APD Nature

https://youtu.be/4VW5T5mD9cU

Theme - NATURE

For this week I created a kinetic/musical sculpture that interacts with the rain. The abstract sculpture remotely resembles a tree or a flower, on top of it some elements look like leaves. Those elements are the main points of interaction between the rain and the sculpture. When raindrops fall on the leaves, a gentle alt sound appears, so the rain by touching the leaves creates its melody. 

Moreover, during the heavy rain, the sculpture starts to move. And its also connected with interconnection with the leaves. Each leaf is held on a thin wire that allows it to be unstable and react to the impact of drops.

Method

This project started as an sculpture for collecting the water, however I decided that it would be interesting to move the focus to sound and movement. 

After I made a few sketches, I prepared the base for the sculpture. I used black hard wire to construct the body of the sculpture. The tricky moments were connected with working on joints, because the wire was difficult to bend. However, the solid wire was holding the structure successfully. 

When I finished the basis I moved to fill the emptiness inside of the leaves. I chose to use a foil and backing paper. They differed from each other in sound effect. Baking paper I chose because it cant me damaged by water. I glued it to the wire with a glue gun.

When leaves were finished I wanted to decorate the sculpture so it would look more natural. The black wire looked too unnatural in the natural environment, thats why using a rope I decorated all branches and covered a metal. I wanted a sculpture to have an ethnic look. To support this idea I added some decorations, which look like stones on ropes. I made them by gluing together white beans. They also move together with a sculpture and make a minor sound by touching each other and a basis.

Context

Firstly, as my sculpture is closed to kinetic art, I tried to find an information about this field.

Kinetic art not only includes movement but often depends on it to produce an intended effect and therefore fully realize its nature as art. It can take a multiplicity of forms and include a wide range of motion, from motorized and electrically driven movement to motion as the result of wind, light, or other sources of energy. (The book “Keep It Moving?: Conserving Kinetic Art.” Authors: Rachel Rivenc, Reinhard Bek)

Secondly, my response is abstract and is integrated into nature. I found a book, which describes this movement - “Meaning of Abstract Art: between nature and theory” In the chapter “Life into art” Isabel Wunsche describes a nature-centric approach in art: “Artistic expressions identified with a nature-centric or biologically-shaped approach to artistic styles are usually described as biomorphic. Biomorphic forms relate to natural processes; they allow the artist to explore the natural world without representing it directly. Artworks produced in this style are characterized by organic forms, curvilinear shapes, and abstracted images reminiscent of undersea and microscopic life forms.”

In the chapter “Movement: organic growth, natural development and metamorphosis” Isabel argues about movement in the concept of art and nature: “Hegel, who considered all of reality to be a process continuously in a state of motion and change, included in his definition of movement not just mechanical, but also self-movement, vitality and drive. Beginning in the eighteen century, art began to reflect this concept, that movement was a fundamental attribute of the material and primary characteristic of nature.”

“Nature” reflection

Although the sound, which very produced by the sculpture, turned out not to be very loud, I still enjoy the result. I feel that the object integrated to the nature and reflected perfectly to the weather condition. 

It was a very playful process, which provided an opportunity to break away from the monitor screen and make an attempt to create something that unites with nature. During the creation of the object, first time in a long time, I saw rain, not through a prism of dissatisfaction and negativity which provokes in me bad weather. I started to enjoy observing the rain and the wind and their influence on the environment. In general, unity with nature is the best relaxation for me. So making this work in such a stressful time has forced me to pause, breathe and have a tiny playful contact with the drops falling from the sky.