The quasic garden

Within this thesis I will discuss the origins of the work I have created for The Quasiac Garden. It will begin with an explanation of how I use the creation of art as an instigator of my intuition. There is a dependent relationship between the creation of materials and the formal elements of design that are the basis of explorations. Terms, investigations of each series, and the installation are presented. In conclusion, potential areas of research are considered as well as concepts. Finally I have shown illustrations of the work featured in The Quasiac Garden.

THE QUASIAC GARDEN b y Monique Ann Sevenans A thesis submitted to the faculty of The University of Utah in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts Department of Art The University of Utah March 1998 Copyright © Monique Ann Sevenans 1998 All Rights Reserved THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE APPROVAL of a thesis submitted by Monique S e v e n a n s This thesis has been read by each member o f the following supervisory committee and by majority vote has been found to be satisfactory. ; X-/V- / $ - - /<•' - Chairman: D a v id P e n d e l l I Mary F r a n c e y 1 y ~ \ R o b e r t K le in s c h m id t THE UNIVERSITY OF UTAH COLLEGE OF FINE ARTS FINAL READING APPROVAL To the Graduate Council of Th e University of Utah: T , , , , . _ Monique S e v e n a n s 1 have read the thesis o r ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- in its final form and have found that (1) its format, citations, and bibliographic style are consistent and acceptable; (2) its illustrative materials including figures, tables, and charts are in place; and (3) the final manuscript is satisfactory to the Supervisory Committee and is ready for submission to the Graduate School. Date D a v id P e n d e l l Chairperson, Supervisory Committee Approved for the Major Department N a th a n B. W in te r s Chairperson Approved for the Graduate Council P h y l l i s H a s k e l l ABSTRACT Within this thesis I will discuss the origins of the work I have created for The Quasiac Garden. It will begin with an explanation of how I use the creation of art as an instigator of my intuition. There is a dependent relationship between the creation of art and my intuition. I will then address the materials and the formal elements of design that are the basis of explorations. Terms, investigations of each series, and the installation are presented. In conclusion, potential areas of research are considered as well as concepts. Finally I have shown illustrations of the work featured in The Quasiac Garden. TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT........................................................................................................ iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS_____________________________________ vi ONE: WHY I MAKE ART___________________________________ 1 TWO: DEVELOPMENT.............................................................................. 2 The Develpment o f the Therons and Yukteswars................................. 4 THREE: THE QUASIAC GARDEN INSTALLATION................... 7 FOUR: CONCLUSION........................... ..................................................... 9 LIST OF PRINTS........................................................................................... 14 PRINTS............................................................................................................... 16 REFERENCES.................................................................................................. 27 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank the members of my graduate committee, David Pendell, Mary Francey, and Bob Kleinschmidt, for their guidance and support throughout graduate school. Also, I would like to thank Amie McNeel and Kaiti Slater for their assistance and guidance with my creative development and for introducing me to a new material: steel. ONE WHY I MAKE ART For the past four years I have become increasingly interested in philosophical topics like "What is reality and how is it created?"; "Is there order in chaos?"; "What is humanity's true relationship to God and nature, and what are the relationships among humans?" Through research in existentialism, alternative and holistic theories, I have achieved a new personal level of understanding about human nature, intuition, and its relationship to the creation of art. I realize that the objects I create are both a catalyst and a vehicle of my intuition. I began creative explorations when I was in high school. At that time, and when I entered college, I tried to deny my artistic inclinations. It wasn't until my fourth year in college that I finally surrendered and began an art major. It was also during that fourth year that my interests in those philosophical topics began to form. The thing that I liked most about making art was the limitless creativity. When I give myself free artistic rein, my intuition takes over and presents ideas and directions that I would not have thought to try. Creating art allows a dependent relationship and a balance to exist between my intuition, "the sixth sense" and reason. TWO DEVELOPMENT I have noticed a similarity in the way I address formal elements of design, i.e. form, line, rhythm, and color. I have approached drawing, painting, and the construction