Final Piece: Perspective

This piece titled Perspective attempts to capture the complexity of nature and humans.  Although something may be symmetrical in one plane, from a different angle that same object may be asymmetrical.  Like in nature, this piece shows that there is chaos in order and order in chaos.  With that thought in mind, all things and ideas are somehow connected.  The mirrors are used to created an illusion of the PVC pipes increasing in height to a summit from one angle and decrease in height to a pit while the actual object has a gradual decline in pipe height again playing on symmetry and asymmetry.  The pipes further symbolize humans an how looking into a mirror one tends to judge himself or herself.  The mirrors reflect self so people constantly see if they are becoming what they really wanted to be.  Within the pipes I placed acorns instead of the originally planned rocks because there were so many acorns available and since acorns represent a new life at its first stages.  The shorter pipes had more acorns that the taller pipes representing that although one gets more materialistic things and gains status that does not  mean they actually have more.

Asymmetry

Decline to a point

Symmetry

To a Summit

Symmetry again

After I was done, I decided to remove the piece so it would only remain in pictures.  It was interesting to see the imprint left by the piece once removed.  It kind of reminds you that although things may not last, the impression they leave can.

Process for art piece

I used to play in this sandbox as a child, but haven't even been around it in several years.  It is interesting to see how nature has begun to take over the sandbox, and because of this I decided to place my piece here. 

Walking around Richmond, I thought it was interesting to see how pipes were added to buildings without aesthetics kept in mind.  This was kind of a unifying factor in Richmond buildings because even though buildings varied architecturally they all seemed to have these large pipes sticking out of one end.

Hollywood Cemetery

I drove through Hollywood Cemetery because a friend of mine had to write a paper on an aspect of the cemetery.  As I drove through I saw what could possibly be modern day production of ancient earth art.

Dolmen

As we learned in class, dolmens were tombs basically made-up of post-and-lintel stones usually for a person of importance.  Although I do not know who the this tomb is for or if a person is actually buried within, I saw this as a modern day dolmen.  Using classical elements the entablature and columns are used as posts and lintels.  The tomb isn't open like the dolmens we saw in class but as with ancient dolmens the structure signifies importance.

Menhir

We did learn that a modern example of menhirs is a row of tombstones, thus I decided to add it in.  This cemetery was beside Hollywood Cemetery past a metal fence, so I don't know if it is actually part of Hollywood Cemetery or not.  Yet, I took this picture because it seems the "menhirs" are never ending.

Cairn

This modern cairn is a memorial for the Confederate Soldiers buried in Hollywood Cemetery.  I do not know if there is anything within the structure, but like an Egyptian pyramid the stones are stacked to a point.  In comparison to the Egyptian pyramids, this structure is strange since the base isn't that wide.  Also, it was an accident that I even found it.  I had learned about this structure a couple years ago in a Richmond Architecture class, but complete forgot about it since then.  Luckily, I stopped with my friend to look at some nearby tombstones, looked up, and was amazed by a huge and somewhat random pyramid in Richmond.  

Ice Circle

This isn't a man made ice carving, but a natural occurrence.  Although much of earth art is seen to be creations by man that incorporates the earth, it is nice to see art forming around the world naturally.  The exact mechanism for forming an ice circle isn't known because they have formed river bends where the river flow changes direction and in still ponds.  The circle of ice actually spins probably because of the water flow beneath, and as the spinning ice collides with the standing ice a perfect circle is naturally formed.

Car Made with Wood

Although this may not truly be Earth Art, I think this is a really interesting vehicle I saw in Puerto Rico.  At the salt flats, the workers needed these vehicle whose main body is composed of wood when transporting the salt.  The high salinity in the area would cause normal cars to rust quickly thus such a vehicle was necessary.  I really like how the workers took a creative approach by using simple wood boards to give the vehicle its structure and protect the engine.  From far one might not even notice that this car was made from so much wood.

Taino Petroglyph

When I went to Puerto Rico for a study abroad, I saw many petroglyphs made by the Taino people.  Our class found some in random caves when searching for bats along the coast and also found the petroglyphs inscribed into standing rock (like in the image).  The petroglyphs on standing rock were usually placed into a circle to form, as I recall, some sort of court for Taino meetings and sports.  This specific petroglyph depicts the fertility goddess which was inscribed and sometimes gifted to give women a good omen.