Rebecca

EDIT// Final Concentration Statement Concentration Statement Rebecca Cho The subject of my concentration began with the idea of roots and later incorporated the idea of the seven deadly sins. I decided to depict roots as something that is not always a strong, solid base but also something that can inhibit us and bring us down. I used different media to explore how I can express each deadly sin in the basic form of roots. The first slide is obviously my development stage. I first decided to work with the basic figure or roots because of the many meanings it has. Your roots, someone’s roots can either be a solid foundation that keeps people grounded and stable; or it can be a cage that inhibits movement and therefore opportunities for growth. In my next couple of slides, you can see that the idea of the seven deadly sins slowly became incorporated into the form. Instead of just creating the form of the root, I dramatized the form and exaggerated expressions to personify the simple form of the roots into something with more meaning. As I diverge in the media I use, one can also see that I began to abstract the form while creating an even more dramatic effect. I used several different types of materials to create my portfolio. Starting with wire figures covered in paper pulp, wet clay, dry clay, sculpey oil-based clay, mirror shards, as well as other mixed media, I tried to incorporate a variety of materials in order to use the material to convey the mood of each piece.

[Concentration] Roots. Do they hold us together or do they confine us? This juxtaposition between the two meanings of roots is the main focus of my concentration. This concentration will examine how roots are both a way of connecting us as well as a factor that could lead to confining us. First I want to start out with the basic shape of roots, making pieces more based on form and lines and repetition. The concentration gradually grows into something more expressive with pieces that have meaning behind it.

I’ve been thinking a lot about concentrations over the past couple months, as I am sure other people have. I think I've narrowed down my ideas to two specific themes: fashion and female faces/figures

First of all, I know that fashion itself is too large of a topic and must be narrowed down. If I were to focus on fashion, I'd probably choose shoes or hats because both already have a structural form to it. What I'd do throughout the concentration is make different version os the same object in different material. I’d start out with simple generic frames of shoes in metal or wood and then use clay to sculpt the details and then use fabric and plastics to create an original design.

If I were to go with the idea of female faces/figures, I’d start work by creating the image of the idealized “beautiful woman” that we see in the fashion world. Then I’d start to distort her face, make her look like a freak, older, younger, and whatnot. This will represent that there isn’t truth in the media’s portrayal of women. Then, towards the end of the series, I’d try to capture the “true” woman. Also, I think I can use a variety of materials, like clay and wires. I also think I can abstract the figure of a woman to create varying amount of realistic and abstract art.

I have, very recently, also been considering a new concentration that will focus on nature and captivity. I once made a cube with animal prints on it and it got me thinking about our environmental problems. We capture and destroy our natural environment. I want to show that what we are doing to our environment is wrong and should be stopped. So, natural elements—like animal prints, trees, and natural materials—will be restricted by geometric shapes or figures (like skyscrapers) that represent our modern, industrialized world. I think this will be effective with clay, paper, as well as unconventional materials like metal, fabric, tape, and etc. It will be a mix between organic material as well as processed material.