Anti-Cordel page 2

Anti-Cordel page 1

Cordel

mobile museum project-page 3

mobile museum project-page 2

mobile museum project-page 1

Mask Project

Mask Project:  The Infamous Sten Gustaf

The assignment is to identify one (free) found object and use that object to create a mask within the context of the found object.  So I began this project by asking myself, what is the purpose of a mask?  And how can I create a design to communicate the idea I’m considering?

A mask hides, but it also reveals.  A mask can be ceremonial, entertaining, to disguise, or to anonymously make a statement about an idea.  A mask removes the specific individual reference and can represent a gender-race-cultural-neutral idea without personal distractions.  The mask can represent the idea of many people, in my case those concerned about consumer waste, as it affects individuals.  I wanted to relate consumer waste, and the need for environmental protection awareness, into the theme of my mask design.

I drew several sketches before settling on the final design.  Because I was only using one object as material for the mask, I wanted the design to include the strong graphic elements of repetition, pattern, and rhythm.

We as a worldwide culture have a toxic love affair with one-time use plastic shopping bags.  Most people try to recycle them, some even repurpose them into other products, and a few strive to avoid them entirely by bringing their other paper or fabric bags.  But the problem of this accumulating trash is enormous and has widespread impact to our environment.

From the beginning of the project, I knew I wanted to make an environmental statement, but until I had actually written some mind-mapping ideas, I didn’t have a clear vision of what direction I wanted to take with project.

Next, I brainstormed a list of potential waste materials, and eventually decided on using plastic shopping bags.

The object of my mask design, one-time-use plastic shopping bags, functions as a bridge to the discourse surrounding the controversy between ordinary daily routine and the larger concern regarding the permanent destruction to our environment and its subsequent impact to wildlife.

The mask design is based on ancient Indian Medicine Man masks.  I like the idea of relating a sacred Indian object to the recklessness of disposable plastic bags in order to draw attention to the need for healing the environment, and our worldwide view, of the consequences of continued use of these bags.

I cut the bags into shreds, then braided them into strips, then sewed the strips into units, then combined the units into the final design.  The process was quite invloved, and as it turns out, it is very difficut to sew plastic.

I incorporated an infinity sign around the eyes as a symbolic reference to the fact that the environment issues are ongoing without a remediation strategy.  The infinity sign can also represent the evil snake eating it’s own head, as humans act irresponsibly with regard to treatment of the environment.

Sten Gustaf

So who is the infamous Sten Gustaf?

Gustaf is a Swedish engineer, who back in the 1950s, is credited with developing the technology to make plastic grocery bags.  Poor Gustaf!  We love his intervention for the very same reason we hate it (convenience, lightweight, indestructible, low cost, plentiful, etc.!)

Highlights of the One-Time-Use Plastic Shopping Bag:

• Worldwide use began in the 1960s
• US Consumption: 100+ billion bags annually (requiring 12 million barrels of oil)
• 500 million – 1 trillion annual worldwide use
• Wreaking environmental havoc everywhere on earth: growing plastic ocean “islands”, filling landfills, land litter cogging drains and surface water systems, life-threatening harm to wildlife.
• Pollution likely a larger problem outside the US, where laws in developing countries, is not as well enforced

I also wanted this project to send a positive message, and not simply make a statement critcizing the thoughtless, irresponsible wastefulness of its worlds’ citizens.

Not surprising, online searches revealed that many others share my views on the wastefulness of one-time plastic shopping bags. However, oddly enough, many of these sites, are promoting hand-made items, such as handbags, baskets, rugs, and you guessed it, more durable shopping bags!  Although I applaud the social awareness, I have to wonder how effective this strategy really is.  Afterall, as the ideal of repurposing plastic bags into other projects becomes more popular won’t the laws of supply and demand simply create a stroger need for a product that is better left not produced?

