Project: Surface Research and DESTROY!!! Part 6

"Molotov Cattail" David Plotnick, Mixed Media, AFO 2010

The fish was lured by a lingering paw.  Swiped with such tenacity the cat feeds.

Making this one was in some ways as challenging as it was rewarding.  Capturing features in the face like whiskers, pointed ears and a feline nose, was satisfying.  I felt the nature of sculpture following a trend of lying flat was starting to become boring, so placing interesting angles for the cat was an interesting journey.  I tried to make the sit sit up straight but the cat kept leaning forward and falling.  glue was becoming less helpful as the sculptures got larger, so the use of artist tape as a collar was a way of covering a flaw in design.  There was also more interesting trash like a thrown out piece of cloth, which made great fur.  This creature took a night over to Bowe Street and a late night food run to 7 eleven, so yeah it was relatively intensive.

Project: Surface Research and DESTROY!!! Part 5

"Coy Fish", David Plotnick, Mixed Media, AFO 2010

When the lizard finished his bird, he slinked over to a pond only to be gobbled by a large fish while drinking.  

When making this sculpture I was beginning to pay attention to the natural features in animals, little nuances that made them easier to differentiate from a mere conception of a generic creature.  I observed drawings and photographs of coy fish.  I noticed for instance that there were two set of whisker on these fish as well as nostrils, plated gills, a dorsal, pectoral, and anal fin.  While walking back from class I found a sushi tray tossed away, and that inspired the idea of a fish and to my luck some fish do eat lizards.  This took about four and a half hours to construct.  

Project: Surface Research and DESTROY!!! Part 4

"Terrible Lizard", David Plotnick, Mixed Media, AFO 2010

While the bird soared in the air, the bird had foolishly crashed into a tree and the wounded animal, paid for her folly as she laid there while the avaricious lizard devoured her.

Weight is starting to become a larger issue as they grow with size.  I have had to rebuild twice already from scratch with the pieces.  Part of the problem was trying to assimilate all the trash from previous animals (ie. the pencil legs of the crab, bubble wand tale, can arm, fork claws, etc.)  I started to notice a remarkable accident, the unintentional sharpness of rough cut parts, made the creature more of a threatening predator.   

Project: Surface Research and DESTROY!!! Part 3

"Bird", David Plotnick, Mixed Media, AFO 2010

The crab was picked up by a swooping bird of death... and swallowed whole.  The bird took a little longer than the crab.  As each sculpture grows in size, it also grows with complexity.  With more attention being paid on mass distribution and structural integrity.  There was a concern about using too much glue to solve problems that it stunted the imagination of creating creatures.  Simple things like bending plastic forks created talons , folding cardboard and mimicking shapes added elements of a fuller beak and coherent designs for the plumage.  Pizza boxes were used to make her wings, and the condiment container from earlier makes another appearance along with the bubble wands for tail feathers returns showing continuity.  Lastly, a return to using the materials natural colors adds a more dynamic appearance to the bird. 

Project: Surface Research and DESTROY!!! Part 2

"Trash Crab", David Plotnick, Mixed Media, AFO 2010

Originally this was going to be the first creature I would make but the food chain would not have been as exciting.  While I feel it is a very stylized version of a crab, I was starting to experiment with the weight of different materials and surfaces.  I was exploring the function of shapes and how they can be applied as characteristics of representation.  The use of bottle caps for pincers is an example of this use.  I also was debating whether to paint on these creatures.  Our bug has met a bitter end to the crushing while goofy looking mandible of a larger predator.  The materials used include: pencils, bottle caps, condiment containers, bubble wands, and screw on caps.    

Project: Surface Research and DESTROY!!! Part 1

"Battery Bug", David Plotnick, Mixed Media, 2010

The objective of this Surface Research project was to create seven pieces of artwork.  Each piece you make must be destroy in some mean and the next piece is transformed in some way from the previous piece.  Through searching half a dozen half baked ideas and many more clamoring for my conceptual attention, I turned towards the idea of making found art sculptures of animals increasing in size being consumed in a growing food chain.  To indicate their consumption and destruction each sculpture was then disassembled and parts assimilated and rearranged onto larger creatures, whether for aesthetic or structural purposes in weight.  I first start out with an infinitesimal insect made with cardboard trimming, twisty ties, fishing line, and a battery.  It was a very quick process no more than ten minutes to make with the help of hot glue.  The great start for an idea that was sure to blossom into something extraordinary. 

Patterns w/ representation

"It Only Takes One", David Plotnick, Acryllic on Stretched Canvas, 12 x 24 in, 2010

Our teacher in Surface Research encouraged us to pick a subject we enjoy.  I have always been a fan of  zombie movies, games, books, memborbilia, etc.  I just can't help myself they are just that awesome.  I felt that grabbing arms were a perfect pattern, while not necessarily consistent in same shape or direction.  I felt there was an implied pattern; the repeated element of arms just trying to take and consume. On a deeper level, the zombie is the personification of most of our deepest fears obviously one being that of death.  It also leads people to question whether we are above mindless animals concerned solely with our appetite.  The sheer number of the undead could represent how the crowd can completely overshadow our individuality.  It can represent a notion that we can be swallowed up by many and left a forgotten soul.  The idea also follows a typical zombie formula: that one zombie can be the catalyst of creating a grabbing horde of these things. One bites a human turning them into a zombie then another then another then another.   In the critique, people thought that the figures at the bottom are people.  Its funny I looked at them more as zombies.  Their anonymous, faceless appearance adds an element of creepiness as well as the illusion of a unit of the shambling corpses meeting the viewer face to face.  Perhaps this was a spacing flaw on my part, if they were above ground and near the zombie the effect would have been easier to interpret, but I feel the singularity of that one zombie's influence would be lost.  Overall, I had fun!