Documentation Log 1: Media Art

Initial Project Ideas and Mapping Themes

 To begin my project, I started thinking about the media that artists work with and which of them interested me:

1.     Painting.

2.     Audio recording.

3.     Writing.

4.     Colours.

5.     Interactions.

6.     Sculpture.

7.     Printing.

 I had previously enjoyed painting and wanted to combine that with sculptures to take advantage of the 3D aspects of a more versatile canvas.

After deciding upon this medium I then proceeded to look at the language of sculpture:

·      Texture. The surface of the plaster is imperfect and speckled with cracks and bubbles that occur during the forming process.

·      Size. The cast will be taken from a mould of my face but not the entire head.

·      Form. The face will be a life-size replica albeit with a flowerpot implanted at the top.

·      Space. The four cast will be placed in a ring to exhibit a circular process.

·      Materials. Plaster of Paris, acrylic paint, and a plastic flowerpot are all that is needed.

·      Flexibility. Caution must be exercised because the plaster is strong but brittle.

·      Mass. The plaster is heavy, so to reduce weight I insert a balloon to displace the total amount of material necessary.

·      Volume. Although one cast does not occupy a large amount of space, my goal is to create four masks in total.

·      Proportion. All four casts will share the same original mould but will each be decorated uniquely.

·      Surface. The thick acrylic paint will appear to be coming out of the mask.

·      Contrast. The painted surface and contents of flowerpot will differentiate the casts.

·      Balance. During the casting process, I used a cardboard inset to give plaster a flat base to stand upon.

 My project is going to be based on casting masks using plaster of Paris and then painting them with bright acrylic colours. This will give the masks a vivid appearance and the contours of the cast would provide an interesting depth to the painted surface.