Creative things to Do in A Cemetery #3: Walk Around and Take It In

"Pyramid at Hollywood Cemetery", David Plotnick, Stop Motion, 2010

I loved stop motion and learned it in my time studio class.  I guess it was self explanitory.

Black and White Drawing

"Knights of Haversham", David Plotnick, 30"x 44", Acryllic on Stonehenge Paper, 2010

In some ways I find it a very disappointing piece of work of mine.  The unfinished coating, weak craftsmanship, and cliche imagery contribute to what I considered a complete and utter failure of execution and an insult to my standards and my colleagues.  However, looking at it with fresher eyes, I would say this was a great teaching experience.  I knew that I would have to strive for the skill I want, I would have to pay excrutiating detail to my actions.  Within time, I plan to do another to show how far i came and also to have a stronger portfolio.    

72 Portraits, One Piece of Paper

"Self Indulgence", David Plotnick, Black Ink on Stonehenge, 24" x 30", 2010

I have done this project once before with the idea of having little versions of me tying me up like in Gulliver's Travels.  When it was finished I had troubles with craftsmanship and instantly found something I liked much better.  The idea was to be eating small heads that were me carrying different expressions.  All in all, I am much happier with this piece.

My Top Three Fields of Study

1. Craft and Material Studies

Heading there was really cool.  It was pretty much a work day for this class.  I ran into a student named Ben who showed me all the material you can work with.  You could explore Ceramics, Glass, Fiber, Wood, Metal, etc.  It was a place of 3D experimentation.  I always wanted to glass blow or do metalwork.  It seemed like the possibilities were infinite in this department and I am excited to experiment, make jewelry, work with textile, etc.  One piece of advice I got from him is relax and keep working and trying and its always possible to couple this with sculpting techniques.

2. Sculpture and Extended Media

From working on a recent project, being exposed to the Sculpture project class with Johnston Foster, and talking with Sculpture graduate students.  I was excited about this field.  There is an ineffable level of excitement and challenge in Sculpture.  Learning to cooperate with the laws of physics and fleshing out one's imagination to a 3D template is exciting.  Not to mention, VCU has the #1 sculpture program so if  I apply there I will have a wonderful educational experience.  A word of advice I got from Johnston Foster is to have fun in AFO the success will come with the discovery and enjoyment.  And yeah have some substantial all around experience in the portfolio.

 3. Kinetic Imaging

I have always had a love for music and making film and cartoons.  The fact that I can integrate all those elements into an art field and a career makes the desire to study it all the more interesting.  An animation professor, had told me to keep working and don't be afraid to experiment because this is the time to do it.  Try everything, work hard, and have fun!  Oh and attend lectures and read Artforum.

Project: Surface Research and DESTROY!!! Part 7

"Good Ol' Benjamin" David Plotnick, Mixed Media, AFO 2010

The cat thought he was safe from what would soon arrive.  Scaling the trees of the forest ripping trunks with its appendages a gigantic spider monster bites down on the cat with its tremendous fangs making the cat succumb to the poison, the spider monster wraps the cat in web as she drinks the fluids of her victim.

I had fun with this one, a cat can obviously be eaten by a dog, but I felt that my food chain needed a fantastic keystone predator.  Hence, those giant spiders that everyone sees in movies like Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, The Mist, Eight Legged Freaks, and even Arachnophobia were the perfect creatures.  Imagine a spider the size of a monster truck eating and impregnating egg sacks into everything from horses to people, building huge webs in automobile tunnels and cathedrals.  Its fantastic and terrible.

In terms of craftsmanship this was extremely taxing.  The weight was unbearable, the legs would fall over, and glue was virtually useless at this point.  Tape served to represent web in my mind. I got to finally use that deer skull in a sculpture I like.  While I truly did enjoy the process of making this and all my other creatures, this one was a twelve hour endeavor.  As a side note, I named this one after my brother, Ben, who is deathly afraid of spiders.  Being that this creature is the dominant keystone predator, it remains at the top of the food chain, nothing serves to kill it, and in turn they grow uncontrollably, and without enough food to sustain the entire population they eventually die off.  I just stomped on him because it takes less time than waiting for the thing to starve.     

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.