Iluminación
Size: 25.5 cm by 15.25cm
Medium: Polymer clay, acrylic paint, human hair
Date: November 2018
Iluminación or illumination is the second sculpture in a series focused around the future. Taking inspiration from Frida Kahlo's portraiture and symbolism iluminación uses the connotations associated with halos, gold, and sculptures in general to depict a dream like state of elevation and zeal.
Inspiration
Frida Kahlo was a Mexican artist who specialized in painting portraits. Kahlo's work often incorporated symbolic features, references to Mexican artifacts and history. It was through her lucid use of imagery and symbolism that she came to be associated with the surrealism movement though she herself protested the validity of her work as surrealist. In Kahlo's work, one can bear witness to an extremely honest take on her life and times.
Frida Kahlo's works especially her portraiture have always been something which I found solace in. Looking at her work after creating the first piece which seemed to have a focus on the past and present I was inspired to use her symbolism to create a piece that would illustrate hope. I knew this would be a challenge since most of the work that Kahlo created was focused on depicted the more painful aspects of life.
Frida Kahlo's works especially her portraiture have always been something which I found solace in. Looking at her work after creating the first piece which seemed to have a focus on the past and present I was inspired to use her symbolism to create a piece that would illustrate hope. I knew this would be a challenge since most of the work that Kahlo created was focused on depicted the more painful aspects of life.
Planning
In this first sketch I utilized aspects and symbolizes I had used before to convey my central message. Using both the halo and a similar composition found in my self portrait Enlightenment, I thought about essentially just taking that work and converting it into a sculpture. I decided against this idea and in general this sketch because it was unimaginative and I could not see it representing the idea and concept that I really desired.
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In this second sketch I played with sculpting a different position and once again incorporating one of my other works or inspiration for other works. In this work I wanted to take the same inspiration I had when I created Geoda, a geode and somehow sculpt that into half of my face. I thought this could like in Kahlo’s Broken Column incorporate a very clear visible theme although in my case the theme would be potential and digging into oneself to create a better future. Although I loved this idea I ultimately left this sketch due to the complexity of trying to incorporate a geode in the piece or even sculpt it since I am still a very experienced at working with clay.
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The last sketch and ultimately the one I chose to base my piece off was a bit of a combination of the ideas of the previous sketches. In this sketch I took the halo and composition, and then remembered to look back at my inspiration. For this piece I decided to portray myself in a dreaming wishful composition. I placed golden cracks and not tears to symbolize the growing desire to prevail and flourish. The halo was then added to help propel this idea and not of sorrow.
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Process
I began this sculpture by creating an armature. The armature was made from a wire cross wrapped in aluminum to the rough shape and size of my head. The armature would reduce the amount of clay used and decrease bake time. Once the armature was done I wrapped the entire thing in one thin layer. Placing the thin layer of clay made it easier to attach more clay. I then began work on the features. Facial depth was the next thing to be added to the sculpture. To add definition in the right places I added clay in thick rectangles. When I was happy with the definition I began to smooth out the rectangles with my hands and wooden smoothing tools. The clay did not need to be completely smooth because I would be disturbing some of it when adding clay to form certain features and taking away clay to create other features such as the nostrils.
From my previous sculpture and difficulty attaching the features to the face and maintaining the form once i was content with their appearance I learned to sculpt on the armature. While it was initially uncomfortable to sculpt on the awkwardly shaped and large armature I soon got used to spinning and holding it up on weird angles to be able to reach an indent the areas I need to with my carving tools and sculpting tools. Unlike in my first piece the first feature I sculpted in this piece was the eyes. Since for this piece I wanted them to be closed and I had yet to sculpt close eyes I started with this feature. I went about this in many foolish way of simply adding layers of clay over that area. No matter how I lay the clay and smoothed it out it didn’t resemble eyes. Since I was having such a hard time with the eyes I printed out a specific reference picture of my eyes closed and while sculpting would occasionally feel then to see how the eyes was structured. Doing this allowed me to realize that sculpting close eyes is much more simple and similar to sculpting open eyes with the only difference being the open eye needing two pieces of clay over an initial clay ball for the eyeball to form eyelids instead of the closed eye only needing one. The rest of features came along splendidly since I had already sculpted them once before. Much like the eyes sculpting features like the nose and mouth involved first sculpting various sizes of spheres and then using small rectangular slabs of clay to connect or blend them into the face. Initial blending was done with my fingers but to refine the blending and features near the end I used both wooden and silicone shapers. Once I was satisfied with the sculpt I moved on to baking the piece. Baking was the simplest part of the project as it consisted of me placing the head in the pre-heated oven waiting for it to heat up placing the sculpture in the oven letting it bake and letting it cool.
