Jeff Kim

 

 

 

 

Jeff Kim

Rebirth to an Artist

2022

Stainless Steel, Mild Steel

22" X 45" X 40" 

 

The lotus flower is India’s National Flower. In the religious symbolism of Buddhism and Hinduism, the lotus flower is a sign of divinity and served as a symbol for art, culture, and philosophy. The Lotus flower represents purity, tranquility, and rebirth in many cultures. To me, the rebirth symbolism is the most intriguing as my path in life has had multiple rebirths. Today I am going through one of those rebirths and blossoming as an artist, a poetic symbol of the lotus flower in multiple a sense. One that reflects rebirth and art with a cultural change in philosophy.

 

 

 

Grace Schacterle

Grace Schacterle

Paralyzed

2022

Air dry clay, Steel, Gold paint

36 x 14.5 x 10.5 in

Paralyzed is a sculpture about pain, immobility, and trauma. Last May, I tore two discs in my back, leaving me paralyzed for 6 weeks. I was in the hospital for a week where I experienced malpractice. I then had to learn how to walk again. I wanted this sculpture to not only convey the excruciating physical pain that comes with that injury, but also the emotional pain I went through in that time as well. I wanted the clay to feel organic yet rigid which is why I shaped it in a more simplistic way. I left the ribs as exposed metal to showcase vulnerability. And I added the gold in the cracks to emphasize the injury and fragility of the spine. I chose gold because of the Japanese art practice Kintsugi. The Japanese fill cracks in pottery with gold to embrace the life that the pieces have had, to highlight the damage in a beautiful way, and to
not let them go to waste. I wanted to do the same by highlighting the cracks and embracing the pain as part of my story.

Derek Charleton

Derek Charleton

Walking Figure

2022

17”x39”x27”

The walking figure was an attempt and somewhat experiment to break out of the typical figure poses that I make with my sculptures. The goal was to make the sculpture appear as if it was walking in a fluid and organic way, while also trying to further push my processes further and expand the figures I make. I ended up taking items from a previous sculpture I had made and utilized those pieces to create a different but also interesting head to the figure. Plus I thought it would be a good way to play onto the meaning and a little bit of context to the sculptural figure. Since the pieces used to create the head were more geometric as well, making it seem placed randomly didn't end up so awfully.

Some context to the figure; as mentioned parts and pieces from a previous sculpture that I had made a semester prior to this piece were used to create this new piece. Specifically the steel caltrops, the four-point triangular spikes that are used for puncturing tires or to be stepped on. I thought I could use the spare caltrops from the previous piece to extend the subject of war, and the decay and grossness of war. To go along with that, I tried making the arms and legs seem to be created from barbed wire and letting rust build and scatter throughout the piece. However, these are just small details I wanted to include in the piece as a little nod to a previous piece that I had made.