SOLITARY CONFINEMENT: The Final Piece.

5 Spaces:

1. The Creek outside of the Cohen Studio.

My main thought process throughout this piece was that you have to learn how to let things go. Motivation came to mind, how you just have to keep going. Some days will be tough as an artist but as long as you keep moving it will all work out in the end. I used the brush as a sculpture to represent the image I see in my head as I envision the creek. It was confining in the sense where as you hold it it becomes smaller.

2. The Cohen Studio-Drawing Studio

My main idea for this part of the journey was the idea of why I am here. As an artist we sometimes forget the adventure we endured in becoming artists, but while sitting in the Cohen studio I came to the realization as to why I am here, how I was meant to be at Alfred and how much I have improved as an artist. I made my sculpture out of the found paper in the studio and as you peer inside you see this photo.

3. Outside the Repo Studio

I realized during this time in Solitary Confinement that there is a wide range of materials that can be used for artists but as artists we sometimes confine ourselves to only one materal. I began to realize that if you expand your sense of abilities you will have more creative and original ideas compared to just ceramics or just painting. My sculpture worked with wire hangers and tape I found at the Repo Shop, materials I didn’t feel comfortable using but once I did I enjoyed how it came out.

4. Into the woods

As I saw the process of the leaves it reminded me of innocence. How the leaves are so vibrant and green and full of life but once the cold sets in and aging occurs the leaves turn yellow, red, and orange until they fall off with that cold brown color. Children remind me of this, how vibrant and full of life they are. But once responsibility kicks in and commitments your innocence slowly begins to fade. But then something wonderful happens, the leaves that die get decomposed. They go back into the soil which gets soaked up by the roots of the tree for nutrients and then the process of the leaves occurs again. Basically the idea that innocence can be recycled back. My sculpture is of leaves, I wanted to be able to see them so I added Tea Leave Candles to the inside so they illuminate  the leaves as you view into it.

5. The Sky and the Stars

The Sky, The darkness. I realized how confined we are. How life is so short. Time confines us. My last thought process is to live your life with meaning. To do a job that you enjoy, one that you wouldn’t need to take a vacation because your everyday life is paradise. Love your life, Live your life. We barely know anything about the sky and what is out there. Life is beautiful and so is the earth and the sky. Be thankful and work hard. My sculpture was a black form that was cut so when you look in it looks like a night sky.  (my favorite piece)

 

 

I loved this project. I got alot out of it. I really taught myself to internally confine myself and my thoughts. I restricted all my negative thoughts and came out with five beautiful ideas that I never thought about before. The whole process was an interesting one and I feel so blessed to have experienced it.

My Set up and Final Process.

Working with the materials were a lot harder than I expected. I faced many challenges in forming them into confining sculptures but in the end I made them all work. I really enjoyed making them, it posed a new level of interest because I had different materials I wasn’t used to.

When I finished I assembled them over at Cohen and worked on my audios until they were just right.

 

Over all a great process and a great turn out I would say. I stand by my work I think it shows hard work, a unique thought process and a different way of looking at things.

Solitary Confinement and my process.

I started out doing the first five hours. I documented each hour. I was in the Cohen Drawing Studio. I hated it. I also allowed myself a paper and a pen so I could show a drawing at the end of my piece. 

I found that the process was boring and after meeting with a teacher I realized I had to step up my game. But how?

This was my biggest struggle. How was I going to convey solitary confinement? How was I going to convey confine as a word? On the line? This caused many migraines and many half lucid dreams about different ideas.

 

Then something occurred.One morning, half sleeping, I began to think…

 

The viewer should be in solitary confinement, or at least be able to experience what I experienced. I remembered that in my third hour, I began to realized how lucky I was to be here. How different my life is now as oppose to a year ago. How I really think like an artist and I see objects in a whole new perspective since being here. This was a huge turning point in my process with solitary confinement. I became to realize the intensity my mind had and how if you stop and think sometimes you really begin to see things much more clearly. (this sounds like rambling but trust me it will all come together.)

I made up a plan:

5 different spaces on the line.

5 different sculptures from objects collected at those spaces.

5 different audio recordings of different things I thought about while being confined on that part of the line.

My goal for my project is to have a space that you look into, a confining sculpture that is your personal “solitary confinement” for the next couple of minutes. Experience what I experienced. Think how I thought.  I really liked this idea because it’s so easy for me to explain or document how I felt, it’s harder for me to show the viewer what its like to be internally confined. My thoughts during each section show a different point of view and way of thinking.

I went to five different spots along the line for two hours.

