpture by Szukalski is called “Dialoog.” It was set in the “Middelheim Open Air Museum” in Antwerp, Belgium in 1974. I am pretty sure that it means “dialogue,” mostly because of the sound and slightly because of translations, but they are also somewhat sketchy. Plus, I like the original spelling and sound of the word.
It seems that while some have not heard of Szukalski, the ones who have have been touched by some form of connection. For example, “’12259 Szukalski’ (1989 SZ1) is a main-belt asteroid discovered on 26 September 1989 by E. W. Elst, at the European Southern Observatory. The object was named in honor of Albert Szukalski” (Wikipedia). This doesn’t happen without some extra character. Some artists are good, very good, yet lack a sense of humanity that tends to create a sort of gap between the artist and the public. Szukalski was obviously looked up to and well liked by the people he was around. It is not enough to have great talent. It is like Spiderman says, “With great power comes great responsibility.” It would behoove us to remember Szukalski and his example as a decent and well respected man, as much as an artist.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Szukalski
http://www.mccullagh.org/image/10d-11/bicycle-sculpture-1.html
http://www.desertusa.com/mag06/feb/d_artists.html
http://www.rhyolitesite.com/statues.html




Ok, this is my sculpture. Aaron said it looked like the Dallas Cowboys, but I honestly didn't think of that when I painted it. I still like the color. You can't really see it, but the keys and hearts are in the middle. It is multi-leveled, in a way. It has to levels of wire, slightly different size and color of silver. The two wire levels are in between the molded (blue) rings. It turned out better than I had anticipated, really, but I think that's because I made the outer most rings more organized than the inner. This as not at all my original idea, but the more I worked with the original, the more id didn't work and the more it tried to make me crazy. This one I like. I am going to submit pictures of this to Originals, but not the pictures that I'm posting on here.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

I haven't yet posted any pics of my current sculpture. Each time I think I've completed it, the piece falls or breaks. I've changed it at least 5 times. I was planning to attempt something new using steel rods, but it's almost 8:30 and I don't think I will be able to complete it in 2 hours. I 'm gonna save them for next time. I'm headed to college to begin again. This is my own fault, I wish I had a broader knowledge of materials and how to piece them together without using hot glue.

Sculpture I

Please go ahead and start gathering materials for your installations.  You may use materials from the park, but you should have extra materials as a back up.  Look at his work for ideas, but note that the assignment is NOT to remake one of his pieces exactly.

I will have a camera at the park, but you should also charge the batteries of your own digital camera before Tuesday.

My lizard sculpture.






Here are some pictures of my lizard and bottle sculpture. Now when I first started casting these lizards and bottles I had no idea what I was going to do with all of them. But as I began to work it came to me. This represents my life with my best friend. We were crazy and always doing something crazy. The first picture here represents how she ended her life, drinking and driving. She wrecked and tore herself to pieces. This piece has brought back a lot of emotions. I thought I was over all of them, but apparently not. It's been 3 almost 4 years and when I look at this piece I feel like it's 11:13 on that Sunday night again. But anyway I thought I would share this with you guys.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Rivers and Tides video about Goldsworthy

The entire documentary is on youtube.  It's in 10 minutes sections.  Please watch.  It will REALLY help you with your 4-6 installations next week.  And thus help your grade.

Andy Goldsworthy

There should be books at the library about him.  There is also a wonderful documentary called "Rivers and Tides" that could be on Netflix.

There should be numerous videos about him and his work on youtube.

There is also tons of things on the internet in general.   He might be the most popular sculptor alive right now.  He's done a wonderful job of marketing himself.  And the funny thing is that no one can purchase the majority of his work because the work is ephemeral, meaning they are so fragile that they fall apart very  quickly.

Sunday, October 23, 2011

Jesus Moroles lecture tomorrow

Faust Hall auditorium @ 1:00 Monday

Strongly encouraged. He's a world famous sculptor.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Whom it be?








