Duality Essay:

Our chairs were based off of our relationship with someone; here is the relationship I chose:

My grandfather and I have always had an extremely close relationship. How could I not after growing up across the street from him for the majority of my childhood? He was an omnipresent fixture in my life for as long as I can remember. I used to jokingly tell my mother that if I ever got arrested, Papa would be my one call because I could rely on him to help me, and without a doubt to answer his phone regardless of whether or not he was busy. I think my relationship with papa is sturdy, comfortable, solid, and reliable. When I first got my driver’s license and was driving my piece-of-junk 1994 Saab back and forth to school every day, he was very concerned for my safety. He would repeatedly tell me that if anything went wrong I should pull over on the side of the road and call him, and he would come get me. Thankfully this was never necessary, but I never doubted that he would go out of his way to do so. This made me feel so much more safe and comfortable with the novelty of driving on my own. That is what my papa is to me—a safety net underneath me, ready to catch me and save my fall.

My papa is old fashioned, but that is one of the things I love best about him. I think many of his strong traditional morals have been instilled in me. When my dad used to ask me to perform manual labor, such as mowing the lawn, my grandpa would get upset and say that my brother should do it, not me. He let all my cousins ride on his motorcycle except the girls, because he is protective and doesn’t want us to get hurt. He has always been proud and supportive throughout my life, whether it be for school plays or music recitals or any achievement I attained. I love him more than anyone in the world and I miss being so close to him. The only way I have been able to keep up with him since I moved to Kansas is through the rare and infrequent telephone calls and the occasional sporadic email. We got him a Facebook account, but he took such an immediate disliking to it that he probably hasn’t been on it once since. However, I don’t necessarily need to talk with him regularly to feel close to him; we never have talked much. Our relationship was always more on the non-verbal side, and I would ride in comfortable silence with him in the car without saying a word and not feel awkward as I might with other people.  Some of my fondest childhood memories are the weekend afternoons I would spend with Papa just watching old black-and-white movies together.

He has been a greater influence on my life than he probably knows. I admire his optimistic demeanor, and how he can respond to any comment with a humorous quip.  One of my favorite characteristics of his is how he is always trying to make people laugh. But he also puts on a strong face and muscles his way through difficult times. His exterior is strong and tough, but inside he is warm and gentle. I think that is why I find it so easy to put my trust in him and rely on him to always be there for me, to protect and support me. 

Reflection...

Written reflection on the following websites:

Martin Puryear  

 http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2007/martinpuryear/ 

Kendal Buster

 http://www.kendallbuster.com/about.html

Martin Puryear’s work primarily consists of freestanding sculpture, which viewers are meant to experience in the round. To me his work feels simultaneously minimalistic yet complex. Though they are somewhat simple objects, viewers can read a lot into them. There is a sense of weightlessness that follows when viewing his work. The sculptures seem almost to be floating, in a sort of impossible gravity-free condition. This dream-like quality also comes from the thinness of some of the pieces. Objects you can see through imply weightlessness, and an airy, light quality. There are a lot of tall and slender shapes, like the ladder piece, that emphasize height. To me they are reminiscent of positive inspiration and seem to hint at a future. He uses a lot of wood in his pieces, many of which are smooth and rounded shapes, with soft curves. His collection as a whole gives me an impression of the impossible, a sort of dream state. Many of the sculptures feel to me like they should reasonably tumble over, according to the laws of nature, but somehow are still standing there, mysteriously balanced.  Their asymmetrical and disproportionately balanced weight seems like something one might dream up yet could never be realized in the real world. 

Kendall Buster achieves the effect of weightlessness in her work. Her pieces are delicate despite the fact that they are quite large and probably very heavy. Yet, contrary to the weight of the materials they are composed of, they somehow appear to be floating effortlessly. The pieces, which are primarily hanging sculpture, are visually interesting from every angle. They have a calming, peaceful effect on the viewer and possess a sense of harmony because they are balanced. They have soft, curvy lines that make them feel light. Even though many of the structures are quite large, they appear to float—and it feels right. Somehow the sculptures feel safe to me in their hanging position. In one of the pieces titled Parabiosis, there are pictures of two strong men hanging up the work with big chains, proving how truly massive the work is despite the effect one gets when viewing the work.

Much of her work is quite large and transforms the space they are placed in. Because the sculptures are so big, they involve the viewer and allow them to actively participate in the work. When people view the work, they become a part of it—creating a mini landscape. It is easy for me to imagine myself walking through one of her sculptures. The large-scale pieces envelop the viewer and transport them into a new imaginary world. Overall, her work feels calming to me, even in her bold use of color in some of the larger works, which isn’t overwhelming, but rather comforting and relaxing. Her sculpture feels ethereal to me, reminiscent of linen hanging outside to dry, billowing in the breeze. 

Say Cheese!

(Photo-shoot time)

      I then went on to attempt to show via camera that the chair was indeed successful in its required function to support human weight. This, as you may imagine, went rather badly. I hope nobody witnessed my futile attempts at self-photography. Turns out I'm rather inept at taking pictures of myself. This was the best I could do: 

      I asked my friend to sit on it for a picture the following day, but she was too afraid she'd break it (despite my assurances of its stability) and refused to sit still.

Some assembly required, batteries not included

      So in the post before last I talked about the beginnings of my chair: the process and its making. But I have more photos of its gradual formation and its final stage of completion. 

       I started making the chair at home, where I had plenty of room to work. But I ran out of time before it was complete, and had to finish up at school the next day. Luckily I did most of the work over the weekend at home, so there were only a few pieces left to cut and then assemble the day before it was due. I actually managed, much to my surprise, to complete the entire project well before 9pm! This is quite unusual for me, as I have the tendency to procrastinate. But, thanks to my not skiving off I was actually able to get a decent amount of sleep the night before the deadline, which is rare to say the least. 

 This is a photo of as far as I got while working at home. Three pieces had yet to be cut, and one was mis-measured and required re-cutting. 

Here is the chair partially re-assembled at school.

(It was a bit of a pain to have to take apart and put back together, but it made for easier transportation)

Above are some pieces cut out fully, some still without the slits cut out.

All done!