Critique Results

Here are the images of my piece all put together for yesterday's critique.  Keep in mind that this is only a portion of what the sculpture will be...what has been constructed is the middle portion.  

The side with the sample finished parts.  The section of the piece above the clamps is where I have modified the surface.

What I have done is started in the middle of the form and will continue to build upward and downward until the final form is achieved.  I plan for the final sculpture to be between 6-10' in height.  So far in my process I have begun to build the basic structure from pine boards.  After completing the base structure I will continue with my original plan and add in old or found wood, or both.  After I have done that I will look at the progress and determine whether other materials would be useful in contributing to the sculpture, at that time I will know what would work or not work...but that is all contingent on where the sculpture is at that point.  The beauty of sculpture is like a charcoal drawing where you can add more or take it away, and you can continue to add and take away until you've achieved something successful.

For the first full faculty critique yesterday I worked as hard as I possibly could in order to get enough of the actual structure built to give everyone some sort of idea of what my plan is, as well as get as much of the structural modification done so that everyone could begin to understand how I will transform this basic 'ordered structure' into an 'organic structure'.

As far as the critique...After that 10 minutes of brutal hell, I came out of the critique feeling completely obliterated, as though I'd been hit by a freight train.  I understand that a critique is supposed to challenge me and get me to think about what I'm doing, but a critique is also supposed to be somewhat of a safe haven where constructive criticism takes place and of understanding where I'm at and where I plan to go.  It blew my mind to be told that it didn't matter what I am going to do but what mattered was the work that had been done so far.  In my feeling it was treated much like a final critique...what I had was supposed to be 'finished product' when in fact that is absolutely not the case.  This was the first critique, one where we have only had 2 weeks to work...and I have utilized every free moment of my 2 weeks to get this done.  I have neglected my household cleaning, I have neglected my fiance and the children, I have neglected to go grocery shopping...  All I have done for the past two weeks is go to classes and spend hours upon hours in the studio working.  Every day is getting up early and going to class or the studio and working for the entire day.  For me to be told that all of my work pretty much didn't matter and that we weren't going to talk about the future of my work was brutal.  From my understanding this was a first critique, work in progress, and the next in March is another process critique...  If my work was at the stage it is now for the last critique on May 13th, I completely understand that I would get that reaction.  School is supposed to be a safe haven, a learning environment to grow in before heading out to the harsh cruel world.  

I'm not disrespecting other disciplines by any means but if I had put 30 hours into 2D work, I would potentially have much more work to show for the 30 hours that I put in...  Sculpture is a completely different beast...sculpture has to be built first then modified and finished...  I put my all into building as much as I could.  My first plaster carving had a total of 120 hours of work into it, my second around 150 hours and the wood carving that I'm still working with has had 80 hours put into it and is not half done.  This is my senior project where I have a whole semester to work in it, it only has 30 hours into it so far...there will be much more.  Sculpture is something that can't be completely seen for what it us until it is 2/3 to 3/4 of the way through.  Please, correct me if I'm wrong but that is my thought and experience.

I have gotten some feedback from several people since the critique yesterday and everyone has come back with the same opinion...keep going, keep pushing and do what my instinct tells me.  I know that I'm on the right track, I can't explain how or why, but I know that I am.  I know where I am going and how I'm going to get there and I just have to put the negative nellies on the back burner.  Stay tuned for more progress in the next few weeks!