Concentration Sculpture #2

The subject of my sculpture is a fish that I created out of aluminum can tabs, and the setting is where ever it hangs from. The work was made by collecting all of the tabs in all of the needed colors, then I laid out the tabs it a design I was happy with and began to stitch them together by making a loop of wire and twisting it shut. Once all of the stitching was done, I used aluminum from cans I found in the recycling to make the the fins. And finally, I needed a way to display it, so I created a hook by bending a black colored tab and tied fishing line to it, hanging the fish from it. I chose to create this specific sculpture because I wanted to create a fish to match my concentration and I enjoy recycling materials to make art out of it. Also, I thought that the tabs would look like scales. The elements and principles of design I used in this sculpture are color, form, space, movement, and pattern. This sculpture is composed evenly and balanced.

The composition rules and techniques I used in this project are formal balance since the sculpture hangs straight and there is no weight or focus to one side, and grouping since all of the can tabs are grouped together to create the fish. This project evolved because originally I was going to use crushed bottle caps, but I decided against it because of the time constraint, it would make the sculpture a lot bigger, and the lack of caps that I had.

The meaning behind this artwork is that I'm using recycled materials and keeping them out of the oceans where it damages/harms marine life. This project relates to my life because I enjoy the ocean and all of the sea life in it, which is captured in this sculpture. If my artwork could be stronger, I think I would make the overall sculpture bigger so that more detail can be captured by the individual tabs, I would also use 24 gauge for stitching the whole thing because it is stronger and looks better.