Date of Submission

Spring 2013

Academic Program

Studio Arts

Project Advisor 1

Kenji Fujita

Abstract/Artist's Statement

The Temple of Wingless Victory is a continuation of my investigations into balance, sound, architecture, movement, light, and raw materials. It deals with the issues of how to accommodate and represent the human body, both as a form, and as a vessel of selfhood. It is intentionally apolitical, and is meant to illicit feelings rather than concrete ideas. While my art stems from a personal realm, the content conveyed is abstract, and I do not expect the viewer’s interpretations to align with my own.

The temple is divided between two spaces; an immersive and sensorial stimulating interior that houses smaller, less developed pieces, and an open exterior that is home to more austere, formal sculptures. The link between the two spaces is abstract and is observable only in the use of raw materials.

The main corner of the interior space is devoted to two interactive sound pieces. Sound is a powerful medium, as it allows the viewer to literally feel a piece of art, both externally and internally. The instruments that are built into the walls require the engagement of ones body to operate. The resulting sounds are not meant to be musical, but rather organic and internal. They are resonances that are intrinsic to the structure itself, created by audio feedback loops, which are completed by user. Insofar as the brain itself is a system of feedback loops, the user takes on a synaptic role in giving identity to the piece.

If one were to dichotomize my project, one could consider the studio space to represent the internal and complex workings of the mind. Ideas are unfinished and constantly changing, and immersion is necessary for understanding. The work in the gallery space then would symbolize the external bodily form, as it is perceived by the outside world. The slow movement of a figure through open space counters the internal vibrations of the mind/studio. The subject of the piece is Nike Apteros, the goddess of victory, her wings having been lost in her expulsion from the exploding temple. It is a moment of­­­­ dire escape, suspended in time and space. For me, it is an escape from the confines of the past, of the institution, and of the mind.

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