WP3: Guidelines

Option 1:

For your final writing project, you will be required to write a rhetorical analysis of the sculpture you were assigned. The specific requirements for this analysis are the same as WP1 and WP2, so please re-read over those project guidelines for a refresher as to what needs to be accomplished so as to produced a proper WP3. Obviously, the key difference between the final project and the previous projects is the primary text. To this extent, ask yourself: what visual, tactile, and contextual elements does your sculpture, and the art-form of sculpture in general, evince that art-forms such as photography and comics do not? For example, choice of materials and the space of presentation are two noticeable differences; of course, these are not the only aspects that differ, but it is a good place to start (you will be expected to generate additional avenues of inquiry, so do not limit yourself to the two I provided).

Furthermore, there will be a new point distribution as well. Your Statement of Purpose and Author's Note will both count toward your weekly blog posts, leaving the WP3 grade to parse out as follows:

Attribution of Points (20 total):

Peer-reviews: 4 points
Final Draft: 16 points

As with previous projects, the minimum requirements for WP3 are 1200-1500 words, 5 multi-media elements, and 7 relevant hyperlinks. DUE: Tuesday, December 15 @ 12:30PM.

Option 2:

You will write a 1000 word letter addressed to your sculpture. In the letter, you will need to write a) descriptive observations about the sculpture, b) reflections, meditations, and insights that the aforementioned observations stimulate, and c) filter both the observations and reflections through a specific aesthetic-conceptual paradigm (i.e. negativity or intensification). It may also be beneficial to incorporate some contextual material regarding the piece.

The second portion of the assignment will require you to a) read the letter out loud to your sculpture, then after the reading b) imitate your sculpture for 5 minutes. The imitation necessitates that you strike a pose similar to your sculpture and, as motionless as possible, remain that way for the full 5 minutes. When you have completed these steps, thank your sculpture and give it a hug.

If you would like to go with Option 2, speak with me to schedule a specific time during finals week for your reading and imitation. Scheduling a time for this performance is not optional.

Attribution of Points (20 total):

Peer-reviews: 4 points
Final Draft: 8 points
Reading: 4 points
Imitation: 4 points

Before the reading/imitation, you will post a version of the letter onto your blog; in addition to the word count, it will contain 3 multi-media elements, and 4 relevant hyperlinks. DUE: Tuesday, December 15 @ 12:30PM.

UPDATE: 11.24.09

If our previous class session explored an art-object through its negative image (i.e. Cage's 4'33'' as music), then today's class session challenges us to consider an art-object as an intensification of its traditionally-conceived identity. In the liner notes to Zaireeka, Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips writes: "I was discovering the possibilities of using separate sound sources to expand on the ideas of composing and listening"; likewise, in creating a single album that needs to be experienced by playing 4 CDs simultaneously, he wanted "to think with an 'expanded' view of what music and songs could be," so as to "hear an exaggerated dimension of sound." As such, if one conceptualizes 4'33'' as music from the perspective of less than music, then one can conceptualize Zaireeka as music from the perspective of more than music. To wit, for your next blog post, I would like you to think through your sculpture as an intensification of a) the object it represents, b) an art-object, or c) the natural environment in which it is found. Posts should be 500 words, contains 1 mutli-media element, and 2 relevant hyperlinks. DUE: Tuesday, December 1 @ 12:30PM.

And for your viewing pleasure, the below video contains some footage of the "Parking Lot Experiments" that was the impetus and/or origin of Zaireeka:


You will also have a second writing assignment over break. As with our pre-writing assignments for previous Writing Projects, you will do some research on the historical and cultural context from which the sculpture derives. Your research will have a two-fold purpose: 1) it may provide you with new ways of envisioning and interpreting particular aesthetic and technical considerations, and 2) it will provide you with material in which you may situate your introduction, conclusion, or possibly both. After you’ve completed your research, return to the sculpture and re-examine it. How have your insights altered your perceptions? You may also want to consider how the medium allows to creator of the sculpture to write about or express certain views that other mediums might not effectively handle, or presents them in a certain manner that allows for a different understanding of the material. DUE: Tuesday, December 1 @ 12:30PM.

Finally, you might be asking yourself: "Okay, I understand these differing conceptual models you want us to view our art-objects through, but why must we participate in these experiments/activities in class?" Again, Coyne provides us with a glimpse of why this is. He claims that we must not just passively "witness an event," but actually "be the event." To this extent, proper understanding of an art-object requires immersion within it to achieve the fullest experience: one must become art. No doubt, to observe, reflect upon, and conduct research regarding your primary text is necessary in an effort to arrive at the most well-round comprehension, but envelopment within the art-object, or affectively entering the piece in a visceral manner, must occur. Therefore, when we return from Thanksgiving break, we will use our final 2 class sessions (not including peer-reviews) to spend some quality time with our sculptures: watching them, touching them, talking to them, etc.

UPODATE: 11.22.09

The table below contains one image for each of your assigned sculptures located outside the Sheldon Art Museum. You can save the images if you would like, but due to the fact that they are associated with my Photobucket account and will remain at a dedicated location, you can just use their individualized URLs if you would like. To do so, just click on the image; when the new window opens, cut-and-paste the web address. Remember, please use the images below for your next post. Over the course of the next week, I will process two more images for each of you. Also, be aware that there is a homework assignment in the John Cage post below this one, in case you have not already noticed it. Finally, read the Zaireeka! PDF on Blackboard.