fig 1.
fig 2.
fig 3.
I chose these sculptures because or the way the portray an effortless harmony. In figure 1, The first thing that comes to mind, for me, is a wave, rather than hundreds of tiny paper sculptures, or the incredible precision that was needed to fold each individual sculpture what, what seems like, microscopic differences. This sculpture, represented in figure 1, reminds me of a fabric that I could run my hand over, and push the fibers over so they would change colour, like this:
The sculpture represented in figure 2 further illustrates the artist's precision and experience. Besides folding an intricate, interlocking design out of paper, he made copies of these perfect folds, with either no flaws of undetectable flaws. I have to keep reminding myself that this sculpture is made of paper, because it reminds me or needle work, or something crocheted.
In a biography[1] by Ghostly international, he spoke about how he had difficulty with math in school, although he was drawn to math in reality, which, I think, is a very common theme in today's society. He admits to being a tactile learner, which means that he grasps information by using concepts in physical examples. Besides his enthusiasm for geometry, he mentions how his work feeds off of his curiosity, and how he makes sculptures because he's unsure how the finished product with look. At the University of Michigan in 2010, Shlian gave a TED Talk[2] where he mentioned that he actually completed a dual major in ceramics and print, as well as testing other art forms. He took the knowledge that he gained from exploring and being curious, and eventually let it inspire him in what he was truly passionate about.
In the TED Talk, he mentions that if his works had to be "about" something, they would represent curiosity. To me, it is clear that these sculptures represent curiosity, because after understanding the amount of work that goes into these sculptures, I think it would be difficult to visualize a finished product. He talks about these sculptures like the are experimental, which tells me that he sees failure as more of a learning experience, therefore he's not afraid of it; this mean that, not only, are the sculpture visually exhilarating, but they also stand for concepts that I believe in as an artist: curiosity and experimentation.
SOURCES
fig 1,2- 2017- Matt Shlian, https://www.mattshlian.com/2017
fig. 3-New Geometric Paper Art, http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2012/08/new-geometric-paper-art-from-matthew-shlian/
Colour changing pillow - Steve Novello share colour changing pillow, http://metro.co.uk/2016/01/13/the-internet-is-freaking-out-over-these-colour-changing-mermaid-pillows-5620234/
[1] Biography- Ghostly International presents Matthew Shlian, https://vimeo.com/47502276
[2] TED Talk- (29) TEDxUofM - Matt Shlian - Implications of Paper Folding, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HS-17zki1i0
No comments:
Post a Comment