Weekly Entry for 9/17

1) I.P. work from Friday to Friday:
This weekend I went to the Art and Architecture library and picked up 500 Necklaces and another metalsmithing book to look for inspiration in technique and help lead me in which direction I want to move forward in. I also spent time researching online various body-concept based artists (my favorite I found to be Lauren Kalman). I also looked at medieval jewelry and torture devices and some of the history behind the pieces. This took about 6 hours all together.

Monday night I spent about 3 hours in the metals studio creating my piece to show during I.P. section on Tuesday.

Tuesday during Studio, I photographed and printed the imaged of me wearing my piece (1 hour). Then I passed the time by looking more into the body-concept artist that I found and noted what things I found most interesting about their work (1 hour). I then created a list (1 hour) of the preliminary objectives that I want my I.P. to involve to talk about with my piece during section.

Section was great and really helped my narrow down my ideas and discover an exact focus for my project. I left feeling confident and ready to dive in to research and ideas for Thursday.

Thursday (today), I spent Studio time (2.5 hours) printing out images and artist statements to create my own inspiration board that I then posted in my studio to easily look at. This helped me clearly see what it is that I am drawn to about certain pieces/artists and which I see myself relating to the most. Before I had only had these images/artists organized in a folder on my computer, making it hard to look back at quickly for leading me through my thoughts and process. I also chatted a bit with Erica (about 15 minutes) in continuation from our conversation during section on Tuesday, and then after wards on break time (1 hour) I looked up what books I could get from the University libraries on Medieval Jewelry, Medieval Torture devices, and psychology (although I will need to contact Annette Hanes for more suggestions on the psychology part).

2) What I've accomplished/encountered/discovered:
Attached is an image of the piece that I created for Tuesday's assignment to "make something." Through this piece I discovered which direction I want to go in, such as: body as a medium/device, constraint (physical/emotional), and toxicity of relationships.

Therefore, in the discussion I had with my group on Tuesday I was able to conclude that I want to focus in on one specific "toxic relationship" I have gone through (and still am dealing with). I basically aim to create 3 pieces (at least) out of metal and other materials that are symbolic of beautiful Medieval Jewelry pieces, but are contrasted by functioning as Medieval torture devices at the same time. I have chosen this type of aesthetic because both the jewelry and torture devices played a large part in society during that time period, mirroring the feelings I was condescendingly experiencing during the relationship, beautiful/joyful, but also painful.

The idea is that I would have a head piece, broach, and high-waist belt-like piece that are beautiful when seen worn on me, however, these pieces are attached to some type of material (fabric) that constrains me to one position on a bed (a symbolic place for a relationship). On the underside of these pieces is where the characteristics of the torture devices come into play. For example, the broach that sits on my chest is beautiful and elegant, however, there are spikes attached to the backside. With the fabric holding the piece on me along with being tucked into the bed, if I try to leave the position I am placed in, the spikes will dig into my skin.

I discovered I will need to have physical interaction with this other person involved in my piece, because ultimately, he is who is constraining me. We also discussed how to display/exhibit my idea, and concluded that performance would be the best option (whether via video or live) to lead the audience through the passage of time. In this case, he would place the jewelry piece on me while I am sitting in a certain position, then after sometime, he would take the fabric attached to the piece and tuck it into the bed where I cannot reach, and therefore I am constrained to this position unless I am willing to endure the pain from the torturous side of the piece and break free.

3) What I want to do next:
From here I want to really dive in deep into researching the Medieval jewelry and torture devices by picking up the books I found through the library website and possibly dive into some psychology about addiction and dependency. I want to see which characteristics/qualities of the pieces that I want to gain inspiration from and come up with my own style from there. After I want to start creating, whether with metal or merely a mock up, to test out and get people's reactions on.

I also want to think more about the viewer and how I can truly allow him/her to gain the full experience I am trying to portray through my work.

Questions I have to answer are:
What makes this experience visceral when worn?
When will I break free from this relationship addiction? How will the audience feel the danger of me doing so?
What/where is the viewer's moment of identification?