Sasha Dunbar Untitled (/Attached), 2010. Assorted human hair and found natural objects. (22 separate pieces, each 2 cm by 26 cm) I explored the concept of Regression.
For this piece Sasha used human hair and natural found objects to explore the idea of regression. She attached varying lengths of hair and found natural objects to inch wide strips of poster board and then lined those strips vertically on the wall. The hair and the natural objects work in conjunction to make a non-objective, curved, vertical line. The weight of the individual lines shifts from light to heavy as the material changes from hair to natural object. Sasha creates unity in this piece by using repetition, proximity, material, pattern, and symmetry. We see repetition in the use of strips of poster board that are all the same size, and the way that they are lined up emphasizes pattern. Additionally, the proximity of the strips of paper with one another connects each individual line to the one next to it. There is also repetition evident in the use of material with each line composed at least partially of hair. Finally, the piece is unified through the use of symmetry with the lengths of hair increasing as the lengths of natural found object decrease. The way the lines are presented creates movement though the piece from the natural found objects, which have more weight, to the hairs (from bottom to top as well as from right to left). This movement goes against the natural tendency to start viewing the object in the upper right corner of the piece. The eye is initially drawn to the more textured segments of the lines (the parts made from the natural found objects) but then moves through the piece as those textured segments get smaller. The material choice was an interesting one, and it seems like Sasha effectively used the hair and natural found objects. One thing to improve upon in terms of material mastery would be to find a more seamless way to bind together the pieces of hair because under the lights the glue becomes quite obvious. This piece suggests regression from human-made to nature. It is interesting to place humans and nature as opposites, and the material effectively emphasizes regression to a more natural (less man-made) time.
I have been thinking about my piece more. Now that I have written my post-work, and read what Morgan thought about my piece, I have continued to understand what I was trying to convey-- it was very subconscious! Thinking about what I wrote, and the questions I ended with, I might have wanted to name my piece "Attached", addressing our attachment (or lack of) to our hair (on head v no longer on head), as well as to each other, and to nature. As much as we try to disconnect from nature, (in my piece) we are Attached, we are one, spiritually and physically (life is dependent on nature), and we need to take responsibility-- for ourselves, each other, and nature/the environment. I was originally not particularly worried if people interpreted it in this way or in any other way, but now i know that this is ultimately what I was exploring.
This blog has been created as a space to post and critique project examples from our class. ART 111 "Introduction to the Studio" is a beginning level studio course designed to introduce and ground students in core principles of art making in a rigorous, hands on studio. These principles will be taught through a series of practical exercises using traditional and digital tools. Emphasis will be placed on developing skills, knowledge of materials, methods of observation and translation, collaboration, discussion, and creative discipline.
Evaluator: Morgan
ReplyDeleteArtist: Sasha
For this piece Sasha used human hair and natural found objects to explore the idea of regression. She attached varying lengths of hair and found natural objects to inch wide strips of poster board and then lined those strips vertically on the wall.
The hair and the natural objects work in conjunction to make a non-objective, curved, vertical line. The weight of the individual lines shifts from light to heavy as the material changes from hair to natural object. Sasha creates unity in this piece by using repetition, proximity, material, pattern, and symmetry. We see repetition in the use of strips of poster board that are all the same size, and the way that they are lined up emphasizes pattern. Additionally, the proximity of the strips of paper with one another connects each individual line to the one next to it. There is also repetition evident in the use of material with each line composed at least partially of hair. Finally, the piece is unified through the use of symmetry with the lengths of hair increasing as the lengths of natural found object decrease.
The way the lines are presented creates movement though the piece from the natural found objects, which have more weight, to the hairs (from bottom to top as well as from right to left). This movement goes against the natural tendency to start viewing the object in the upper right corner of the piece. The eye is initially drawn to the more textured segments of the lines (the parts made from the natural found objects) but then moves through the piece as those textured segments get smaller.
The material choice was an interesting one, and it seems like Sasha effectively used the hair and natural found objects. One thing to improve upon in terms of material mastery would be to find a more seamless way to bind together the pieces of hair because under the lights the glue becomes quite obvious.
This piece suggests regression from human-made to nature. It is interesting to place humans and nature as opposites, and the material effectively emphasizes regression to a more natural (less man-made) time.
I have been thinking about my piece more. Now that I have written my post-work, and read what Morgan thought about my piece, I have continued to understand what I was trying to convey-- it was very subconscious!
ReplyDeleteThinking about what I wrote, and the questions I ended with, I might have wanted to name my piece "Attached", addressing our attachment (or lack of) to our hair (on head v no longer on head), as well as to each other, and to nature. As much as we try to disconnect from nature, (in my piece) we are Attached, we are one, spiritually and physically (life is dependent on nature), and we need to take responsibility-- for ourselves, each other, and nature/the environment.
I was originally not particularly worried if people interpreted it in this way or in any other way, but now i know that this is ultimately what I was exploring.