PROJECT 2: RUSSIAN RENAISSANCE GROUP PROJECT
Background
This was an unusual assignment being a group sculpture, but we had roughly two weeks to create a design and execute it. The Russian Renaissance is a musical quartet that performed at the university's performing art center. After listening to some music by them and studying their instrument structures we then designed a piece to reflect our interpretation.
Process
The design and structure for this project that we decided upon was that of a triangular prism with the top cut off. The goal was for the piece to be made completely of scrap wood from the woodshop. We succeeded in this aspect and we did not need to buy any extra materials. We decided to create a series of these forms in a similar fashion but out of different types of scrap wood so that each form would be highlighted as slightly different but still supportive. The layered plywood being the largest was also the most labor intensive while the smaller forms took less time. Due to the time constraint, we had to change our ideas and forms multiple times to be more practical.
WRITER'S BLOCK
Smallest form 6 x 10 x 6.5 in , Medium form 17.5 x8.5 x 20 in , Large form 16.5 x 32.5 x 25 in
Reflection
The bulkiness of the base block is what really gave this piece it's title. The amount of labor it takes to simply get started on a project, be it music or a sculpture, is sometimes the most labor intensive of the process. We decided to leave the holes of the scrap wood to emphasize that recycled wood has its time in the spotlight just like some notes in music are used more than others. Another analogy made here is that all the musical notes that exist have been created and nothing is new, but just like scrap wood, the composition of the notes is what brings out the beauty, not just the individual notes. Similarly to the different music compositions, our piece has different positional compositions. The image above of how they are stacked is the strongest composition because it highlights the smaller form being a support to the larger form however it is just as important. Without the smaller form, the composition would topple over just like without a player or instrument the music would not sound the same.