Some law makers have either initiated a “bag” tax or banned their use entirely.  More good intentions gone awry!  This doesn’t solve the problem, it only singles out, and punishes one particular industry, while ignoring all the other plastic products that pollute our environment.  Specific business like Whole Foods and Ikea have jumped on the band wagon and created corporate policy against the use of plastic bags.  But I think there are better solutions!

I think it makes more sense for legislators to incentivise industry, through development grants and tax benefits, to create a more earth friendly, bio-degradable product.  This technology is available, but not yet widely used.

The ultimate goal for this project:  I dream of a time when children will have no understanding of the question, “paper or plastic?”

Land Art

As described in Wikipedia, “Land art, Earthworks (coined by Robert Smithson), or Earth Art is an art movement in which landscape and the work of art are inextricably linked.  It is also an art form that is created in nature, using natural materials such as soil, rock (bed rock, boulders, stones), organic media (logs, branches, leaves), and water with introduced materials such as concrete, metal, asphalt, or mineral pigments.  Sculptures are not placed in the landscape, rather, the landscape is the means of their creation.  Often earth moving equipment is involved.  The works frequently exist in the open, located well away from civilization, left to change and erode under natural conditions.  Many of the first works, created in the deserts of Nevada, New Mexico, Utah or Arizona were ephemeral in nature and now only exist as video recordings or photographic documents.  They also pioneered a category of art called site-specific sculpture, designed for a particular outdoor location.”

In the example below, the artist, Winston Howes, a farmer from England planted saplings as a tribute to his wife of 33 years after she died suddenly.

In another example, an artist created a handmade stone tree by cleverly stacking a collection of rocks.

In my Second Home-Finding Your Place in the Fun found book project, I choose to represent concept of Land Art, by cutting pages from the book into maple leaf shapes and attaching them to a tree in my yard.

Mail Art / Web Art

Mail Art is a populist artistic movement started by American artist, Ray Johnson, in the 1950s and continuing into the 60s.  The movement is based on the concept that art is created once it is sent via post to its audience and/or other artists.  The artwork can be multi-media and include drawings, images, postcards, rubber stamps, poetry, etc.

Like Mail Art, Web Art is similar in that the artists are relying on their interconnected networks of viewers as a means of sharing their artwork.  Mail Art and Web Art are about the exchange of work within a virtual community of participants.  Web art is an evolution of the Mail Art concept and the practice continues to this day.

In the example below, the artist, Chuck Welch, is using postal mail to make a political statement about gun control after the John Lennon shooting.

In keeping with the second-home-as-a-haven concept described in my Second Home-Finding Your Place in the Fun found book project, I choose to represent the concept of Mail Art / Web Art, by attaching images torn from the book to an addressed envelope.  I’ve also included many quotations on the envelope (mostly from Zig Ziglar) to promote ideas that can effect positive change in ones’ life.

Superflat

Superflat, as described on Wikipedia, “… is a postmodern art movement, founded by the artist Takashi Murakami, which is influenced by manga and anime.  It was also the name of a 2001 art exhibition, curated by Takashi Murakami, that toured West Hollywood, Minneapolis, and Seattle.”

“Superflat is used by Murakami to refer to various flattened forms in Japanese graphic art, animation, pop culture and fine arts, as well as the “shallow emptiness of Japanese consumer culture.”  A self-proclaimed art movement, it was a successful piece of niche marketing, a branded art phenomenon designed for Western audiences.”

From Artnet, “…Superflat artists, Murakami says, create their own version of popular culture to draw attention to the dominance of the media, entertainment and consumption.  Significantly, many in the exhibition work in the industries they critique.  In addition to fine artists, there are commercial photographers, fashion designers, animators, graphic designers and illustrators.  Sexual innuendo and black humor are popular topics throughout the show.”

The anime featured below depicts the Japanese style of a flattened hand-drawn anime image common in Japanese pop-culture.

In my Second Home-Finding Your Place in the Fun found book project, I choose to represent the concept of superflat by taking images of some of Murakami’s artwork and using them to redecorate some of the rooms.