Exhibition Text
Title: Control
Medium: Clay, acrylic paint Size: N/A Date: November 2022 |
Control is a sculptural piece created with clay and painted with acrylic and an epoxy/acrylic mix. It portrays a hand violently squeezing a uterus as a symbol of political control over women's bodies and reproductive rights. The work was inspired by Anish Kapoor's "Split in Two Like a Fish For Drying" (Kapoor, 2022).
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Inspiration
The inspiration for this work is Anish Kapoor's recent sculture "Split in Two Like a Fish For Drying". The work was created using mixed media and paint, and stands at at large 405×300×585cm. The fiberglass structure was one of many at Kapoor's recent exhibition in .Its form is divided by a deep crevice shaped like a vulva, around the opening of which are smears of blood-colored silicone. Some sources claim another possible title: “When I Am on My Period.” This piece, like many others in the collection, references or takes inspiration from the human body, with aspects of blood and gore. It invokes the image of female genitalia, though not in a sexual sense but rather in a raw, brutal one. Other works in the collection are even more violent, with the appearance of sinew and bone and shredded flesh. It's unknown what the purpose of this specific piece is, but it could easily represent the human body and new life. Birth is a terrifying ordeal, and the piece could symbolize our violent and disturbing beginnings. The work is asymmetrical, with a heavier focus on the bottom of the sculpture and little at the top. However, it is somewhat symmetrical when cut straight down the middle and through the crevice. The darkly painted area uses 3-D space to invoke depth and solidity.
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Planning and Experimentation
The planning stage of this project took place during the summer of 2022, but it remained unused until this time. Essentially, it was created as a result of the Supreme Court's decision on Roe v. Wade-a person's right to an abortion-to overrule it. Abortion access is a very important topic to me, as someone with a uterus and as a feminist. To me, pregnancy is one of my worst fears, and I never plan on having them. Being forced to birth children sounds like a nightmare-and it's one that women now have to face. Regardless of one's political affiliation, it is inarguable that a few politicians in power are making decisions on women's bodies, blatantly disregarding their autonomy. I wanted to create a piece to exemplify my anger, frustration, and terror over another person controlling my body. Hence the name-control.
I began with thinking of ways I could represent this idea in an art form. As I've only worked with clay during my freshman year, I thought it would be a good idea to try and reacquaint myself with the medium and use it in this project. I remember enjoying our two clay projects and wanted to try again with my own prompt instead of a given one. So, I purchased some polymer clay and clay tools and began researching. After gathering enough information on how to manipulate my medium, I turned to the drawing board. Immediately, my mind went towards a hand that was squeezing a uterus. I thought it would be a good symbol of a man controlling an aspect of women in this day and age-sadly, as women have been viewed as inferior for hundreds of years by Western society. I also wanted to use it to demonstrate the violence and pain caused by such a decision, so I decided to add more of a gore element by making it bloody, and as if the uterus had been ripped from someone's body.
I began with thinking of ways I could represent this idea in an art form. As I've only worked with clay during my freshman year, I thought it would be a good idea to try and reacquaint myself with the medium and use it in this project. I remember enjoying our two clay projects and wanted to try again with my own prompt instead of a given one. So, I purchased some polymer clay and clay tools and began researching. After gathering enough information on how to manipulate my medium, I turned to the drawing board. Immediately, my mind went towards a hand that was squeezing a uterus. I thought it would be a good symbol of a man controlling an aspect of women in this day and age-sadly, as women have been viewed as inferior for hundreds of years by Western society. I also wanted to use it to demonstrate the violence and pain caused by such a decision, so I decided to add more of a gore element by making it bloody, and as if the uterus had been ripped from someone's body.
Process
The first step in my artistic processs was to create an armature vaguely in the shape I wanted it, then support it with wrapped tinfoil so the sculpture wouldn't be so heavy that it easily fell over. I also wanted to save as much clay as possible at the same time. Next, I began using the coil method, with scoring and water, to slowly add clay from the bottom up all around the circumference of the base. Once I added a couple of coils, I smoothed them out with the tools and repeated the steps again until I had reached the top of it.
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With the forearm done, I began adding globs of clay to the fist. I added more where, in real life, there is more flesh (such as the palm). I then realized that the forearm was quite thick, so I scraped it down as much as possible. Once I had done that, I tried adding more shape to the hand and smoothed out the carved areas. Next, I began working non forming the fingers, both by adding and taking away sections to show grooves and ridges.
I basiclly repeated the cycle of adding, carving, and smoothing until, at last, the hand and forearm looked as realistic as possible at my skill level and I was happy. Next, I simply added more clay to either side of the closed fist, making it appear as though it was being squeezed to bursting (in other words, messy and a little misshapen) with the fallopian tubes, ovaries, and vaginal canal to help indicate what the object being held was to the audience. I kept it as anatomically correct as possible within the confines of the medium, time contstraint, known techniques, and artistic expression. Then, I left the sculpture to dry completely.
Once the sculpture was dried, I began with a base coat with acrylic paint. This helped later on with the layering of other colors on top of it. Following some political aspects, I decided to make the hand belonging to a white man, as it is currently older white men making decisions about women's bodies. Using my knowledge of shading and highlighting human skin, I colored the hand to the best of my ability, putting heavy darks in between the fingers to create more depth. Once the paint was dry, I created a fake blood mixture using water, cornstarch, corn syrup, and red food dye. I then covered the organs and the fist over the top of a base board, letting the liquid drip onto it.
Critique
The first major difference between Kapoor's work and mine is the scale and material. From fiberglass to clay, the medium used greatly varies. Furthermore, the subject od the inspiration isn't quite stated, leaving it up to the interpretation of the viewer. Additionally, the artist has never explicitly stated what the piece was about-whereas mine is directly connected to the political issue of abortion rights. The inspiration is a highly vertical, geometric design, vs an anatomical figure. The gore aspect is similar in both works, with a color scheme akin to one another.
Reflection
Overall, the process of making
Connection to ACT
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