art horse: 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: