Sculpture #2

The subject of this sculpture is Willem Pandora, and it is based off of a photo that was taken at Popham Beach. This work was made by finding a photo of Will and posterizing it, then I took a black piece of foam and taped the image down to it, and then I began to cut the tooth picks in half and poke them into the foam where the white parts were, finally for the background I glued toothpicks flat in a pattern. I chose to create this specific artwork because I thought it was a funny photo of Will, and he often has toothpicks either in his bag or in his pocket, so I knew instantly what to make it out of. The specific elements and principles of design that I used in this are form, texture, space, contrast, and pattern. This piece is composed fairly evenly, with a formal balance.

The composition rules and techniques I used in this project are formal balance since the original photo of Will was composed with him centered in the frame, leading lines since the background draws your eyes towards the center, and grouping since the toothpicks are all centered in the middle of the face. My project evolved because I had to lose some details of the photo when I posterized it, and I originally was going to have the background toothpicks standing up, but I ran out of time and lost patience. In the end though, I really like how it turned out.

The meaning behind this artwork is that it shows Will's deep love for toothpicks, and the only facial expression he has other than a blank stare. My project relates to my life because I was there when the photo was taken. I think my artwork could be stronger if I had glued the standing toothpicks together so there are less gaps between them. If I were to do this again, I would choose a different foam because this foam had a hard coating on it which forced me to pre-poke every hole, increasing the time it took to make this.