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Foundations Course: Constructed Body.
The following sections outline the main projects presented in the class.
Click the link to view all images of a project at once.
view the full class syllabus here
Intervention : Performance project
ASSIGNMENT:
With your collaborator, select a site within or just outside of the Center for the Arts building. Create a temporary performance, indoor or out. Material choice is open, short of being dangerous to others or self, or damaging to property. Performances should be kept under 5 minutes in duration.
The selected site and the performance should inform each other on various levels (e.g. formally, conceptually).
Consider- what is ‘site-specific’? what is a contextualized piece? how important is the choice of the site for the realization of your piece? can the constructed elements of your piece function without the site? why did you choose this particular site? have you considered the history or social function or psychological effect or spatial configuration of your chosen site? and is there reference to these in your piece?
In your efforts to describe space, at least one of the following time-based and immaterial elements must be addressed: sound, scent, or bodily movements.
Nature / Nurture : Wearables project
ASSIGNMENT:
Body image is related to how we view ourselves and others in society and in nature. It evolves and reacts in relation to the psychological, scientific, and ethical shifts in human knowledge/ thought/ culture.
Design and construct a three-dimensional piece that is potentially wearable. Consider how clothing can warm/cool/shelter/expose/obscure/enhance/contrast the body. Consider the bodily senses and actions that the body makes. How can your piece obstruct or enhance those faculties? Experiment with the tensions between the biological and the cultural. You may use any medium necessary.
Metamorphosis : Plaster Casting & Found Object Sculpture project
ASSIGNMENT:
Using plaster cast, generate a transformation of one form into another by integrating cast body part(s) with found or fabricated form(s).
Found objects, mold-making and casting techniques are utilized in this project. Two casts are taken: 1. one selected body part; 2. an object / architectural feature. The different forms are then integrated into one metamorphic form. Plaster is used for the mold as well as the final casting and assembly work. The surface of the final plaster cast can remain untreated or may be treated with a surface finish e.g. stain (with commercial or homemade stains), shellac, wax (e.g. furniture polish paste), pigment, various dry media, paint, various found substances (like tea, clay slip, dirt, charcoal, etc.). The choice of surface treatment should be integrated into the form, supporting the intention of the piece.
In the design and execution of this project, consider the following potential relationships between the different forms: positive-negative, biomorphic-geometric, natural-cultural, organic-machine.
Expansion : Figure Drawing project
ASSIGNMENT:
Working in compressed or vine charcoal, produce a series of 6 drawings on white stock, each uniformly sized at a minimum of 18” x 24”. The orientation can vary (i.e. vertical or horizontal). Select different areas of the model’s pose to enlarge and crop into interesting compositions. Work out the compositions in thumbnail sketches and have a good variety of options before settling on the final 6 to be worked into finished pieces. Final compositions should become intriguing as the images become abstracted and thereby less literal, more connotative, all the while retaining qualities of the human and of flesh. Make use of the full range of tones perceivable. As the drawings are completed, experiment with the final configuration.