Project 3 Make a Monster
My ideas:
When I thought about the them of make a monster, I was put off by the thought of creating something dark. Since I grapple with dark dreams in my life, I don’t feel inspired to delve inwards at this time. Instead I decided to go to the deep sea doe inspiration and, having seen a number of videos about deep sea creatures in general and angler fish in particular, I decided to sketch a fish from my imagination.
I thought about how a fish with massive teeth and unusual appendages, like the angler fish, can be thought of as monstrous yet are simply adapted to their living conditions. It’s a reminder that standards of beauty can be artificial and that qualities beyond appearances may be considered beautiful.
Artist Research:
Jean Tinguely
Was interested in the notion of art and created machines that were deliberately ‘messy’ and even unfinished in appearance. He made machines that moved like other machines but produced or ‘achieved’ nothing, beyond movement. It was a way of challenging notions of art and either amusing or irriatating the audience, depending on personal response.
One of his machines was built to auto-destruct during an exhibition by bursting into flames. Only he and a select few knew this would occur. A small part of the machine survived the fire and is on display at MoMA.
I adore this style of challenging perceptions. It puts me in mind of Andy Kaufman who would play quite serious pranks in order to get peoples’ attention. It’s something I have even done with a friend when we were teaching on a staff of rather uptight colleagues…we shocked them and it was hilarious!
But back to Jean T. – he is quoted as saying “The world has been experiencing a whole pattern of auto-destruction. Whether in environmental disasters like Chernobyl or health disasters like AIDS”
Some of Jean T’s machines and sculptures were very playful while others were extremely morbid- especially towards the end of his life when he had been very ill, such as his ‘Mengele Totentanz’ (Mengele Deathdance).
My Project
Before deciding what to create, we had an orientation in the metal shop to give us the all important safety messages and also to get an idea of the materials and processes that would be available.
As well as this device to bend metal rods , we were shown various power tools, the plasma cutter and had a description of welding. We were also shown how to work with aluminum flashing to cut, bend and attach pieces.
Deep Sea Fish
I drew a deep sea fish from my imagination and envisaged cutting it from one piece of metal with cut-outs for the details. I gave my fish one large central eye as I figured it would help it see in the deep dark ocean and could be considered beautiful in its own way.
I also had the saying ‘There’s always a bigger fish!’ in my imagination. This line was in one of the Star Wars films that I watched with my kids many years ago. I thought about making the bigger fish than a suggestions was made that I project a bigger fish on the wall. Finally I settled on the suggestion to set up a light source to cast a shadow of the fish I make- to be the bigger fish. I also plan to suspend my fish from fishing line so it looks like it is swimming in the air/ shadows.
My next step was to cut out a prototype from aluminum:
I was generally pleased with my first ever metal work project. Although the lines were not ‘supposed’ to be jagged, I decided I like them that way.
Having seen some amazing corten steel sculptures, I was inspired to fabricate my fish in steel next. I had to prep one side of the reclaimed steel with a wire power brush in order to create a surface for the plasma cutter to react with. I then set to cutting my fish out of steel:
Once I had cut the fish out, I flipped it over to reveal the remaining rust and the slag from the cutting. I really liked both of these things so decided to make this the front of the sculpture. I curved it very slightly on the anvil, using the edge and gentle pressure. Then I drilled a hole in the middle at the top from which to hang it.
It wasn’t until I’d made my fish that I looked up angler fish on the internet to remind myself of their appearance and was surprised by how much my creation resembles them:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anglerfish
Deep
.
In the deep
monsters lurk
spiny fins
pointy teeth
sunken eyes
scaly backs
all the things
we’re taught to fear
.
In the deep
monsters lurk
gaping mouths
slimy skin
slashing tails
grasping arms
devouring hope
haunting dreams
.
By Carys Owen
Reflections
I really enjoyed working in metal, especially in steel. It felt empowering to create something that has the potential to last a long time and that will weather along the way. With regards to the theme of making a monster, I found that process of designing and making this fish gave me a connection to deep sea creatures and only made me admire them more.
I have a deep love of nature and am very interested in how creatures can be characterized as dangerous, ferocious, deadly and so on. These are human value judgments and don’t relate to the animal’s need to survive and thrive. Most of the time creatures such as bears, lions, cougars etc. are going about their business (of hunting, eating, breeding, socializing) and conflict with humans occurs when we go into their habitat, take away their habitat, get too close to their babies and so on.
Within the animal kingdom animals are sometimes portrayed as being evil – like the great white shark- when they are simply occupying their place in the food chain. Closer observation of species most often reveals sensitivities and nuances in their behaviour that might surprise some humans- such as the grandmother orcas who live beyond menopause and lead their pods, often to the benefit of their sons.
Metal shop experience:
On a personal note, I’m of a generation where girls were not allowed to take woodwork and metalwork in high school and so making this fish was significant for me as it fulfilled a long held dream.
I am looking forward to seeing the shadows that it casts and to setting it up for exhibition.
Inspiration
Ray Lonsdale sculptures, North Shields, UK. Fiddlers Green (lone fisherman) and a Herring Girl.