of vases, teapots, and figures as exercises in the unification of form and line. Texture and color are used to enhance these elements in the work. Through making pots and drawing I have explored these elements and continued to do so in my masters work. This most recent investigation was done by combining clay and steel. I had already explored forms with clay by building vases stretched from the inside. The resulting form spoke about the nature of clay. I found working with steel very difficult. Its characteristics are the opposite of clay. However, it was because of this combination of materials that new relationships and opportunities existed. Initial investigations began by creating a steel rod environment for a small figure series. Cracks formed where the shrinking clay met with the steel, but it didn't damage the small structures. The steel withheld its form when fired to 2000°F. Next I tried a much larger piece. This intuitively-made piece was constructed in two days. I found the experience very stimulating. The lines of the steel seemed to accent the clay form which was dancing in and out of space like a cubist painting. I continued to make large scale work because of the increased presence. Unfortunately with the larger size came increased concerns of structure and aesthetics. When the pieces were drying and fired I encountered similar problems, but now more extensive than with the earlier, smaller figure series. Several times during the drying process I had to fix the shrinkage cracks that occurred around the steel. In an initial firing to 2000°F after hearing a loud "thunk" sound I aborted the firing at 1500°F. The structure in one of the pieces had collapsed. Even at this temperature the steel began to weaken and the clay, though not near maturity, continued to shrink unacceptably. I experimented to find a lower maturing clay body that would not compromise the steel. The final clay body I developed was specifically made for strength, low shrinkage, and color. I added paper pulp (approximately 4 1/2 gallons of wet pulp to 160 pounds of clay), fiber (two large handfuls to the same amount of clay), and agrashell (ground up walnut shell) to increase the greenware strength and lower shrinkage. I also combined Hennifer Red (an earthenware clay) and a commercial terra cotta clay in order to achieve the orange-red color. Originally, I intended to fire the pieces to vitrify the clay and make the work permanent indoors or out. I also intended to use natural, weathered-looking low-fire (1800°F) glazes. After several tests, it became apparent that the research needed to be far more extensive than I had anticipated. I decided that I wanted to invest more time in the form development than material research. The clay body I created would work for this purpose without being fired. When the clay was green it had the desired qualities of the end fired state: color, texture, strength, and low-shrinkage. I focused on the creation of the work. The Development of the Therons and Yukteswars At this point, I will begin to use two terms that will need to be defined: Therons and Yukteswars. T h e ro n s . the smaller pieces in the exhibit, are named by a word I made up; it comes from the word theory and tron-as in robot. It means to be contained in or the focus of a singular idea; narrow­min d ed . Y u k te sw a r s . the larger forms, owe their name to Swami Sri Yukteswar (1855-1936), a yogi with the attributes of divine wisdom who offered spiritual guidance to many. It means a collaborative effort between many different ideas, open to limitless possibilities. These terms represent ideas I was thinking about that were important to me at the time. Although the work does not literally exhibit these meanings, the ideas became a source of inspiration. I wanted to investigate the forms more specifically. In the Therons, the steel lines are straight and symmetrical. I formed an armature by constructing four-legged support frames and simple three-dimensional geometric shapes, squares, and triangles, to form an armature. The addition of the clay walls constructed between the steel led to the formation of robust, singular and sometimes contained vessels that are "held" within the steel armatures. The clay forms suggest the intake, exhalation, and containment of air. The juxtapostion of the steel with the plastic emphasizes the idea of conta inment. Later in the series, I began to experiment with balance and scale. By using one, two, or three legs of metal support, I made the work appear to be delicately balanced, while the "real" support would be hidden. I investigated different sizes, tall and thin, short and stout, playing with scale to create dialogue between the pieces. The Yukteswars explore scale, movement, and mobility. The first pieces were under 3 feet high in scale and the later ones reached 4 to 6 feet. By making these at a larger scale, I found the relationships between the steel lines and clay forms become more pronounced. When making the Yukteswars, I began by welding casters on to a frame. This allowed me to move the work easier and gave the finshed piece a sense of conceptual movement. I cut various segments of the square bare and welded them together in subtle and sometimes severe angles to create a sense of gesture. Once the gestural three-dimensional line "drawing" had been established, I accentuated the movement