kasprzak hannah: April 2023

A Natural History of The Senses Relief Sculpture

Overwhelming Confinement

spray foam, acrylic paint, glow-in-the-dark paint, chicken wire

36" x 38"' x 10.5"

Full, from an angle

Detail #1

Detail #2

This sculpture explores ideas from and is inspired by sight and bioluminescence. The two most important aspects of this relief sculpture are the chicken wire and spray foam. For the chicken wire, I wanted to visually communicate something permanent and man-made, to represent the deterrents of marine life in our ecosystem. The ripped-up nature of the chicken wire and the random placement of it on the wall is supposed to communicate “trash” in a way. On the other hand, the spray foam is extremely fluid and expands wherever I put it, representing life in the ocean. The spray foam is intertwined with the chicken wire, almost appearing trapped, as I wanted to display the impact of humans on marine ecosystems. Additionally, the spray foam is coated in several layers of glow-in-the-dark paint, glitter paint, and metallic paint to visually communicate bioluminescence.

In-process

Richard Tuttle

https://www.moussemagazine.it/magazine/richard-tuttle-mariangoodman/

Dan Hoopert

https://www.behance.net/gallery/19563999/Coral

Norris Kim

https://www.saatchiart.com/art/Painting-Warless-i-2023/694878/10042101/view?epik=dj0yJnU9b0IyM2pPLWJxd1hJQWNSUWUyRVRSZmlTLTN6MWx5VzcmcD0wJm49cGlGc1pkUG8zLW1vTERTbWl3VUJCUSZ0PUFBQUFBR1JGazZZ

Memento

Memento

wood, silver paint, metal hinge

3.5" x 3.5" x 3.2"

Full, Angle 2

Full

This sculpture is a reflection of the time spent with my family on Christmas morning. For every Christmas that I can remember, instead of candy or coal in my and my twin sisters' stockings, it was filled to the brim with various assortments of nuts. Macadamia nuts, walnuts, pecans, almonds, hazelnuts, chestnuts, and more would be dumped out on the carpet in the living room before being sorted into neat piles. The shape of the sculpture is smooth and semi-round, depicting the happiness and contentment I associate with the memory. It also somewhat resembles a walnut and can open via a hinge on the back. There is a band of metallic silver encompassing the middle of the wooden sculpture and on the inside where the two sides meet. I wanted to visually communicate where the metal nutcracker would touch the walnut to split it open. Inside, the texture is rough, addressing the frustration that came with not being able to open the nuts half of the time. There are 18 small wooden balls inside, the number being representative of the 18 Christmas' I’ve had with my family.

In-process

Rachel Breakie

https://foundations3ddesign.blogspot.com/2023/01/rachel-breakie-student-work.html

Lenka Clayton

http://www.lenkaclayton.com/#/box352things/

Nina E. Allender

https://www.nps.gov/articles/getaway-bepa.htm

Experimental Sculpture Collection

Apex

wood, balsa wood, thread, ink, hot glue, gel medium, masking tape, tracing paper

13" x 13" x 3.5"

Full Angle 1

Full Angle 2

Detail

Full Angle 1

Full Angle 2

Detail

Full Angle 1

Full Angle 2

Detail

In-process

The experimental sculpture collection entitled Apex was inspired by several innovative artists that work primarily with items that are more often than not found strewn about any given area. My intent was to visually communicate emphasis on three separate elements and principles of art: negative space (the tall wooden sculpture), repetition (the rectangular sculpture baring wooden dowels), and focal point (the suspended red gel medium piece). I wanted to primarily focus on how I could transform each individual sculpture in a way that was pleasing to the eye both separately and together. I decided to include a more advanced wood shop piece because I wanted to challenge myself with something I had never tried before. On that note, The piece that holds the wooden dowels was thrown away and redone three separate times, so the last-minute nature of that sculpture, in particular, was where my work was lacking. I want to keep exploring the wood shop, as I believe, while it’s tough, having that experience is rewarding. In making this sculpture collection, I pushed myself to think outside of the box and remind myself to not be afraid of using inspiration to spin my own designs.

Linda Matthews

https://www.linda-matthews.com/diy-glue-gun-stencils/

Ross Peterson

https://mnartists.walkerart.org/vol-1-no-1-the-art-of-the-natural

Michelle Surge

http://michellesegre.com/new-gallery

Visual Symbols

Preservation

clay, ink, acrylic paint

5.5" x 3" x 2"

Full Angle 2

Full Angle 3

Detail

Fertility

clay, ink

5.7" x 3" x .8"

Full Angle 2

Full Angle 3

Detail

The two air-dry sculptures entitled Preservation and Fertility in turn were inspired by Anastassia Zamaraeva and other indigenous clay artists. I intended to visually communicate both content and meaning through two unscrutinized topics that have often come up in today’s politics. I wanted to focus on my use of colors in both of the sculptures: Preservation has a notable emphasis on both the color of the hair and the scissors, along with the earrings and the gold accents. In doing so, I pulled attention to her features and hair. On the other hand, Fertility bears both the colors orange and purple, which represent feminine strength and fertility. I felt the work was lacking a general knowledge of clay, as this was my first time working with said medium. I would love to keep exploring the possibilities of air-dry clay and how to further manipulate it.

In-process

Research #1: Marian Symbolism of the Crescent Moon

https://udayton.edu/imri/mary/c/crescent-moon-meaning.php

The so called Luna, half moon, or sickle of the moon, also waning and waxing moon, is a sign of fertility, related to life and death, and thus a popular symbol in many religions. It pinpoints changing seasons, ebb and tide (and related inundations as harbingers of fertility), and the feminine menstrual cycle.

Navajo woman helping her husband braid his hair in Monument Valley, Arizona, Navajo Tribal Park

Research #2: For many Native Americans, hair tells a life story

https://www.insider.com/what-hair-signifies-in-native-american-culture-2022-11

In a culture where hair has been a symbolic ode to identity and spirituality, Indigenous hairstyling is more than an aesthetic – it's a sacred preservation of history.