Shadow Puppets + Sculpture: more progress

Erik and I spent the day yesterday working on our second shadow sculpture. We seem to have hit a nice stride as collaborators in a short period of time, one that includes much inspired and blissful crafting and building, spiced up with a hearty dose of funhearted bickering and arguing. The perfect recipe for honest artmaking. We enjoyed the satisfaction of delivering our freshly completed piece to Dyhana Yoga in Philly's Center City last night for a group show. Its the first time in a long time that I didn't spend at least 4 hours installing a piece. We just plopped it n the floor, plugged it in, and high-fived each other. Its also the first time I ever delivered a piece via subway. Here's Erik on the train with our masterpiece:

And here is a little series of images documenting the progression of the shadow side of the sculpture (you can view the sculpture from the this side or the other side, where all the innards that make the shadow are visible, which becomes its own crazy little world).

I'm happy with this little piece. It's a sketch really, and opened up a bunch of territory for us to explore further. Its so interesting working with Erik, someone whose work is so based in the drawn and graphic. My sculptures rely so much on the qualities of light and space, and even if they are clearly impossible invented worlds, there is something very naturalistic/realistic about them. So its fun to introduce the hand-drawn, paper-cut, more graphic and drawn images, like the people sitting in the windows. In fact, I never inhabit the spaces I make with people and this is also a big stretch. I feel like we are really crashing a couple of different kinds of realities together by collaborating, and its a really fun learning process.

RANDOM FINDS:

A great quote about art: "Art, like the antibodies in our immune system, creates alien forces in service of the whole. It anticipates threats and models them. It is a diversity agent."

Stewart Brand

And how about homemade trucks? These are amazing and totally inspiring.

Comments

[http://erinpetersonart.blogspot.com]

Wow. I really love this. It makes me feel so lonely. That doesn't sound like a compliment, but it is. The art has done the trick of creating strong feelings from its viewer. I only wish I could see it tin person.

Great work.

[Jen]

Have you heard of the Cardburg exhibit in San Francisco? It's a whole city made of cardboard, which reminded me of your sculptures.

Here is a photoset from the ExtremeCraft blogger:
http://flickr.com/photos/extremecraft/sets/72157604439945750/

And a link to the artists' site:
http://www.cardboardinstitute.com

Enjoy!

[Amy]

Wow, Jen - Cardburg is amazing! Thanks for the link. I especially love one small detail in the photos - a little cellophane waterfall!

And Erin - thank you. I know what you mean about art that makes you feel lonely. Its my favorite kind to look at and make, because I think loneliness has so much inside of it.