of the gesture with flowing, lyrical, curcular steel lines. The formation of the clay walls was determined by, but not limited to, the steel armature. I combined convex, concave, and straight clay walls to make sections of the pieces recede and advance in space. The idea of movement was also enhanced when the work dried. The a clay forms shrank away from the steel just enough to create space between the material. The shrunken clay lines echoed 6 the steel lines. In this way repitition of line and rhythm was created establishing a stronger relationship to movement. THREE THE QUASI AC GARDEN INSTALLATION I have been influenced by installations I've seen. I am intrigued by how an artist transforms an environment in order to convey a message or a feeling. For my MFA Exhibit I wanted to create one myself. Ou a s ia c . (a made-up word pronounced Qua-like hey, Siac-like Mike), is a term I use to describe the way my work makes me feel: anxious, excited, amused and amazed because I am tapping into my intuition. The feeling is also that I am on the verge of learning something new. It became my intention to create a quasiac-feeling garden installation as an extension of the comprehensive process of creation when making the work. I had envisioned an enticing, interactive, integrated relationship between each piece and the viewer. This brought to mind a garden theme. In landscape gardens I believe an interesting, serene, and unified environment is created. It permits the participant to feel free, at ease, and open to inspiration. In "The Quasiac Garden" this type of environment allows the viewer to experience the quasiac feeling from the work more directly than would a museum-type setting. The integrated garden installation of the Therons and Yukteswars was a culmination of knowledge and understanding about my artwork up to this point. I investigated a variety of formal relationships between the pieces as well as the existing components of the space, i.e., the wall, window, floor. Yukteswar 7 (print #8) was placed in the center of the room, a hierarchical position, as a focal point of the show. The rest of the Yukteswars were placed in relationship to it. The organization was essential in order to establish a sense of serenity and unity. In addition to the placement of the work, the lighting, wall and floor treatments and the addition of a bench contributed to the serene feeling. I used minimal overhead light to increase the dramatic effect of my work. Exposing the windows on one side of the gallery conceptually extended the installation outside. The opposite, main wall was painted a medium shade of brown which minimized it and the room. The work was grouped within islands of curvilinear areas of mulch placed on the floor. The crisp mulch edges defined a meandering path enhancing the garden effect. A bench was placed against the wall directly across from Yukteswar 7. This invited sitting and contemplation. 8 FOUR CONCLUSION Since the work was not fired it is not archivally secure. It cannot be placed outdoors and it is also susceptible to damage during transport which may decrease the likelihood of potential investors. Therefore my first goal is to make this work more permanent. I would like to try to make it withstand outdoor conditions. It has been suggested that I experiment with various unfired systems including expandable foam for the interior space. The surface of the unfired clay could be coated with latex acrylic or other suitable materia ls . In future work I would like to solve this problem before I construct it. I may experiment with additions of various sealers and fixatives to my current clay body to make it permanent. I also envision possibilities for a complex installation made up of several individual pieces. With this idea I would like to exploit unity which was implied but not as clear between the Therons and the Yukteswars. Continuing to develop my intuition, "the sixth sense," is possible through the creation of art objects. Creativity is very important and I firmly believe that any form of it is key to evolution. When an individual or a group evolves, a shift in perception occurs through the continual search for knowledge. This search may be conducted through reason and/or intuition. I believe there is a close relationship between creativity, evolution, and spirituality. I would like to be able to elaborate on and communicate meaning about this relationship through the continued development of my creative process. I became very intrigued by a book I inadvertently ran across called Conversations Before the End of Time by Suzi Gablik. It is from reading this book and a few others with similar spiritual, philosophical, and societal concerns that many of the ideas I am forming are beginning to inspire a direction and meaning in my work. The following conversation is between Gablik and Satish Kumar. (Suzi Gablik writes in defense and interpretation of the environment, art, society, and philosophical ties that bind them together. She is the author of The Re Enchantment of Art. Satish Kumar has been the editor of "an ecophilosophical magazine" called Resurgence since 1973.) This discussion is included in Conversations and is titled, "Ten Thousand Artists, Not One Master." (Gablick, 1995, 147-50) At this point they are beginning to discuss the function of an artist in today's society: SG: In terms of