After baking was complete I moved onto painting. Since this project is meant to embody the perfection and white is often a color associated with purity and perfection for the base coat I just spray painted the whole piece white. I spray painted it about three time in thin coats to get the best coverage. When the paint dried I moved on to details like the eyebrows and gold cracks. The eyebrows were painted on with black and then gradiaded out with a permanent marker. Since the cracks were mean to represent hope I painted them in gold. Looking at Kahlo’s work and my previous sculpture I noticed my symbolism was very much lacking. To make up for that in this piece I made sure the tears were the central focus. Although my initial desire was to make these cracks very small and subtle when referencing Kahlo’s work I initially noticed how bold and upfront her symbols were thus if I wanted my work to resemble hers I needed to create bolder lines and cracks. To create the cracks I merely dipped a the end of a pencil into the gold paint and let my shack sleep deprived hand pull lines over the piece. When that was complete I let dry before adding the hair.
The hair was added by taking the bundle, unraveling it, and hot gluing it in place. To hot glue it in place I started at first wit the top of the head and placed a long strand going almost straight down the middle. The next strand was placed very close to the first but not overlapping. Each time a strand of hair way placed I cut it from the initial long strand. When I was half way down the head I stopped and repeated the process on the other side of the head. When both sides were complete I created the part my measuring out the length of the strand I needed and placing them on the center of the head.
The halo was the very last thing and I created because it needed to be attached and couldn’t be attached until the hair was already applied. The halo was originally an LED light string that was a decoration in my room. I took the LED string and noticing how floppy it was decided to add some wire. I added the wire with superglue and was then able to shape it into a circle. When the halo was complete I simply attached it to the head with more wire.
The halo was the very last thing and I created because it needed to be attached and couldn’t be attached until the hair was already applied. The halo was originally an LED light string that was a decoration in my room. I took the LED string and noticing how floppy it was decided to add some wire. I added the wire with superglue and was then able to shape it into a circle. When the halo was complete I simply attached it to the head with more wire.
Experimentation
Although I used many of the same techniques that I had in my previous polymer sculpture in this work I had played with electrical components. I definitely knew for this work I wanted to create a halo that differed from the one in Enlightenment but I didn’t know how. Eventually, when I got to that component I had thought of simply making the halo out of spray painted plastic glow in the dark stars. When I couldn’t find them at any store I resorted to looking around my house for something I could use. I took the LED cloud decoration that served as a nightlight in my room and decided to repurpose it because I knew I could easily manipulate the material. To prepare it I merely stripped the LED from the plastic holding it into its form and then created the new form. This process was able to give me a halo that really illuminated.
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Reflection
Although I was far more experimental in this work I find that the outcome is very lacking and disappointing. Although I attempted in this work to make the symbolism center and even glow the symbols are outshined by how dull and mistake ridden the sculpture is. I am definitely not satisfied with the outcome and don't really consider it a completed work because of my level of dissatisfaction.
ACT RESPONSES
1) Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause-effect relationships between your inspiration and its effect upon your work?
The cause of my inspiration was my cultural familiarity with Frida Kahlo's work and because I was already somewhat familiar with her work and how she depicted her struggles and pain I was inspired to also showcase my own struggles.
2) What is the overall approach(point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The research I read was very focused on the overall message of the piece and the creators perspective on said pieces rather than the aspects I was interest in.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
From my research I was able to generalize the how significant symbols were in Kahlo's work and how her work was an important part in dealing with her ailments.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central Idea of my work was representing struggle and turmoil so must of my research involved looking into work where Kahlo most potently and clearly depicted struggle.
The cause of my inspiration was my cultural familiarity with Frida Kahlo's work and because I was already somewhat familiar with her work and how she depicted her struggles and pain I was inspired to also showcase my own struggles.
2) What is the overall approach(point of view) the author (from your research) has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
The research I read was very focused on the overall message of the piece and the creators perspective on said pieces rather than the aspects I was interest in.
3) What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, cultures, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
From my research I was able to generalize the how significant symbols were in Kahlo's work and how her work was an important part in dealing with her ailments.
4) What was the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
The central Idea of my work was representing struggle and turmoil so must of my research involved looking into work where Kahlo most potently and clearly depicted struggle.
Citations
Allman, Ginger Davis. “Polymer Clay Tips for Beginners.” The Blue Bottle Tree, 21 Jan. 2018, thebluebottletree.com/polymer-clay-tips-beginners/.
“Frida Kahlo Biography.” Frida Kahlo: 100 Famous Paintings, Complete Works, & Biography, www.fridakahlo.org/frida-kahlo-biography.jsp.
Kahlo, Frida. “The Broken Column .” Frida Kahlo, 1944, Museo Dolores Olmedo, Mexico City, Mexico, www.fridakahlo.org/the-broken-column.jsp.
“Frida Kahlo Biography.” Frida Kahlo: 100 Famous Paintings, Complete Works, & Biography, www.fridakahlo.org/frida-kahlo-biography.jsp.
Kahlo, Frida. “The Broken Column .” Frida Kahlo, 1944, Museo Dolores Olmedo, Mexico City, Mexico, www.fridakahlo.org/the-broken-column.jsp.