Author: Katarina

https://visualarts.aut.ac.nz/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/final-work-1.obj

With this work I wanted to create a sculpture building on ideas from my previous works. I wanted to create something from my imagination, something that couldn’t easily be made with your hands i.e. in real life. My previous works had the same theme of having a central core where I manipulated and added objects to it, I wanted to expand this idea and create two central core and build on top of it. I really liked playing with organic matter and creating this type of mutation where nature is ‘taking over’ in a way. Almost appearing alien yet beautiful simultaneously.

I did have quite some fun creating this work, allowing any possibility to happen such as having the sculpture be hovering, defying gravity. I also played around with different scales like last time.

I’m not surprised to say that functioning the Meshmixer software was another challenge for me. I faced multiple problems that costed me a lot of time waiting it out (like my laptop freezing for 4 hours…). I would’ve liked to reduce the file, exported and uploaded to a digital exhibition on Artsteps if I could do this again and possibly make one more sculpture.

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I’ve put in some screenshots as there’s some difficulty loading the embedding code. I’ve put it in multiple times where they have loaded and after some time they no longer work.

I am a bit worried for my work for tomorrow as I’ve made my sculpture but Meshmixer is freezing up my laptop and won’t load… for consecutive hours when I am trying to reduce and export the mix. It’s been doing this is 3pm and I’m not quite what to do, it wont allow me to shut off my laptop or force quit the site). I am a bit worried… this has never happened to be thus far which is a bit inconvenient. I do however have screenshots of the sculpture before it started to act up.

Bryant Nichols plays with digital softwares such as Cinema 4D and Photoshop to create these 3D sculpture illustrations that evoke an ominous yet fun imagery. Nichols explores working with matter that we easily recognise and are familiar with, for example skulls and moss, he then intertwines these objects with other matter we do not easily recognise, thus creating this uncomfortable, alien feeling. We are intrigued because we do not know what it is and we want to explore it. Nichols also takes advantage of creating works digitally where he can experiment with scale, weight, fragility and gravity or lack thereof, that can’t be easily manipulated in real life.

What type of work can you create digitally that can’t be made in real life? What can be real in the digital world? I want you to explore the possibilities of translating your endless imaginations that can be real within the world outside your head… into another world.

Download at least 10 obj files of objects of your choice (try have some organic matter) and upload them to the Meshmixer software. Depending on your scale, create at least 1-2 works and upload them on your blog by 9AM Thursday 14, October .

https://www.artsteps.com/embed/61623c9279484bd00a05e99e/560/315

(I’m not sure why the embed short code isn’t working as it’s there in the draft but doesn’t show up on the post, James has even put up for me..)

I’ve tried embedding my exhibition on this blog but it doesn’t seem to be working for me… Throughout creating these digital sculptures I have been very vocal about the frustrations of working with the Meshmixer software where certain options won’t work, figuring out how to function it and it crashing on me (even embedding onto my blog). I believe I’ve tried my best to my abilities to create my digital assemblies.

My exhibition is called Metamorphosis and the works installed are very experimental. I’ve laid out my first two play around sculptures at the beginning of my exhibition to show progress, then moving forward in a clockwise direction I have laid out three more works. Each work are different assemblies of organic matter and foreign objects, for example, orange, flower, rock, sword, statue. My ideas stem from nature as most of my inspiration comes from nature as I feel deep in the Waitakere Ranges, so I am always surrounded. With this digital assemble concept, I thought it would be cool to approach this task with the idea that these works to look unfamiliar, yet familiar. Almost like a new mutation, morphing of something we know. With the new ability to play with scale and space on the Meshmixer, I took advantage with it and made objects larger than human scale (a head, an ear, etc) as well as creating structures that would defy gravity/ be unbalanced.

I installed my works in an exhibition space that I created, I went for a more white cube gallery look so the walls a white to not be distracting from the work and act as a frame for the pieces. I did make the floor a darker colour to the walls so there is some contrast and added a centre wall to seperate the works. I chose not to include any mantels/tables for my pieces as I thought it would stand out like a sore thumb and did compliment the works. I thought that since I made these works relatively large, they stand as they are.

Although I have gotten familiar with the Meshmixer software, new obstacles keep popping up. I can’t colour or play with different brushes some don’t work or they don’t show up on my edit dashboard at all. As well as the software unexceptionally crashing on me when I haven’t saved my sculpture. I’ve looked at the guides on blackboard and this hasn’t helped with my problems with the software.

Although I have been facing a lot of obstacles, I’m trying really hard to not be unmotivated to complete this work because I found this task quite refreshing. I have to making new sculptures but they’re not to the best of my abilities for these and past frustrations with this particular software. Even uploading the obj files on the blogs are having troubles, so I have opted for screenshots, which I know isn’t as good as a 3D obj files.