Artist Profile: Jonathan Borofsky

Jonathan Borofsky was born in 1942, in Boston, MA. He went to school at Carnegie Mellon University, was awarded a B.F.A. in 1964, and then studied at the Ecole de Fontainebleau, France, 1964. He then attended Yale School of Art and Architecture, and was awarded an M.F.A., in 1966. Being drawn to art since childhood, he can look back to a painting by French post-Impressionist painter Paul Gauguin titled "Where Do We Come From? What Are We? Where Are We Going?" Borofsky says, "I remember being very affected by that title. It seemed so philosophical and psychological. I started thinking: This is what art can do. It can ask questions or it can answer them.” Since then he has made many oversized sculptures, which have been placed around the world, from America to Germany. His sculptures represent mankind, in various ways and to various degrees. He enjoys depicting mankind as we are, showing us to be the same, although different colors and backgrounds.
One of the first pieces I came to see by Borofsky was his work entitled “Walking to the Sky.” This sculpture is 100 feet tall and made of stainless steel. It was installed in New York in 2004. Because of the magnitude and depiction, many have believed that it was a monument to the people who died in the Twin Towers in 2001. This is not technically true, Borofsky says, “These are human beings around the world; they represent all kinds of humanity. They are not New Yorkers, not Americans. This piece can stand anywhere—Africa, India, Hawaii.”
A couple of other interesting pieces of Borofsky’s are his walking men. They are both titled “Walking Man,” yet while being similar, they are still unique. The first of these was set in Munich in 1995. However, it was made in pieces in California and then transported. It is made of an inner steel frame and outer fiberglass shell. It is 17 meters tall. Being so incredibly tall, a steel staircase was built inside the upper portion to allow the workers to assemble the last bits. A couple interesting notes: Firstly, that Borofsky first made a small 1-2 feet sculpture and then had the larger and finished copy completed. And secondly, that before finishing the final construction, a time capsule, with written statements from the workers both in California and Munich, was placed inside the sculpture. The second “Walking Man” is set in Germany. It was completed in 2005, is also made of stainless steel, and is 9.1 meters tall.
The most interesting thing about Borofsky, to me, is that he did not set out to become an artist and then was magically a well-known artist, with many installations, immediately. No, he had to sit down, write things out, work things out. In fact, he said that after graduating from Yale, he was alone in his studio for much of the next eleven years, simply thinking and drawing. To this end, he says he became “more cerebral than I had ever been before." At this point in his life, he became obsessed with numbers, which were incorporated more in his drawings than his sculptures, but did induce him to create this self-portrait. To become an artist, as is seen by Borofsky now well-known legacy, one must think things through. No one is immediately renown: everyone must work to become famous.
It is also important to note that, to date, Borofsky “has not had a solo exhibition in a museum or gallery since 1991.” And has, instead, been “exclusively devoted to large-scale outdoor public commissions.”


http://www.notablebiographies.com/newsmakers2/2006-A-Ec/Borofsky-Jonathan.html
http://www.borofsky.com/
http://www.cmu.edu/magazine/02spring/borofsky.html
http://www.terminartors.com/artworkprofile/Borofsky_Jonathan-Self_Portrait

Monday, October 17, 2011



These are my rings that I was able to cast and also the mold for the key. I have since done some keys and they all turn out with a slight mistake on the left side of the form. I believe it is from the small area in the actual mold, but I think I will be able to incorporate this into my sculpture.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Sculpture 1 critique

We'll have the critique for the current sculpture on October 27th.

Who is this sculptor?
Come on Sculpture 1, someone please answer me :(

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Sculpture 2 critique update

I am moving the critique from the old art department to the new one. Please set your work up in the outdoor sculpture area or in or around the art hallways by painting. 1:00 pm

Wednesday, October 12, 2011


Who is this sculptor?

About painting

If you plan to spray paint your pieces please follow 2 simple rules.

1. buy a spray primer and prime your pieces before applying the color

2. find a large piece of cardboard and lay it on something up off of the ground like a stool.  Use short, back and forth motions and try not to get paint on the stool, cement, or anything else nearby.  

Dalton Ghetti




Ok so I just ran across this artist, and he carves these from pencil lead within the pencil. This is so cool! He also does this without a magnifying glass!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011



These are my bottles and my lizard. I finished the lizard today.

Aaron I was wondering where you got the polyurethane that you mixed together to pour in the molds? And is it just two different kinds of polyurethane, like any two kinds? Or is it certain kinds? If I wanted to do these at home could I buy them somewhere here close or would I have to order it online or something? I think this would be a fun thing to do at home if I could buy the things needed. And where did you get the blue stuff that we made the molds out of? Well thank you!

Working Progress


I'm in the final stages
of finishing my life size sculpture.



Shaping out the features on the head
had to do lots of sanding today





Finished his OU cap with a feather
connected to it.

Who is the sculptor? (sculpture 1 only please)

Monday, October 10, 2011

This reminded me of the recnt baby sculpture and baby plastic thing that was in class on thursday. I thin it's pretty neat. It is by Marc Quinn. On the same website that I found this one, there are multiple others, in month to month stages. I liked this one especially because it shows how big it is, with the girl standing by it.