MIAD - "A Room With A View"
Exhibition Text
The feelings a person experiences in a certain place are often though to be tied to memories. In this case, what a person feels is no more than an instinctive response to their surroundings. Designed for installment on the shore of lake Michigan just north of Bradford Beach, this "room" is designed to be an oasis of serenity in a bustling city. The walls create a path for a viewer to walk and form a blockade against the city.
The feelings a person experiences in a certain place are often though to be tied to memories. In this case, what a person feels is no more than an instinctive response to their surroundings. Designed for installment on the shore of lake Michigan just north of Bradford Beach, this "room" is designed to be an oasis of serenity in a bustling city. The walls create a path for a viewer to walk and form a blockade against the city.
Planning
Inspiration
The main inspiration for this piece is the Milwaukee lake front, just north of Bradford beach. There is lots of open space on that beach and a lot more water so far out that nothing but the horizon is in sight. I want to create something that will help people see the vast body of water as I do; a serene place where the bustling city is out of mind. My other inspiration is Richard Serra's many great steel sculptures. Two sculptures I have in mind are, Tilted Arc (1981), and Torqued Ellipse (1996). These two works consist of large slabs of steel molded and bent to create a certain feeling when seen or encountered. I like the idea of manipulating large obstructions to give people very specific impressions. By tilting a wall, I could make a person feel overwhelmed by the vertical stretching over their head, or by creating a small path and then opening to a wide expanse of water, I could make a person feel renewed relieved from the stress built from tight spaces. |
“Richard Serra's Tilted Arc, 1981.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/visualarts/tiltedarc_a.html. Accessed 27 Apr. 2017.
“Torqued Ellipse.” Guggenheim, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 14 Apr. 2017, www.guggenheim.org/artwork/17143. Accessed 27 Apr. 2017.
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Critical Investigation
General information about Richard Serra:
General information about Richard Serra:
- site specific work
- believes people should participate in art
- not something that is confined to a museum or safe storage locker
- sculpture is intended to invoke certain emotions, feelings, or impressions.
- Often works large scale (welded steel walls)
- What does the removal of tilted arc say about how the public determines the value of art?
- "Tilted Arc is a curving wall of raw steel, 120 feet long and 12 feet high, that carves the space of the Federal Plaza in half. Those working in surrounding buildings must circumvent its enormous bulk as they go through the plaza"
- “Richard Serra's Tilted Arc, 1981.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/visualarts/tiltedarc_a.html. Accessed 27 Apr. 2017.
- The work was cut into 3 pieces in 1989 and sent to the scrap yard in the middle of the night.
- Connection to my art work
- What feelings will be elicited as a person walks through this on the beach?
- Will they not like that it is "messing up" their view?
- Making it difficult for them to get to where they need to be?
- Information about the beach
- in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Just north of downtown
- to the south, the land appears to be jutting out into the water.
- to the north the land recedes and is out of view when looking straight out.
- in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Planning
Planning "Sketches" / Experimentation
Note:
For all arrangements,
Note:
For all arrangements,
- 1/8 inch = 1 foot
- The paperclip represents an average sized human
Set #1
The idea behind this arrangement was to have a person follow a curved, somewhat flowing path from the beginning to the small pier. At the same time, I wanted to prevent people from seeing out onto the lake without entering the form. This creates a sort of personal space within a very public area.
Set #2
This arrangement was also created with the intent of creating a flowing, curved path. At the entrance a person would have the option to go right to the water, but the other path is intended to be more intriguing. Once out on the pier, to the left and the right, walls are blocking the rest of the shoreline from sight. This will help people thing about the vastness of the water rather than the land in their peripheral vision.
Set #3
This design was mostly considering how I could direct people to the pier to see the lake. I found that the funnel shape is best for directing people because the narrowed path sparks interest on what is just through it.
Set #4
This arrangement was working with walls forming angles. I thought this would spark interest in someone walking through. However, this design does not appeal to me. If I were following one of the paths to the lake, I would most likely stop at the angle because of its difference from the previously seen curved wall.
Set #5
For this arrangement, I used generally small walls, not much taller than the average person. I wanted people to come into the path and not feel overwhelmed by a tower wall enclosing them. Also, the wall nearest the shore is probably too short and does not create the feeling of being cut off from the rest of the world. One aspect I did like is the small pool of water created by the converging pier. I think this juxtaposition could serve as sort of a reflection pool or something someone would also consider important when viewing the vast like.
Set #6
In this arrangement, I wanted people too be funneled to the shore and then have them walk out on the lake as far as possible. This design is not very strong because the funnel is rather small on the side furthest from the water.
