Final- paper sculpture project notes

The idea of making a flat and plain material into something three-dimensional and interesting is an amazing result. I wanted to experience this amazement so I decided to work with only printer paper and see how this plain material that we use every day to print our documents can turn itself into something artistic and beautiful.  As for the design, I went on the internet and looked for interesting shapes that you can make out of paper (origami-like) and so I found this diamond/ spiral shaped design. After I made 10 copies of the design, I decided to work a little bit with it and see what I can make. The result was the design below.

If I have another chance to make this again, I would make it bigger than life-size and hung from the ceiling almost like a chandelier.  I like pieces that are hung; it gives this elegant feeling especially to my piece. I really liked how my piece turned out. The photo that really shows illusion and shows another side of my project is the last one. I made my piece spin and took photos and as you can see that was really effective.



                                             

Harvey B. Grantt Center 4/28

Harvey B. Grantt Center for African-American Arts+Culture.

Woman Washing Clothes by Charles H. Alston, oil on pastel on paper, 30.5"x20.5" ca. 1970.

In this drawing, I was surprised to find bold black outlines. Most artists try to avoid even thin black outlines to let objects in the drawings or paintings become three-dimensional. However, in this drawing, Alston did not have a problem making the woman and the pot three-dimensional. The black bold lines also made the subjects pop from the background. The pop effect worked well, because the woman's skin color is the same as the background.

My Mother Told Me I am Chinese; painting lesson, Maria Magdalena, polaroid prints.

I think this artwork grabbed every viewer's attention. First of all, it was bigger than life-size, and second of all, it was realistic looking, which makes you want to relate to the subject in the work. The artwork also gave me the feeling of unity between two ethnicities/races: African-American and Chinese. I also love the meaning behind the white pigment that is spread all over the African-American girl's skin. It gives the viewer a message that the girl is trying to be convinced that she is Chinese because her mother told her so.