Back to the lab

I started making drawings with the idea that it would help me think about the sculptures I plan on making soon. However, it turns out that I am only effectively thinking about the drawings as things in and of themselves -- not the act making sculpture. And since I haven't been currently making sculpture, I'm not actively thinking about it in the way I had anticipated I would. It's extraordinarily difficult to do without actually making things, so here's the new plan:

Since I'm still interested in the drawings, I will continue with that, but since I (A) need to make sculpture and (B) haven't been thinking in sculptural terms, I have decided to make "thoughtless sculptures" -- sculpture without pre-meditation.

Of course, this is impossible -- the very act of making is thinking. But the idea is that I'm not really starting with an idea, or question, or thesis. I'm just going to use whatever I have on hand or stuff that I find and put things together so that it's form is negotiated in its making. Every thing that I make this way will exist on its own terms, whether those terms are conceptual, structural, etc.

This isn't intended to be a new body of work, but rather an exercise -- a homework assignment to myself. If it turns out to be worthwhile, I'll continue with it as background activity while working on whatever I happen to be working on. I plan on making these quickly or slowly, trying to let each piece decide for itself what is required. If I expect anything from this, it's probably just a pretty high rate of failure, but if anything good or useful does develop, I'll post the findings.

And with that, I'm off to the studio for the day.

Jack of all trades, Master of none

Since I've been making drawings in my studio, I've been thinking very generally about the sculptures that I want to make. Or more accurately, how to make these sculptures that I haven't even fully conceived yet. Being a sculptor is all about figuring out how to do whatever needs to be done in order to actually realize the project, but I think being an artist is about making sure the "how" question doesn't kill the dream.

When I'm working on an idea for a new project, I usually have very little concept of what exactly will be required to make it happen. Some of that is resolved in the planning stages and some is resolved by knuckling down and working through the problems as they come. I find that getting too bogged down with logistics early on carries the danger of a false start or stalling out. It's better to just get to it--then you've got to figure it out once you're already committed.

I have rudimentary to good-enough-to-get-it-done knowledge in various skills such as woodworking, mold making & casting, computer programming, welding, and machining, etc., though I am far from a master in any of these skills. I tend to think I can figure out how to do things given the right tools and some information, but I realize that I often end up doing things the "wrong" way regardless. It's usually not a problem, as long as it works. That is the luxury of being an artist as opposed to an architect or engineer.

On her blog yesterday, Deborah Fisher wrote about a certain balance of humility and arrogance in being an artist. Here's what I took away after reading it:

First recognize that "true wisdom is to know nothing," then set out to learn everything. I think this is good advice.

Reason to change

This past weekend, I faced the most compelling reason so far as to why I need to reevaluate what sculpture can be and how I should go about making things in the future.

On Friday I rented a truck and moved all of my old artwork to a new storage location. I had more stuff than I remembered and it is HEAVY. I spent the remainder of the weekend in serious muscle pain. While moving, I had a very strong urge to destroy a lot of the work so that I wouldn't have to deal with it again. But that would have been just as difficult as moving it, and since I had already rented the truck I figured it wasn't worth the effort. Although, it probably is healthy to destroy your work every now and then...

Future work needs to either be light weight or have a pre-determined destination before I start building. Models and plans might be a good option when appropriate. I'll also have to look into alternative materials. I'm beginning to think that it may not be worth it to make a big heavy object if I have no specific plans for it afterwards.

Why Sculpture?

I've recently been asking myself why make sculpture at all. As an artist, I think of myself as a sculptor, but I also make drawings and occasionally digital prints and video. Starting from scratch in my new studio feels like a good time to ask this question.

Sculpture has all kinds of practical problems: Will it stand on its own? How much will it weigh? How big will it be and where will I put it after its made? Storage is definitely a problem. I'm also worried about the amount of garbage I generate. In the past, I haven't thought much about these issues. I've made heavy objects using concrete, resulting in not easily portable, nor easily stored sculptures. I've avoided these problems by having specific locations for the objects in advance of building them. Or by destroying them after having them documented.

Now that I have my own space, these issues actually seem to be bigger problems than in the past. Yet I still feel compelled to make sculpture more than any other art form. I think part of it is that I like the process of a sculpture coming to life during its construction, since the very nature of a 3D object forces it to negotiate its existence with the real world.

Although I plan on spending most of my studio time in the upcoming weekends making drawings, I will continue to make sculpture in the future. I think my new sculptures will be very different than my past work. This will be difficult, since I feel very attached to the way I've made my work in the past. The drawings will help me generate ideas regarding what to make, but I think whatever I make should satisfy the following criteria :

- easy to transport & store
- not terribly heavy
- avoid the use of raw materials when possible

I chose these criteria based on economic, environmental & spatial considerations...as well as my aversion to heavy lifting. However, I reserve the right to break my own rules if I feel like it.

In addition, if I make anything that needs to be cast in concrete, I will only make a small model and the form for casting the concrete, along with detailed illustrated instructions. No reason to cast a big heavy object unless someone wants to buy it or exhibit it.

image: The Thinker, Rodin