The Cohen studio drawing studio

The Woods, (two different parts)

Outside the Fab Shop

The creek outside of Cohen

Each experience confined me in different ways, made me view things and think of things in entirely new ways. I want the participant to experience the journey I took and see how different environments provoke different thinking.

 

This all goes back to the word confine. Confine means restrict, limit, contain or constrict.

Solitary confinement is restricting myself to just my mind in an isolating environment.

I want the participates to be internally confined, to think the way I thought, to view what I viewed. I want them to really understand and take part in this excursion.

I believe that in human nature we spend our days planning and working so hard to get somewhere, whether it be money or fame or power we are always on the go. We never have time to think. Although solitary confinement can usually be associated with negative connotations  I changed the view of it by doing it in short intervals so it doesn’t become psychologically damaging. It just becomes a form of viewing and seeing things in a different light, which is what an artist should learn to do.

 

So the final breakdown of my project:

I will have five sculptures that document a different part of the line I adventured to during my exploration. Accompanied with this will be audio that will explain what you are supposed to be thinking about while you go from sculpture to sculpture. This will show the participant that solitary confinement isn’t all negative and how you see things differently if you just look at them long enough.

Line Exploration-Proccess on Word Project.

I have been lacking on my blogging lately. Truthfully the reason why is because I was struggling with the idea of what to do for my final project. I had three proposals

• What utterly confines you? This would be a video of about twenty different people, sort of like the post secret website where people would share what confines them from reaching their goals and utter happiness. I really wanted to do this idea because I thought it would be interesting hearing different answers. But it was voted against when we had our presentations in class. 
• Solitary Confinement. My original idea was to be in solitary confinement on the line for ten hours. No phone, no computer, no contact. I would split the time up into five hour intervals and I would video tape myself every hour. I wanted to show how solitary confinement effects the human brain. This was voted the highest so I did it.
• Confined Vision. I was to take the glass bottles I painted and have different people walk the line and document and interview their experience with confining their visions. This was not even an option anyone wanted.

Homework: The Word–Interviews, Understanding the word, I feel about it

As I googled searched confine, confinement and confining I came across a lot of interesting information.

Anne Frank

Solitary Confinement Interviews 

Then I became really interested in the psychological effects of being in solitary confinement for an extended amount of time. I became so into this journal that I read the entire thing. This REALLY interested me.

Journal by Stuart Grassian

 

I think that this word is interesting and something I didn’t think I would enjoy but I do. I find it so appealing to me for some reason. I love control and having things work in my favor. The fact that when you are confined, being in confinement or being in a confining atmosphere you have no control over anything. You have no say if you are in jail, if you are trapped in a manhole or you are feeling confined in a sitiuation. The whole idea of being restricted, limited, enclosed, things not being perfect, it all seems so amazingly foreign to me. I really let myself go during these explorations, I developed a sense of freewill and carelessness I never had before. I realized that I have no control over things, I need to let life take me the course it wants instead of trying to control things. That goes with my art as well. For most of my pieces I control what I am going to do, I cannot wait to get home and throw and let the clay do the talking. Let all my feelings come out into that pot and let it just happen. Thats the beauty  of confinement, being confined and confining something. No control, limits, restricted. Its perfect in such an imperfect way. A beautiful word, for such a beautiful great meaning.

 

 

 

 

Homework: The Word–Free vs Unfree, Comfortable vs Uncomfortable

While walking the line I thought of confined. Confined can mean restrict or out of control. I thought of being confined in the sense of not being able to help my temperature. For the first half of my walk I wore a cozy big sweater with gloves, hat, Ugg Boots and a big winter jacket (it was cold). I felt warm and happy and didn’t have a care in the world, thought about a lot of stuff and got bored but wasn’t upset.

 

Then the worst came….

I took off my coat, gloves and hat. I walked the rest of the line in the cold. This was unbareable. This was uncomfortable and no matter what I tried I couldn’t control the fact that I was freezing. Time went by slower, I became increasingly more frustrated.

It was funny to see how different I felt and how when I confined myself with the temperature outside I realized I didn’t enjoy it. this was my least favorite exploration only for the fact that I was freezing and it took me like ten hours to get warm again.

Homework: The Word– Exploration 49, found words–confined voices

As I sat there and listened to these different conversations I came to realize how narcissistic people are. The conversations always were about themselves, and mostly about complaining. “I can’t stand bio anymore.” “I need more money.” I became annoyed with the fact that  they never wanted to do anything about it. It made me see myself in a different light. Do I talk like this? What would people think of me if they overheard my conversations? This made me take a step back and reevaluate myself and how I present myself.