Set #7
I think this is my strongest arrangement. I was inspired by the idea of a rebirth and femininity. I created a funnel in a shape that resembles a birth canal of sorts and used simple, wide curves which have been used to symbolize femininity for centuries. The path would take a person into a less enclosed space into the great openness of the lake like a rebirth into the world. I want people to walk through this structure either from the back or the sides. They will be funneled toward the water. At first it will be very cramped with little light getting through opening on the top, then it will suddenly open up to the lake giving the explorer a fresh breath of air. The most meaningful component of this set is the relation to a birth and that feeling of being renewed it can give a person. Another meaningful decision was to use walls to block the vision of the space so people will be encouraged to explore. Another important thing is that the pier takes a person just beyond the shore where they will have water almost all around them.
Final Decision
I chose to modify set #1 because I like the way the two arcs played off each other to create a unique flowing path. The juxtaposition of the straight was also created interest and some tension within the design. In addition to that, I used the wall on the south side to block the view of the land jutting out to the south. This wall and the platform together will give a person the widest range possible to see the lake without obstructions. |
Evaluation
The final piece reflects Richard Serra as the inspiration and successfully conveyed the idea of serenity I wanted it to. The walls that intentionally divide two places, the city and the lake, are successful at blocking out the shoreline to the south as planned and protecting the participant from the bustling city. This piece reflects Tilted Arc the best because of the obstacle it creates to get to the lake in that specific area, however, it will not be viewed as an obstacle, but more of an aid or something that makes people comfortable when being near it.
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Reflection
This model for a site specific beach installation turned out very well. I feel as if it displays technique and good craftsmanship, as well as purpose. In the past, most of my art has had something added to it for no purpose really, but this time, every little detail has a purpose. Every detail is mean to add something to the piece and the slightest difference in the was a piece is turned could have created an entirely new effect for the viewer. In reference to using Serra as inspiration, I would say I was successful as well. His art is often about interaction and reaction. I created my piece with that in mind and quite literally used his idea of wall as a medium to create my piece.
One thing about my piece that I am not especially fond of is the materials used. The walls are just as good as they are now, but I would have preferred to use wood. However, the wood could not bend as far as I wanted it to without snapping or warping. If I had lighter and thinner wood, this problem would not have risen. I believe I could create a better model is I had more space from side to side, so the piece is not limited to only so much beach space. If my model had more waterline parallel space, the curves would not seem too close.
One thing about my piece that I am not especially fond of is the materials used. The walls are just as good as they are now, but I would have preferred to use wood. However, the wood could not bend as far as I wanted it to without snapping or warping. If I had lighter and thinner wood, this problem would not have risen. I believe I could create a better model is I had more space from side to side, so the piece is not limited to only so much beach space. If my model had more waterline parallel space, the curves would not seem too close.
ACT Responses
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your artwork:
I am aware that Richard Serra's work has lead me to be concerned with the place that my work is installed. I went down to the beach and analyzed everything there and around it to figure out how best to counter the environmental obstacles.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The overall approach of the authors is an analysis of public reaction to Serra's work. These reactions are helpful because they will aid me in making a piece that elicits the emotions I want it to.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I came to the conclusion that many people only like art that is convenient, or at least not in their face. If it doesn't do what they want, they want it gone.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea around my research was finding public reactions to art.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I made the inference that Serra's work was not complex and only installed to create an uprising. It turns out that he wanted to people actually examine art and determine it's worth rather than pushing it aside and labeling it as a form of entertainment.
I am aware that Richard Serra's work has lead me to be concerned with the place that my work is installed. I went down to the beach and analyzed everything there and around it to figure out how best to counter the environmental obstacles.
What is the overall approach (pov) the author (from research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The overall approach of the authors is an analysis of public reaction to Serra's work. These reactions are helpful because they will aid me in making a piece that elicits the emotions I want it to.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I came to the conclusion that many people only like art that is convenient, or at least not in their face. If it doesn't do what they want, they want it gone.
What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central idea around my research was finding public reactions to art.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I made the inference that Serra's work was not complex and only installed to create an uprising. It turns out that he wanted to people actually examine art and determine it's worth rather than pushing it aside and labeling it as a form of entertainment.
Bibliography
“Richard Serra's Tilted Arc, 1981.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, www.pbs.org/wgbh/cultureshock/flashpoints/visualarts/tiltedarc_a.html. Accessed 27 Apr. 2017.
“Torqued Ellipse.” Guggenheim, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 14 Apr. 2017, www.guggenheim.org/artwork/17143. Accessed 27 Apr. 2017.
“Torqued Ellipse.” Guggenheim, The Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation, 14 Apr. 2017, www.guggenheim.org/artwork/17143. Accessed 27 Apr. 2017.