Individual Installation Art - Proposal

1.0 Introduction

Since time immemorial people have been turning to nature for signs and symbols; using an object to represent a quality or trait. They turn to these signs as guidance on what they should do in life, or to celebrate a coming of age, or in rituals (Venefica, 2005). For this project, I have decided to use three symbols: a dragon, flowers, and water to make an installation art.

The first symbol is the Chinese dragon, or long. In Chinese mythology, the dragon denotes power, ferocity, courage, wisdom and balance. It is mostly a symbol of power, and was used in the past to represent imperial power (Cirlot, 2002).

The second symbols are flowers, and there are two types: the lotus and the rose. The lotus represents purity and perfection, as it emerges beautiful from mud, representing an inner emptying and outer splendour - a true nature of reality according to Buddhist philosophy. The rose, however, is a representation of balance and intelligence, further emphasized when paired with the colour yellow as a yellow flower can be taken to mean intelligence as well (

The combination of these symbols is to make installation art about the self. Installation art is a process of work rather than a style, utilizing traditional and non-traditional media and space. It requires active interaction between the viewer and the work, and can be viewed from all angles instead of from a single perspective (Irish Museum of Modern Art, 2013).

It is to be presented using a combination of a paper mache sculpture. Paper mache is material made from paper pulp or torn paper and glue. Pulp is often used for modelling while torn paper is used for layering. Paper mache is applied on an underlying structure called an armature (Wisegeek.com, 2003).

1.1 Objectives

There are three objectives in this project. The first objective is to research and understand the meaning of symbols and signs based on cultural and mythological contexts, as well as research on installation art. This is done by reading various sources such as books and websites.

The second objective is to analyse the symbols from the research, and then develop my ideas and concepts from this understanding. This also includes analysing about installation art and the types of installation art used.

The third is to apply these symbols as an installation art using paper mache.

1.2 Problem statement

Symbols may mean different things to different people based on their cultural background. It can be hard for people to understand the installation art and what the message behind it is without a description – so the idea is to use simple, more universal symbols in my project so people are able to understand the meaning behind these symbols without any descriptions.

1.3 Idea development

At first a visual mind map that describes the self is done – the idea is scrapped completely as it is far too complex to be realized as an installation art – and that it was too messy and disorganized.

Figure 2: First initial exploration on the self

After doing some initial research, an initial sketch is done:

Figure 3: Using visual metaphor to explore the concept - first sketch

This first sketch is designed for full stained glass in mind. At first the dragon is intended to coil around the flowers, and the entire installation is hung from the ceiling. But this idea is rejected as the original idea is too flat and the view would still look the same from every angle.

The sketch is then refined:

Figure 4: Another concept sketch with notes on meanings of symbols incorporated

This sketch has an added element which is water. This design is still done with stained glass in mind, but with water it would give a good, dynamic view to the overall installation.

Figure 5: Layout sketches

Figure 6: Layout sketches

Figure 7: Layout sketches

Figures 5, 6 and 7 are initial layout designs for the installation art. The original plan is to hang the final installation from either the ceiling, or mount it on A1 board and place it on the wall. The second idea is easier and more stable to do.

Figure 8: Study sketches of the dragon's head

Figure 8 is a study of the dragon’s head. This is to ensure the final result looks as accurate as possible before creating the paper mache sculpture.

1.4 Methodology

1.4.1 Reading

There are various materials about the chosen symbols that can be found through books and on the Web. For instance, Giddons et al. (2006) noted that dragons are an imperial symbol in ancient China – the symbol of the emperor is the five-clawed Imperial Dragon, and anyone else who adopted this as their motif could be punished by death. As it is the mark of the emperor back then, the dragon has been used to symbolize power, goodness, strength and wisdom.

There is also information on making sculptures out of paper mache. One particular tutorial is Good’s “How to Make a Paper Mache Dragon” (2008). Even though the tutorial focuses on making dragons from Western mythology, it can still be applied to make a Chinese dragon.

Figure 9: Paper mache dragon. Ultimate paper mache, 2008

1.4.2 Interviews

The question posed to the interviewee is whether there are alternatives to using glass for the stained glass. The interview is done with a friend from the United States via Skype.

The interviewee explains that acrylic over PVC sheet is a good alternative from using actual glass, and hair spray or clear glue can be used to seal the colour.

Figure 10: Screenshot of the interview

1.5 Experiments

The above interview then led to experimentation with acrylic paint and PVC sheet. Only one petal is made to see if the method works.

Figure 11: Result from the experiment using acrylic paint and PVC sheet

The following method did not seem to work as well as expected, as the colour of the acrylic looked dull.

Some research is done for alternatives of stained glass for the flowers, and by following the instructions found on the Web, a few experiments are made.

Figure 12: Process of the experiment

Figure 12: Result of the second experiment

There are also methods on how to make paper roses, and the following tutorial is followed:

Figure 13: Tutorial on making paper roses. Deviantart.com, 2013

The result of the experiment is as follows:

Figure 14: Process of making a paper rose

Figure 15: Process of making a paper rose

Figure 16: Final result of the experiment

The experiments are only done in the small scale at first, before the final result.

In the end, however, the flowers are not incorporated into the final installation at all, as the flowers did not seem to fit into the final installation.

1.6 Progress

	Steps	Procedure
1		Firstly, newspaper is rolled and secured to the mounting board with masking tape. This forms the basic shape of the body.
2		The basic shape of the head and legs are made with the same procedure as step 1 and attached to the body.
3		For the paper mache paste, flour and water are mixed together.
4		Strips of newspaper are dipped into the flour paste and placed on the basic structure, then left to dry before applying another layer with tissue paper.
5		Two coats of white paint is sprayed onto the structure until fully coated, and then left aside to dry, before applying gold paint.

1.7 Conclusion

A lot of mistakes are done while creating this installation art. The first problem that arose was due to poor time management and focusing too much on detail instead of taking time to carefully plan on what needed to be done – hence the work turns to be incomplete and did not match the result that I had intended. There is also a lack of experimentation for the paper mache dragon, and that makes it difficult to get the shape right in the process. The initial idea of placing flowers into the installation are scrapped due to that they seem to become unnecessary details onto the final installation, and therefore only the dragon is left.

A better result can be achieved by focusing on major details first before working on the minor details, to ensure a better outcome in future installations.

Bibliography

Cirlot, J.E., 2002. A dictionary of symbols. New York: Dover Publications.

Diel, P., 1980. In Symbolism in Greek mythology: human desire and its transformations. Colorado: Shambhala Publications, Inc. p.17.

Giddens, O. & Giddens, S., 2006. Chinese mythology. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc

Wisegeek.com, 2003. What is paper mache?  Available at: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-papier-mache.htm [Accessed 3 June 2013].

Wisegeek.com, 2003. What is stained glass? [Online] Available at: http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-stained-glass.htm [Accessed 3 June 2013Symbolism in Greek mythology: human desire and its transformations].

Jonni Good. 2008. Ultimate paper mache.  Available at: http://ultimatepapermache.com/paper-mache-dragon [Accessed 3 June 2013].

Avia Venefica, 2005. Life is symbolic, start interpreting. Available at: http://www.whats-your-sign.com/ [Accessed 3 June 2013]

Deviantart.com. 2013. How to make paper roses.  Available at: http://riotfaerie.deviantart.com/art/Paper-Rose-Tutorial-177657694 [Accessed 6 June 2013].

Irish Museum of Modern Art. 2013. What is installation art? Available at: http://www.imma.ie/en/downloads/what_is_installationbooklet.pdf [Accessed 6 June 2013]