Cabinet of Curiosity

 

Organic

Materials: Fabric, black foam board, straight pins, wood, air dry clay, resin teeth, colored thread, twin, black masking tape

14"W x 22"H x 8"D

Artist Statement:

My concepts for my cabinet came from my reading of To Have and to Hold, and my work resembles strange organic and living artifacts. The almost plant-like creature on the top shelf reflects the botanist in the reading who went around the work collecting odd and bizarre plants for his collection. The tooth creature on the bottom shelf reflects Tsar Peter, who used to pluck strangers off the street and extract their teeth for pleasure; he would then add them to his collection of teeth. I included curtains in my cabinet to symbolize the vanity of the period (the 1600s) but also reflect on how if you close the curtains, they can hide the grotesque. I want to visually communicate how there is a sense of wonder in the grotesque and how easily it is to hide the ugliness behind closed curtains.

Momento

 

Lunchbox

Materials: Blue fabric, cherry wood, blue zipper

4"W x 4"L x .5"H

Artist Statement:

This sculpture reflects when Nana would pick me up after school and take me to swimming lessons. She used to pack a navy blue lunch box with snacks for me; at the bottom of the lunchbox would always be chocolate, which was my favorite. I used navy blue fabric to represent the lunchbox and hand-sewed it together. I also used a navy blue zipper to represent the zipper on the lunchbox and the act of opening and closing it. I also added a piece of fabric to represent the handle. The chocolate bar is made out of cherry wood and represents the many chocolates my Nana would pack for me.

Figurative Bust Sculptures

 

Plastic

Materials: Plastic doll, doll's hair, air dry clay, wood, white ink

8"L x 4"W x 5"H

The Gap

Materials: Wood, acrylic paint, crushed pastel, air dry clay, colored ink

4"L x 4"W x 15"H

Artist Statement:

The work titled Plastic reflects the upcoming phenomenon with plastic surgery and "beautification" procedures, specifically targeted towards women. I chose this social issue because it is becoming apparent that the use of surgeries and injections to enhance the body is becoming more prevalent; young women are feeling the effect and pressure of today's beauty standards. These procedures are becoming normalized, and these ideals are not natural to young and grown women. Plastic reflects the need to change one's body to fit the advertised beauty standards. The doll is cracked; she is half plastic and has bleached blonde hair. She is also sitting on a hospital bed. She represents numerous women who fall prey to the need to "become plastic."

The work titled The Gap reflects the gender wage gap between men and women in the workplace. I chose the gender wage gap because I find it frustrating as a woman that I may not get paid the same amount for doing the same job as a man does. I wanted to portray that in my sculpture by splitting one bust into a man and a woman. The woman's and the man's heads are broken; inside their heads, the viewer can see that the woman is thinking about equality, and the man is thinking about money. They are sitting on top of a very tall office building that resembles the numerous workers in the world who suffer from the gender wage gap.

Research:

The effect of people being on Zoom since 2020 has been that people are noticing that their appearance could use some enhancement. Botox is as normal as getting a haircut nowadays, the article says. 

https://connect.uclahealth.org/2022/02/03/zoom-face-phenomenon-has-people-eyeing-plastic-surgery/

There is a discernable gap between men's and women's hourly wages. It is averaged that each woman makes 80 cents for every dollar a typical man makes.

https://www.epi.org/publication/what-is-the-gender-pay-gap-and-is-it-real/

Pay discrimination was made illegal over half a century ago, but the gap between men's and woman's wages is still prevalent today. Different groups of women experience different gaps in pay based on race, ethnicity, age, education, and disabilities.

https://www.aauw.org/resources/research/simple-truth/