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| Hors la Vie |
A conglomeration of stuffed animals, named Dumonsaur, faces directly against a set of trolls.
Before we can speak, we touch, hear, and listen. Interactions are limited, therefore toys are heavily used by toddlers, or infants. Toys are for play, yet even toys are catered to certain types of gender; for example Barbies, Beyblades, Nerf. Which is interesting since, according to the National Association for Education, “different toys impact children’s behavior in different ways”. Toys really influence us as children, so I wanted to somehow incorporate this material. I also believe toys can be used to easily explain a more hidden, and deeper, meaning. Similar to how the Disney movie “Toy Story”, uses toys to create a plot about Woody, and BuzzLightyear. Instead of dolls, I used Trolls, and a conglomeration of other stuffed animals to demonstrate a picture.
For me identity has always been tied to the way I look, in other words my facial features. So, I thought a lot about how some individuals construct preconceived notions, and well; psychologically, humans look at an individual’s face first; and subconsciously make judgements. Yet, how we present ourselves isn’t usually who we really are, for example the clothes we wear, or how we act. As Finkelstein describes in chapter one of her book, Art of Self Invention, “At the same time we are constantly reminded of the fragility of the social situation and the possibilities that the people we are talking to may be fakes, poseurs, bad actors or glib performers...” . Then I compared my vision to today’s society. I realized there are still people holding prejudices against an individual’s facial features. This idea led to my midterm project, which involved sewing, and tearing apart stuffed animals to make a conglomeration, composed of a stuffed duck, monkey, and dinosaur. I wanted the stuffed animal to represent individuals who feel out of place in their culture or environment. Then, I decided to introduce a set of antagonists, the trolls, staring against my conglomeration. The trolls signify the other part of individuals who judge based off appearance. The trolls are the same species, but do not look the same; a contradiction. In other words, by pitting the trolls against the conglomeration I’m trying to mimic a scenario where toys are against toys, despite being the same “ species”. A reflection to how some humans dislike other humans, based off their appearance, even though every human being is composed of the same cells. In the end we are all different.
No doubt is my conglomeration weird and odd; this was done on purpose. I want viewers to build their own prediction of my toy, before I explain the resonating behind. My techniques focused on sewing! Then for the pictures, I used noir filter, and placed my camera at different angles to capture a negative feeling.
As for artists who influenced me, Nina Katchadourian was one artist who inspired me to base my structure off her work, specifically the one called “Anime Crossdressing”. In this particular sculpture she used a fake rat and snake skin to create a final piece. Katchadourian’s use of the switching body parts of animals led me construct my own. Another artist who greatly influenced my project was Sebastian Masuda. The majority of his art revolved around conglomeration, color, and toys. His funky, kooky sense of style is seen throughout most of his work.
No doubt is my conglomeration weird and odd; this was done on purpose. I want viewers to build their own prediction of my toy, before I explain the resonating behind. My techniques focused on sewing! Then for the pictures, I used noir filter, and placed my camera at different angles to capture a negative feeling.
As for artists who influenced me, Nina Katchadourian was one artist who inspired me to base my structure off her work, specifically the one called “Anime Crossdressing”. In this particular sculpture she used a fake rat and snake skin to create a final piece. Katchadourian’s use of the switching body parts of animals led me construct my own. Another artist who greatly influenced my project was Sebastian Masuda. The majority of his art revolved around conglomeration, color, and toys. His funky, kooky sense of style is seen throughout most of his work.
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