Studio Project 3 – Being Human: Making a Monster
Reflection, Ideation & Process
For my monster idea, I was really trying to communicate that the workshop could be a hurdle for me in getting my work done, so as early as I could, I was planning to use other materials if that was an option, but I didn’t realize at the time how important it would be to use a type of metal as the material.
My first iteration was founded around a few concepts using the drawing above.
– I would not have to buy any new materials to complete the project,
– Therefore, I could use found objects that I already had at home, including yarn, and paper that I had around the house.
– Spray paint was one of the only things I had to purchase to test the colour schemes for these photos.
I tested a few different feather templates and the colour scheme to feel how to create natural gradients before mass painting several of the feathers.
I think that paper would’ve been a difficult, but not impossible material to work with, mainly to get the movement kind of feeling of a cloak. The type of ‘monster’ that I was thinking of was something that lived deep within a wooded or swamped area; something that is a part of nature, but sentient and which would use colours that fit this theme.
After this first stage and collaboratively exploring the ideation and materials with Ting and Carys, I was able to briefly try using shears and learning about metal working tools, but by this point of terms my hands were struggling with feelings of numbness and pain from Carpel tunnel which I haven’t had surgery for as of yet, and the shears were unfortunately more difficult to work with than regular scissors which were easier on my hands. For the metal shears, I experimented with making feathers out of sheet metal again.
Finally, we came to the resolution of creating something with aluminum foil. This was something that wouldn’t involve having to find a lot of new materials, and worked quite well in the end once the construction thankfully became second nature in its development.
Carys and Ting helped me through ideation again, and it was always going to involve feathers, but I think that my final iteration was actually better without and made more sense to me with the theme I had chosen. Before beginning construction of the final project, I wrote a poem which helped me to really figure out exactly what this monster was and what it was about, and what it came down to was that the monster had to do with feelings of inadequacy and self-image, and body image.
I have spent a lot of time this term in a Photography course, and listening to my peers who are women, talk about themselves and their body image issues, I really sympathized with the pressures that women are putting on themselves right now to fit certain media stereotypes, or even struggling with lingering eating disorders. Men are not immune to the same things either, becoming fixated on going to the gym and planning out their ‘macros’ and meals to perfection. I was really kind of shocked but again, sympathized for how much people are living in this head space about their appearance, while recognizing my own struggles with not always having the time and effort I would like for my appearance, and at times those conversations had when working together which I related most to through my gender dysphoria.
Through this project, I really feel that I briefly became an ‘architect’ of sorts. This reminds me of an intrinsic part of my project which is that, while the poem and themes tie into a sort of ‘home,’ the main home that we live in throughout our lives is our body.
I cut out shapes and mapped them out on paper like a puzzle, only drawing and constructing the next ‘puzzle pieces’ when it was able to be seen what the 3D construction required to be continued. The main concept that I was working with to construct was a beak; while I wanted to make a 3D project out of aluminum foil, I simply felt that I needed a type of template to work from, and since pieces would either need to be taped or glued together (with aluminum tape,) I felt like a template to work from was the best way to start out and see where it goes.
Because of this method, the construction was a bit trial and error to end up with pieces that fit well, but it was an experience that I enjoyed as I can safely say I have never built something in this manner before to draw something, and then immediately have it become three-dimensional before my eyes. I think the closest that I have worked with something like this was in the 3D program itself, using Meshmixer.
As I was working with laying down the pieces of foil, alternated with aluminum tape, I really looked at the work as a costume one might wear. I didn’t want any underneath or inside seams to really be showing, so that the paper would be visible underneath. I wanted it all to be covered evenly with aluminum, to speak to that ‘outer armour’ that we wear, and to look as professionally made as possible. I think that the material naturally has a mirror-like finish to it, which also I feel was a strength in this case when thinking about body image and our own perceptions of ourselves based on the outside world.
Presentation Photography
Poem for ‘Making a Monster’ Piece:
Living in nature is messy. So is being a human,
With layers we cover up & armour we put on just to survive
Our daily lives.
In nature, there is a tendency to have to be one step ahead,
Aware of the cycle of the seasons,
The feeding and hunting habits of wild creatures,
Tracking, gathering and rest and restoration.
No living creature can live or thrive without relying on a kind of pattern or routine, but moreso without some kind of
Armour or expression of the environment around us.
There is a balance struck between the vulnerability needed to stop,
To slow down,
To reflect and problem solve,
As compared to the exterior self,
The armour worn to protect our vulnerabilities,
Our fragility,
To bolster us up when we feel weak.
To step outside in nature is to be seen,
To feel
And to experience.
You cannot go into nature expecting to be unchanged by such an experience;
Without feeling the wind, without mud stuck to your shoe,
Without a scent clinging to your hair.
And yet,
As protectors and builders,
We habitually go out into nature and deliberately take a piece of it with us,
Leaving shelter with the intent to protect ourselves from the elements.
It’s undesirable to be ‘too cold’ sitting indoors with the heat on,
When we forget to wear our socks or put a blanket over us for added warmth.
But have you ever felt more refreshed than when you’re standing on a beach,
Fettered by freezing wind,
With rain that stings like seaspray on your cheeks?
We pick up a stone,
We take it home,
It becomes ours.
But, we rarely call ourselves the Earth when we go out into it.
We look in the mirror,
And maybe we greet ourselves that day,
Or maybe we are uncomfortable with the unkempt,
The tired,
The agitated,
The lack of armour,
Or our faded youth.
And other people, who go out in their armour, their crocheted sweaters or their long earrings,
Or their dark sunglasses,
They look at your unkempt,
Defrosted,
Transparent self,
And they look at your armour and they see them both in little ways.
They see your lip gloss, the way you tied your hair back so that it stays out of your eyes while you work –
A commitment.
And they don’t think twice about it. They hardly notice.
They might say something,
Compliment you or stick a label on, but underneath,
They don’t just look at you – they don’t look at you discerningly in your fragility,
Even when you feel naked under your armour in a vulnerable moment.
And they might also judge you, a little, like a squirrel might judge another squirrel drawing closer to its favourite tree.
Mostly, they are simply with you,
And they go out into nature,
They’ve picked up a stone and they take that stone home with them as a memory,
A memory with you in it,
That “there you were,” sitting underneath it all along.
Critique Photos
Peer Reflection
Nim and Gabriella created an innovative three-dimensional space using tires, wire, household objects, and various belongings that they used in collaboration for their assignment. The scale of the piece led us to have in-class conversations about the meaning behind the work, and how it relates to issues that people are facing in modern times with housing issues and displacement. In a way, it felt as if it could be about the environments that we grow up in (as the piece had themes of childhood,) as well as collecting and scavenging to continue to add to a type of ‘nest.’
Another piece that I really enjoyed that I think was made by Yewon (and I forget who her partner was,) was the hand holding cast. This piece felt very important to me in highlighting how much people who rely on ASL would appreciate if more people looked at the language as similar to other spoken languages in adapting to learn them. If the language were more commonly used, I feel like the world would be a much more vibrant and interactive place for everyone. During the critique, we were able to discern how certain hand-holding pieces really portrayed the tension that one hand may have been holding in the moment, and how well hands can imply emotion, gesture, movement and the tension of a moment from the way that the casting took place.