Exhibition Text
Overgrown is a self made, wearable, sculpture. It was put together from collected pieces of cardboard, a copious amount of hot glue, and green wood stain. This project was assigned to me by the art department of University of Milwaukee, Wisconsin; it is a college-level challenge given to its art students. It is meant to convey the theme of growth after death, and new beginnings. My inspiration for this piece was the sculpture work of Shannon Goff.
- Inspiration -
Artist in focus: Shannon Goff
Shannon Goff is a sculpture artist in Chicago, who works mostly in clay and cardboard. She uses cardboard as a symbol of capitalism- of mass production which is only made possible by the transportation powers of cardboard. The material is extremely flexible to the whims of the artist- being sturdy enough to support more geometric or heavy structures, yet malleable enough to make rounded, smooth shapes. Golf uses glue to attach the pieces together.
Shannon Goff is a sculpture artist in Chicago, who works mostly in clay and cardboard. She uses cardboard as a symbol of capitalism- of mass production which is only made possible by the transportation powers of cardboard. The material is extremely flexible to the whims of the artist- being sturdy enough to support more geometric or heavy structures, yet malleable enough to make rounded, smooth shapes. Golf uses glue to attach the pieces together.
What drew me towards Shannon Golfs work was her incredibly smooth and clean construction, as well as symbolism that I agree with. While researching Goffs techniques I learned about a method she used to get cleaner creases and folds in the cardboard. She would take an x-acto knife and only cut the very surface layer of the cardboard. This allowed it to fold more seamlessly and in a sharp, precise manner with no wrinkles. Another aspect of Goffs work was that she only uses traditional, brown cardboard and avoids other colors, to emphasize her meaning and the symbolism behind the cardboard more. I decided while planning that I would not adhere to this, and use other colors of cardboard, however I would test out her technique of cutting slits on the surface layer for a cleaner look.
- Process -
After I had my sketches completed and a plan for execution, I started cutting out my cardboard pieces. As mentioned in my planning phase, I cut out the side silhouette for my cow skull and began measuring the lengths for all my flat pieces going down the middle of the silhouette. I glued them on with hot glue, making sure that my starting piece and the flat pieces joined together at a 90 degree angle. After that, I cut out the sides of the head and a piece to join those and the top together. They were both around 5 inches long and 5 inches wide. This gave me the base for the rest of my skeleton. While doing this I realized how much hot glue I would need to use. Every attachment used almost a whole glue stick. But because I used such a large amount of hot glue, my base was incredibly sturdy and could probably withstand being chucked across the room.
With my skeleton complete, I started working on the skin. I ripped off large pieces of white cardboard from boxes I found, into slightly smaller pieces to fit the skeleton better, and then glued them on. This was difficult because once the pieces were glued on, the edges continued to lift up. To solve this, I would put a small amount of glue under the edges and use a flat plastic piece to smooth them out, so that a small bit of glue came out to the edge and held them in place. This was simple for the head of the cow skull, but the horns were much more difficult, since there was so much open space to cover and because it was so rounded. I ripped out very large, long pieces of the white cardboard and glued on one side completely, let it dry, then wrapped it around and secured the other end. This allowed it not to slip at all and to get it as tight as possible.
The final part of my piece was the vines. I had a bunch of leftover white cardboard, and so I bought a tiny amount of green wood stain (8 oz of it from Home Depot), and applied it to my cardboard. For this project we were not allowed to use paints, however stains were still on the table. I did some experimentation with other forms of staining before purchasing my materials; I tried to use tea bags to get the green color I needed, however, it wasnt as saturated as I needed it to be, and so I resorted to my Home Depot wood stain. Once it was on my cardboard, and dry, I cut it into thin strips and started gluing it to the skull gently. I started at the bottom and worked my way up. Then I applied them to the horns with a similar process- letting them drape down the horns and hang there. I cut out small leaves and glued them onto the vines.
- Critique -
Differences include:
- I included a layer of white cardboard over mine, as well as the inclusion of green stained cardboard. Goff only used traditional brown cardboard in her work.
- Differing symbolism. Goffs pieces had more societal commentary while my piece was more symbolic of self, internal struggles.
- Goffs work is not wearable or dependent on human presence, while my piece rests on the wearers shoulders and becomes a part of the wearer.
- I included a layer of white cardboard over mine, as well as the inclusion of green stained cardboard. Goff only used traditional brown cardboard in her work.
- Differing symbolism. Goffs pieces had more societal commentary while my piece was more symbolic of self, internal struggles.
- Goffs work is not wearable or dependent on human presence, while my piece rests on the wearers shoulders and becomes a part of the wearer.
- Reflection -
This project (at first) was a super good challenge and I had fun working on it. I had never worked with cardboard as a medium and I had never produced sculpture before either. It was an additional challenge to turn this sculpture into something wearable- something I struggled with towards the end of the project. While working on this I burned my hands several times and had a meltdown or two, but I really am proud of my results. At the end of the project our class visited UWM and we did a runway show and a critique of the projects, and the professor who looked at my piece really loved it. I think I will be working more with sculpture in the future, however likely not in cardboard.
- ACT Connections -
1) Clearly explain how you were able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your art?
My inspiration gave me certain techniques- specifically of making clean slits on the top layer of the cardboard that made my final product much neater and cleaner.
2) What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Shannon Goff holds anti-capitalist sentiments in her work, displayed in her use of cardboard and then making direct statements about that meaning.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I never thought before about the strong connection cardboard has to our every day life and how it can certainly be used as a symbol of consumerism, and of our fast-paced lives today.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
My central idea was sort of like a gothic western theme, if that makes sense, the desert cow skull with a long black western dress. But as for finding Shannon Goff, I looked for artists who had worked in the same medium I was seeking to work in.
5.) What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I came to the conclusion that
My inspiration gave me certain techniques- specifically of making clean slits on the top layer of the cardboard that made my final product much neater and cleaner.
2) What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
Shannon Goff holds anti-capitalist sentiments in her work, displayed in her use of cardboard and then making direct statements about that meaning.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I never thought before about the strong connection cardboard has to our every day life and how it can certainly be used as a symbol of consumerism, and of our fast-paced lives today.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
My central idea was sort of like a gothic western theme, if that makes sense, the desert cow skull with a long black western dress. But as for finding Shannon Goff, I looked for artists who had worked in the same medium I was seeking to work in.
5.) What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I came to the conclusion that