Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Self-portrait

Life Drawing: Self-portrait

Materials: charcoal

Dimensions: 22 in x 30 in





Detail 1

Detail 2

Saturday, March 15, 2008

"Carry" Painting

Painting of zoomed in image of Ugla carrying an object. My goal was to create a view finder which would directly invite and make the viewer part of this experience. Also, despite the large scale, the subject matter and circumstances of the figure are unrevealed to the viewer.

Materials: acrylic paint, matte medium, modeling paste, graphite.

Dimensions: 38 in x 50 in








"Chair" Installation

Site specific installation of a functioning "chair" on the 2nd floor, in front of the round elevator of Cooper Union. I specifically constructed the chair for the space in front of the elevator where length of the strings and the wood will only fit and function safely in that particular space.

Materials: 2 painted 2x4's, nylon strings

Dimensions: 3 ft wide, 3 ft tall (when compressed)




Me holding mobile chair: easy to carry

Height of the chair: Me holding it upright

Detail of strings.


The chair hanging down: the wood was balanced in weight and length, position, and in the position and number of strings; thus holding the wood up and preventing it from falling down.

Detail of the 2x4 hanging past the hand rail. (Right side)

Detail 2: 2x4 suspended and hanging in air (left side)

Functioning chair: once someone sits in it, the person's weight pulls the strings down and the 2x4's toward each other; but the handrails stop their colliding, thus creating a sturdy and safe chair.


Detail: the hand rails stop the wood from collapsing

Detail 2: the 2x4 on the edge of the handrail


Ugla sitting in the chair

Ugla's own weight is the factor making this chair a functioning chair.


Ugla swinging.

Ugla laying down in the chair: due to the strings, one can sit in several positions.


Specifically placed in front of an elevator and a space that encounters lots of traffic and motion, the chair acts both as a barrier and a place of rest.

Me sitting cross legged in my chair.

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Friday, March 7, 2008

Light installation

Light Installation : an installed light in the vent slowly revealed itself as the day went on. Early on in the day, the light was faint enough to blend in with daylight, but when the fluorescents went off and the sun went down, the illuminated vent appeared and made its presence be known.











Thursday, March 6, 2008

"Nest" Installation

"Nest"- 3DD class

Installation of a living space model. An "egg" that can easily be opened and closed, where one should be able to enter and reside when in search for a quiet and calming environment. The molds of the egg cartons on the inside enable sound insulation.


Materials: steel rods, hinge, chicken wire structure, paper mache, plaster molds of egg cartons, paint, coated with paraffin wax.

Dimensions: 3ft x 4ft



"Nest" Installation

Detail view: inside of egg

Detail Opened Egg 1

Detail 2

Detail 3

Plaster molds of egg cartons: Detail 4

Detail 5 : Inside view

Closed egg

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

"Memories" - Wax installation

Inspired from a tradition in my Romanian Orthodox religion, this installation consists of two wax tablets composed of hundreds of melted wax candles. In my religion, when someone enters the church they light a candle in memory of either an alive loved one or a deceased loved one. On the left side of the church, there's a space specifically designed for the lighting of candles in memory of people still alive, while on the right side, one lights a candle in memory of a deceased loved one.
This division between the left and the right constitutes in the fact that Jesus Christ stated : "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; and He will put the sheep on His right and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right, `Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world'... Then He will say to those on His left, `Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels.'" Matthew 25:31-34, 41
Thus, the left is regarded with the live people that are sinners and the right with the righteous deceased people. I went to the Holy Trinity Orthodox Church, and at the end of the sermon, I collected all the left over candles on both left and right. I melted the candles into the specific categories, thus having two tablets in result. The viewer is invited to kneel and place both hands on the wax: then, he will feel a temperature difference between the two. The wax on the deceased right has a chilling coldness while the one on the live right side has a certain "human" warmth to it.

Materials: paraffin candles (wicks and wax), table, white cloth.

Dimensions: (of wax tablets) 9 in x 12 in




Installation view

Above view of the wax tablets: left - memories of living , right - memories of deceased

Detail: Deceased tablet

Me touching the warm, living side.

Detail 2: close up of the deceased tablet. (burnt wicks)

Detail 3: close up of the living tablet.