Trash-tract Expressionism

Trash-tract Expressionism

Performance (on-going)

By taking pointers from Robert Rauschenberg (moment of silence...) and his art in response to the insincerity of the mark of the Abstract Expressionists, this piece was originally conceived as my own response to the new "trash art" trend and influence in contemporary art . Critiquing the post modernist conception that everything is art and we are all artists becomes apparent  when viewers pass it by as a mundane  trash can refusing to recognize it as art , and/or by unknowingly deciding to participate in this art making by throwing away their refuse and (unbeknownst to them) becoming and taking up the role as the artist. More importantly it solicits the individual viewers' own interpretation and response. When confronted with this blatant message it is up to them to interpret it. Interestingly so their interpretation becomes an outlet in which their own individual ideas in regards to art and their artistic practice (for those that are artists)  As well as the way in which they themselves view art, their subjectivity, which comes to the foreground exposing each individuals conceptions or perhaps confusions. 

“Dear President Harker, When Will We Have A Student Art Gallery?”

“Dear President Harker, When Will We Have A Student Art Gallery?”

5ft x 7ft 

metal, plastic, paint, hard wood flooring, student art

The White Cube is the new University of Delaware Undergraduate Student Art Gallery. This magnificent new space radiates with luminosity (which may just be the sun light penetrating the fragmented frosted façade and reflecting from the metal). It is the latest of its kind: Responsive Architecture!!! Two of the four walls continuously move and adapt to the surrounding conditions, while one and a quarter walls have been (sort of) built up to allow for 2-D art display. There is a vast expanse of 25 ft³ of floor space to allow for the display of freestanding sculpture(s). Keeping with the latest artistic trends this space screams “heterogeneity” and “junk-art geared to junk-bond budgets”. With all the great art being produced by the University of Delaware Fine Art and Visual Communications students it is only fair that we give them a space to showcase their work. This high quality structure not only shows how much the University cares and provides for its Art students, but also shows that it fosters “the creative solitude” by tucking it away from plain-sight.

Untitled

Untitled
Erin Dodge, Esteban M. Pilonieta Vera
2008
Wax

We all are different, but still the same. Different backgrounds, different cultures, different stories, etc. but still we all are human beings. By de-personifying many faces through repetitions and monotony, the sculptural object embodies this specific idea.
Sections of casted wax from face molds, previously made from various people, where used to create this amorphous object. Even though still a work in progress, it also is always in change, since the qualities of the wax permit it to warp easily in time.

Beep -- Circa 1989

Beep -- Circa 1989

Sheila McGinnis

2008

Fabric curtain, metal curtain rod, wooden drawers, answering machine

Using a theatrical curtain and a simple set of drawers, my goal was to showcase (but not recreate) the life of the person whom the answering machine belonged to. Taking great care to choose items that wouldn't compete with the personality of the answering machine, you are left with only the flashing light to entice you, a light informing you that there are messages. Those curious enough, bold enough, or just plain nosy enough to press "play" are rewarded with approximately 20 minutes of completely unaltered messages that were, in the opinion of the previous owner, too... something to delete. Children, grandchildren, neighbors, friends, some are funny, some sad or strange, and some completely unintelligible, but through the voices you get a sense of their relationships, their troubles, and day to day lives and how they all connect to the anonymous person who kept them all these years.

**Note: I will be recording the tape on to iTunes to make it available to anyone interested in listening to it in its entirety. I'll also be making a transcript of the messages. Under no circumstances are they to be used for any reason, except for your own listening/reading pleasure, without my explicit permission.

Anyone interested in the recording or the transcript can e-mail me at sheilam@udel.edu. Please make the subject "Answering Machine" to avoid accidental deletion.

Home – You’re In the Threads

Home -- You're In the Threads

Sheila McGinnis

2008

Metal hoop, wooden stool, black and white spray paint, embroidery thread

approx. 5' 4" tall, 5' diameter

My house started as a simple way of encompassing the space beneath the tree, staking a claim on a space individual to me. What made it a home was the process. Diligently tying the strings, watching my hands do the work, I felt peace. The continuous tying allowed my mind to confront the loss of my Uncle and my Pa. Every thread, a thought or memory, they are my family, and within them I can sit on a chair in front of a branch desk and feel at home.

Idea efimera de anticonstitucion artistica

In this sculpture I wanted to represent a justification of rebellion against the idea of what is art. Why I can't present my personal and most intimate idea, but only those things outside of me. I can't be anyone else, but myself and people can relate to that. I want to feel liberated on my creation of art. FREE ART!!!!

La identidad

This sculpture has a lot of meaning for me and the spectator who watches the piece. is a question of your true identity in society, knowing what is trying to stopping you, are you willing to go back to that? With this in question I try every possible thing not to go back to the traditionalist way of thinking with a string barrier and a shield instructed to me by my ancestors. In a sense, I use everything they thought me and new reason to overcome this obstacle.

Ostrich

Flowers

These steel flowers are organic shapes that move the way flowers move in nature.  

Mermaid

Sasha Coblenz

Mermaid

Aluminum, sand, glass

2008

This mermaid proved to be a challenge in the sense that making the foam mold was very trying. I learned so much about mold making and different types if foam bodies that it was well worth the investigation that took place surrounding this piece.  I am pleased with the end result as the cast mermaid appears to be sunken at the bottom of the sea and then perhaps placed in a museum case. 

Adam and Eve

Eve and Adam 

Sasha Coblenz

ceramics, mixed media

2008

     This work is symbolic of adam and eve's sensory awakening within the garden of eden. The quote on the crate is taken from Paradise Lost, by John Milton.  Our becoming aware has lead to our ultimate downfall and this work is meant to convey that. The fruit each have a representation of the five senses attached to them and the skin area are covered in brush-able latex to give them a feeling of actual skin. They are painted in acrylic. 

Group project 

Title: Bubble

Medium: Plastic

Date: 2008

Evolucion Organica

Title: Evolucion Organica
Medium: Mild Iron and wood
Size: 8' x 4'
Artist: Jose Ruiz Ahorrio

My Lion

This piece is about capturing the essence of a lions beauty, strength and ferocity but to different moments in a viewers experience.  The image of the lion is only revealed at one particular moment.  At all other times, the piece still captures the essence and beauty of a lion, but in forms that are either lost or abstracted.  As a viewer moves around the piece, the moment of discovery occurs when the abstract forms align to reveal the lions form.  This experience of discovery and revelation is the main premise behind the piece.  

To me, lions represent the way I see my mother.  She was recently diagnosed with and untreatable medical condition, and she has  been facing this newly discovered information with such strength and optimism that an onlooker would never know, unless they looked closely and put together the pieces.

Dana's Mean Sculpture

Here are my crazy spikey dangerous forms.  

http://johnharoldtransue.blogspot.com/

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call me on your way back home

Se Fue 'pal Norte

Se Fue 'pal Norte
EMPV
2008
Mixed Media

The sculpture started as an idea I've had for some time of building a small portable studio in which everything that I created in the space was going to become a part of it in some way (by drawing or painting directly in it, etc). The concept gave me a really strong starting ground, and then a flood of ideas clearly determined the aesthetics and design of it. Purposely the space resembles an improvised house seen in very poor neighborhoods in Latin America, and it is big enough for me work comfortably but still in a very constricted small space.