Unit 2: Reverse Engineering

The first part of this project was a struggle for me because I couldn't get the plastic dollhouses I needed right away. Then when I finally got them, I labored over how to reconstruct them after the dollhouses were disassembled. I had an idea of what I was trying to convey, I just didn't know how to convey it through sculpture. Talking with Prof. Harvey and pulling out some common themes in my work helped. I knew I wanted to make a piece that explored femininity through commercial excess, through stereotypes, and through my own (I like to think) brand of mysticism and dreamy otherworldliness.

 My work is heavily influenced by different narratives I read growing up, usually following a young female protagonist in an isolated setting like "The Lonely Doll"and "Princess Furball." I like making work that reminds people of something they've forgotten from their childhood and something they were daydreaming about yesterday at the same time, if that makes sense. I've titled my piece "The Sacred Heart of Girlhood" because within it, I'm exploring and critiquing gender constructs (like the excess amount of pink "girl" toys, the emphasis placed on beauty and consumerism to young girls) while simultaneously embracing the pleasing physical appearance of pretty objects arranged in a purposeful way. I wanted to create something reminiscent of a shrine because I find the kitschiness of iconography an interesting combination of tacky and beautiful, cliche and unique. In the center window of the plastic castle I have mounted on the wall, there is a picture of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, the patron saint of forgotten people and widows. St. Jane is flanked by two symbols she's often depicted with: the Immaculate Heart of Mary (right) and the Sacred Heart of Jesus (left). The title is a play on words.

Here is my first attempt at the reverse engineering project- an (too) obvious critique of modern beauty standards/female sexual objectification.

I was going to make a shadowbox of sorts out of this old Polly Pocket house but I didn't like how it turned out so I started over.

These are some close-ups of the finished installation I took with my iPhone:

Lastly, here are some images that inspired me during this project: 

Images from Google Images

Julia Fullerton-Batten

Australian artists Pip and Pop

Artist Lucilux's installation, 'Grandma's Den'

Laurie Beth Zuckerman's altars

Pinterest

Altar for Mary

Tumblr

Project 2: Taxonomies and Collections

For this project I was inspired by a few contemporary artists' installations as well as classic children's fairy tales. I collected 25 objects inspired by various fairy tales. Some objects (the playing card, the gold chain, the key) I chose with particular stories in mind (key for "Alice in Wonderland," gold chain for "Brother and Sister," and key for "The Bloody Chamber"). I arranged these objects in a 5x5 square grid, experimenting with minimalist form. I was inspired by the blog, Things Organized Neatly. I also tend to create messy, elaborate work, so I decided to try a cleaner, more mathematical approach. Some of the objects are already quite detailed (like the matryoshka doll) so I also liked the grid because it allowed each item to stand alone as an art project and stand together as a whole piece. I was afraid that the smaller items might get lost if I mixed them in with bigger objects, so I created a 3x3 square grid in the middle of the bigger grid. In hindsight, I think the installation would've been more visually balanced if I'd alternated the smaller objects with the large.



Everything on the wall, from left to right, starting with the top row:

1. My grandmother's hair. After my grandmother (on my mother's side) passed, the family had some sort of raffle to divvy up her belongings. At some point she had cut her hair very short, so there were two braids up for grabs. My mom won them. I'm glad I used them for this project because they were sitting, neglected, wrapped in tissue paper inside of a plastic bag when I asked my mother how I could find a braid to represent Rapunzel. 
2. Plastic roses. 
3. Ball of my grandmother's yarn. Same grandmother. 
4. Wind-up bird in cage from my sister's room. 
5. Russian matryoshka doll. Gift from my aunt's travels. 
6. Some sort of spindle/piece off a family heirloom. 
7. Painted egg
8. Craft store nest
9. Glass mushroom from kid's game. My sister's. 
10. Handkerchief. Antique. 
11. Wood folk toy. Gift from my mom to my sister. 
12. Little silver chair
13. Playing card
14. Goose figurine. From my Aunt Em. She had a collection of little porcelain figurines that she gave to my sister and I. 
15. Clock
16. Compact mirror. Gift from my aunt from France. 
17. Die
18. Wooden art model/figure
19. Thimble 
20. Gold chain. Probably belonged to a grandparent. 
21. Key. Belonged to paternal grandmother, I believe. 
22. Basket
23. Crown. I made this out of lace, gold paint, small seashells, and ModPodge two years ago when making a mermaid costume, fittingly. 
24. Fake berries
25. Teacup from first project