Western culture where we both live, what do you think is the true function of the artist in our declining civilization? SK: The function of the artist is very, very important, and I think if the world is going to be saved, it is not going to be saved by the politicians, or by the industrialists, or by the business people, because in my view- and it's a harsh thing to 10 say-they are the culprits of this ecological, environmental and spiritual crisis that we are facing. Why the world is facing this crisis is because we have become dualists, we have separated ourselves from nature. We see nature out there, for us to dominate and use and exploit, for us to manipulate for our benefit, for our comfort, for our convenience, for our luxury. Whereas the artist can still see the relationship of unity between human beings and nature. An example of an artist who Kumar thinks can see this more unified relationship is Andy Goldsworthy. This artist uses components of nature: leaves, earth, rocks and so on, to create his work which is constructed in the natural environment and then he photographically documents it. This is the type of artist Kumar features in Resurgence. The conversation soon turns to the objectives and goals of this magazine: SK: ..We want to find an integral view of life that is holistic, ecological, spiritual and artistic, in the true sense of the words. SG: Are you feeling more hopeful at this time (January 18, 1993) that these ideas are gaining ascendancy, actually becoming transformative, within the culture? SK: It is very difficult to feel hopeful in the kind of world we are living in. The forces are still very strongly against everything Resurgence stands for.....we have a serious ozone problem and global warming; we have more traffic, more psychological problems. We have so many crises all around us, and they are not abating. They are not decling. So that doesn't 11 give you much hope for optimism. However, I feel that in spite of all these negative forces, the consciousness of people is changing. I have noticed evidence of this type of consciousness change in movies like Co n ta c t. P owd e r, and Phenomenon. The issue of using the mind beyond our current perceived capacity is being addressed. This change of awareness is a sign of evolution. Can it last assuming that we are not on the brink of mass destruction? Satish Kumar continues: And now there is much more interest in the things that Resurgence stands for than there was twenty years ago. So I'm still hopeful that in the next ten years, before the turn of the century, we will see some real change in mindset. From our dualistic, industrial, commercial, ego-centered, individualistic mindset, if we can come to a more social, holistic, ecological mindset where we see each other as part of one another, and not indiscriminately damage everything to get sort-term personal benefit at the cost of somebody else. If that can change, then other things like politics, economics and commerce will follow. I, too, believe that an evolution can occur when firmly ingrained ideas are altered, ideas based on the dualistic attitudes we express: intuition vs. reason; science vs. religion; women vs. men; black vs. white; and so on. By focusing on the characteristics that make us individuals, we seem to forget about the things we have in common- mostly that we all are human. Dualities originate 1 2 from the ego and create fear, self-doubt, and a wide array of problems we frequently encounter. In contrast to the egocentric attitudes that lead to stagnation, countless opportunities exist in a more holistic mindset where we are unified. I conclude that in making art and directly tapping into my intuition I have found a catalyst for the formation of understanding in my life. Also in doing so I have the potential to continue to learn about the relationship between creativity, spirituality, and evolution. By continuing to develop my ideas and my work, I may be able to communicate meaning about this relationship and bring insight to the viewer. The path in this garden is a small portion of my own journey, which is only just beginning. 1 3 LIST OF PRINTS 15 1. The Quasiac Garden Installation A view from the entry way. Alvin Gittins Gallery 2. Theron #3 Earthenware & steel 43"xl0"xl0" 3. Yukteswar #3 Earthenware & steel 44"x40"x22" 4. Theron #14 Earthenware & steel 51.5"x29"x28" 5. Yukteswar #7 Earthenware & steel 84"x40"x36" 6. Quasiac Garden Installation A view from center o f the gallery. 7. Theron #5 (detail) Earthenware & steel 48"x7"x7" 8. Quasiac Garden Grouping 9. Yukteswar #6 Earthenware & steel 73"x42"x32" 10. Quasiac Garden Installation A view from the rear. Print 1. The Quasiac Garden Installation (view from entry) 18 Print 2. Theron #3 • Earthenware & steel • 43"xl0"xl0" Print 3. Yukteswar #3 • Earthenware & steel ® 44"x40"x22" 20 Print 4. Theron #14 • Earthenware & steel • 51.5"x29!'x28" Print 5. Yukteswar # 7 • Earthenware & steel ® 84"x40"x36" *4i Print 6. Quasiac Garden Installation (view from center) Print 7. Theron # 5 (detail) • Earthenware & steel • 48"x7"x7M Print 8. Quasiac Garden Grouping 4N^> 25 Print 9. Yukteswar # 6 * Earthenware & steel * 73"x42"x32" Print 10. Quasiac Garden Installation (view from rear) REFERENCES Gablik, S. (1995). Ten Thousand Artists and Not One Master. Conversations Before the End of Time. New York: Thames and Hudson Inc.