The Collective Condition
Faculty Mentor Name
Merrill Schleier
Abstract/Artist Statement
These emotive sculptures are essentially interpretive portraits of myself. They are also metaphors for the empathetic aspect of humanity illustrated through abstract and anthropomorphic objects and imagery. As ambiguous shapes and forms conveying loneliness, the ceramic works engage the viewer conceptually without being too literal in meaning, which is reinforced by their biomorphic structure that allows for greater expressive potency. Furthermore, the use of organic materials such as clay and metal wire relate to the raw expression ofloneliness in that they are as organic as emotions are to people. I believe that the process of creation should transcend the work itself, which requires an improvisational method in order to capture feelings as closely as possible. Working with clay to illustrate how I feel has been liberating - even cathartic - and using non-referential forms to divulge emotions has become a practical solution that I hope to share with my audience. Ultimately, I wish to encourage each viewer to recognize that we are all alike because we share common emotions and experiences. From this, I hope to inspire the viewers' sense of empathy and prompt them to look beyond their circumstances and seek to build relationships with other people on the pretense that we are all human and all a part of a collective condition.
Location
Studio Art Building
Start Date
3-5-2008 1:00 PM
End Date
3-5-2008 5:00 PM
The Collective Condition
Studio Art Building
These emotive sculptures are essentially interpretive portraits of myself. They are also metaphors for the empathetic aspect of humanity illustrated through abstract and anthropomorphic objects and imagery. As ambiguous shapes and forms conveying loneliness, the ceramic works engage the viewer conceptually without being too literal in meaning, which is reinforced by their biomorphic structure that allows for greater expressive potency. Furthermore, the use of organic materials such as clay and metal wire relate to the raw expression ofloneliness in that they are as organic as emotions are to people. I believe that the process of creation should transcend the work itself, which requires an improvisational method in order to capture feelings as closely as possible. Working with clay to illustrate how I feel has been liberating - even cathartic - and using non-referential forms to divulge emotions has become a practical solution that I hope to share with my audience. Ultimately, I wish to encourage each viewer to recognize that we are all alike because we share common emotions and experiences. From this, I hope to inspire the viewers' sense of empathy and prompt them to look beyond their circumstances and seek to build relationships with other people on the pretense that we are all human and all a part of a collective condition.