Pictured on the left is my can project. As can be seen, I tried to put an organic feel into this assignment. After playing with the cans and getting an initial impression of this unconventional medium, I formulated a basic idea of what I wanted to create. Unlike the last assignment, I actually managed to follow through with this prototype brainstorm. So, like it was stated in class, the "mechanical-versus-nature" juxtaposition generates a very strong response from viewers. I thought the cans had a very cool industrial, metallic quality to them; and so I attempted to create a mobile with very natural elements.
Here is one portion of my mobile. Initially, I had hoped to create an origami crane. However, the aluminum was a lot harder to work with than I had originally thought -- and so I had to amend my original plan. By fooling around, I managed to create a bird from multiple cans (plus wire) and attached the individual parts with thin wire.
When making these flowers, I used a different method. For the one on the bottom, I made a series of concentric circles and cut slits to piece them together. Then, after several cuts on my hand etc., I managed to create a spherical "blossom". For the flower on the top, I cut sheets of aluminum into strips and tied them together at the center with wire. I let them dangle to balance out the weight on the mobile.
As can be seen from pic two, the setting I chose to hang my sculpture was the railroad bridge which crosses over Campus Drive running from East to West. Pictures three and four are taken from the bridge after I walked up to find an appropriate place to hang the mobile. I chose the bridge because I wanted my piece to be displayed in an industrial surrounding. Upon closer inspection, I found a part of the wall where I wanted to hang my mobile around. There is graffiti text which states "Jesus Lives" and I wanted my mobile to hang over the portion that stated "Lives", because I thought it would make the viewer question: is the image alive? or what does it mean to be "alive"? Anyways, all-in-all, this area seemed appropriate.
The process of hanging the mobile proved to be a little more difficult (Primarily: a lack of proper lighting and a severe phobia of heights to deal with). However, I managed to string the mobile with thin wire and tie it to the bridge hanging directly over the road. The few late night drivers which passed by were, to put it nicely, intrigued by the mysteriously lowered art piece. One man actually got out of his car to inquire about the mobile and what I was doing with it (I told him I was "fishing" to raised eyebrows; and then I gave an actual explanation).
These are two pictures taken with my camera phone. Click on them to enlarge, if you will. They show, in the relative detail of 3.2 megapixels, precisely how I managed to suspend my mobile over Campus Drive.
This is a picture taken from the bridge directly looking down upon my mobile. Huge sense of vertigo would be an understatement.
And so, pictured on the left, is the finished hanging. The mobile is suspended over the spraypainted "lives" from the bridge -- high above the heads of inter-campus travelling. More pictures of the project, upon completion, follow.
Here is the finished mobile, hanging from the bridge from different viewpoints. Pictures one and two are from the road beneath looking upwards; and pictures three and four are from the bridge looking below at the suspended mobile strung with wire.
A brief personal reflection on the project: It was definitely my first time ever creating a 3D sculpture. I had to take into consideration many physical aspects (i.e. weight distribution, perception from varying angles, etc.) and it was, most assurably, a long learning process. The aluminum proved to be relatively easy to handle, but I did suffer from a few cuts and scrapes. I took into consideration the use of color for this mobile. Hence, diet coke caffeine-free gold and A&W brown along with coke red, sierra mist green, and diet coke silver. When all's said and done, I am satisfied with the end product and I believe I tried my best to create a more "organic" mobile. I like the setting chosen, because I believe it provides an interesting contrast. The text on a concrete, industrial background ("LIVES") becomes a fascinating basis of comparison.
I sat on the bridge to record a few reactions. I saw many questioning stares, and several cars slowed down with drivers' faces peering from their windshields. A few of my dorm mates thought it was "cool", "sweet", blah blah. One man on the housekeeping staff shouted up to me that the mobile was "real neat". As far as I know, as of now, it still has not been taken down. This could be due to the fact that it's such a hassle to cut it from the bridge. It'll be interesting to see how long it lasts...
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