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Here I played around with assembling together organic matter e.g. flesh, plants etc. and dead in the centre is a man. man object, a sword next to a statue. I really liked playing with the scales here with the large head at the base and large hand emerging there the chest of the torso.

Cesar Ortega

Ortega works with virtual reality having a background in game art and design. Ortega thrives to express the truth with his works.

This work of Ortega Slove et Coegula means to destory and to rebuild. Destruction is a part of life thriving so it can continue to exist, the cycle of life. I really like this piece as I can see the multiple layers of the human body being ripped a part and torn into the space. I found this very inspiring as my works in for this brief has been heavily inspired by nature elements. I think it would be interesting assembling together elements of nature and body as well as still keeping man made objects in my works in a way that it looks destroyed/mutated/regrown.

Stuart Campbell AKA Sutu

Sutu is an accomplished artist having worked for Marvel, Disney and Google. Sutu likes to work with virtual realities to create works that are interactive with the view i.e. creating VR works. Sutu is also a writer and comic book artist.

This piece of Sutu really allows the viewer to be interactive with it since it is viewed with VR so this enables us to see the work from all angles. The twists and coils almost feels like he is playing with light or material submerged in liquid. With my works I would like to try play with manipulating my objects in a way that it looks likes it is moving/ weightless/ airy/ melting, something not easily done physically made.

Bibliography

“Alive.” Museumor, October 9, 2021, https://www.museumor.com/artwork/alive.

“Solve er Coagula.” Museumor, October 9, 2021. https://www.museumor.com/artwork/solve-et-coagula.

“SUTU.” Sutu eats flies. .October 9, 2021. https://www.sutueatsflies.com/about.

Boy oh boy was this tricky. I am not one for computers so figuring out how to download, open and find objects let alone figuring out the Meshmixer software took me a good few hours. I don’t have a mouse for my laptop either so that made things a little bit more difficult as well.

[EDIT: Finally was able to embed my obj file FINALLY]

My downloaded objects.

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I played around with a statue, cacti, bunny head and an orange for the first one. I’m just playing around, figuring it all out and getting familiar with the software. I thought this one was pretty cool though.

I definitely need to still play around on this software and downloading different objects, I can really improve from this. I think this activity was very interesting though, seeing the possibilities with merging random objects you wouldn’t consider to be together, for example a roman statue with a cacti or a bunny head stuck in the back of it. As well as playing with scale and what would defy gravity etc etc etc.

Excluding the obvious frustrations of trial and error for this software, I think this activity is really fun especially seeing the endless possibilities of what can be assembled together

I grabbed some grapefruit and kiwis and started to slice them up to then dry out in an air fryer. My idea was to play around with dried out fruit either sewing them together to assemble them or to leaves etc.

It took quite a while to dry out the fruit, I hadn’t anticipated how time consuming it actually was, took a few hours. The kiwi’s didn’t turn out so good, they withered and burnt out a little but the grapefruit looks good.

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I decided to sew the slices and some other things onto the leaves. I really like the contrasting colours, orange, green and the red thread. I think it would be cool if I made a few more of these and potentially assemble them together to make one big assemblage. I like the look of these nature assemblages as it gives off witchey vibes so I might lean into that area and maybe melt some candle wax and use it as glue…

I had decided to work on the smaller scale instead of big like I had planned as making things on the smaller scale I can produce more work as the drying stage took a lot of my time.

I was gonna play with crocheting rocks together or wrapping a rock in crochet, but I thought this may be a bit time consuming even for a little sculpture so I decided to play around with the idea of sewing. From my last assemblages I liked the idea of tying yarn together to assemble my materials.

With this idea in mind, I want to still work with organic matter to use as my objects. This idea sort of develops from my earlier sculptures like the bed and chair being in nature. Interconnecting foreign (man made) objects to nature.

I gathered by materials; yarn, needle, leaves, rocks, and started playing around with them.

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I really liked to contrast of the red yarn against the green, it really makes it pop out and show that this is not an organic material. I also liked how it looked up on the tree it looks very ominous, almost witch like.

Playing with this has really inspired me which I am happy for. I now maybe want to play around with fruit as the objects, still working with the yarn and sewing. I would like to cut some round fruit e.g grapefruit, kiwi, apple etc. dry them out and try incorporating them together with the leaves, flowers, etc.

Kate Newby

Kate, born in New Zealand, based in New York working with sculptures and installations. She uses a lot of material around her environment from everyday objects to spaces.

I really like how Grace uses organic matter, almost recycling old materials such as bricks and rock.

Phyllida Barlow

Phyllida is a British artist creating playful installations inspired by her surroundings

Phyllida’s way of accumulation and layering of objects creates unrecognisable shapes from objects around her studio that look quite fun and playful.