April 20-27th 2021
This week we introduced planes into our sculptures. I didn’t want to waste materials and start from scratch. Thus I decided to deconstruct the chain link piece from last week and repurpose the parts.
I felt that the chain links only made it look busy and got lost in the mess of twisting wire. Therefore I took them away and created two new pieces with them. I felt similarly with the base. I liked some aspects of the shape but it felt too cluttered. As a result I cut the base in half, kept the form I liked, then reshaped the other half.
Inspiration: Naum Gabo
For these two pieces I was inspired by Naum Gabo’s work Construction in space: two cones. I like how Gabo has bent the plastic in different ways, which makes the planes take on different shapes and size when seen from different angles. When researching Gabo I came across an article on the Tate website that talked about another one of Gabo’s work, Construction in space (crystal). The article talked about how Gabo was influenced by his interest in science and math.
“While Gabo had long been fascinated by scientific models and theories, often adapting their general conclusions for his sculptural ends, this work was directly inspired by a mathematical model.”
Jacky Klein, “Construction in space (crystal),” Tate, September 2002, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/gabo-construction-in-space-crystal-t06978.
I really like how Gabo has combined an interest in science and math with art through sculpture. Gabo is disproving the stereotype that artist don’t enjoy or struggle when learning math and science.
Construction in space: two cones 
Construction in space (crystal)
The Base
I began this week by cutting the base, of my previous work, in two. I took some fabric and twisted it around the metal frame. Then I twisted the fabric to emulate Gabo’s work.
I also kept the sturdy base that I liked from last week.
I prefer these two pieces to the original because the variation in colour and material helps to make the sculpture clearer and easier to read. The fabric and the metal contrast really well; with the metal being hard and rigid next to the fabric which is soft and flowing.
The chain links
For the chain links I decided to down size my idea and make two smaller sculptures. For the first one I took some material and attached it to half of a link. Then after talking with Ryder we came up with the idea of forcing the link open and wedging something into it. I decided on a piece of wood and used and off cut of the wire to stand it up.
I’m not that happy with this piece, I prefer it as a concept rather than 3D. That’s because the fabric doest retain the circular shape of the link and ends up looking limp. Maybe if the fabric was on the other half of the ring it would not come in contact with the plinth and look better. It could also be that to retain the shape of the fabric the ring needs to sit flat at the top.
For my second piece I wanted to show the curve of the rings unencumbered by other materials such as wood or fabric. I took four chain links and flattened one side of each. Then used black thread to bind them together in the centre. I then used coloured yarn to create patterns with in the links.
I like that it is asymmetrical because the links are all different sizes. The pattern with the yarn reminds me of the lines in Gabo’s work. I like the idea of adding in math shapes such as the golden spiral.
