Concentration Sculpture #4

ARTIST STATEMENT:

The subject of my artwork is a church located in Orvieto, a town situated in Umbria, central Italy. The Roman Catholic cathedral was built in the 14th century and it is now dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. The church is situated on a position dominating the town of Orvieto, which sits on a volcanic plug. The facade reflects the classic standards of a religious construction, with the large rose windows, the golden mosaics, the round and pointed arches and the three main doors dominating the lower part of the building. In the inside of the church is possible to admire two frescoed chapels decorated by some of the best Italian painters of the period with images of Judgment Day. The cathedral possesses five bells that date back to Renaissance. To make my art piece I decided to use glass pieces. My choice to use that determined material derives from the history of Orvieto itself. The city is famous all over the nation for its pottery and glass production. The manufacturing of ceramics in Orvieto has ancient origins. Many pieces of Etruscan pottery and dishes have been found in Orvieto, and are on display in major museums. The process of making this pottery has historically been passed from generation to generation, which prevailed in Orvieto as a major local craft acquiring its own well-defined identity. I decided to create this determined artwork because when I first visited Orvieto two summers ago, I was deeply inspired by the pottery handcrafted by the inhabitants and by the architecture of the magnificent church.

To make my artwork I first of all looked up at a reference photo of the church I intended to recreate, I then chose the colors with which I wanted to work, creating sort of a theme that goes around red and orange. Once I had chosen the colors I started to position the little pieces of glass on my base. While I was positioning I tried to find the shapes that I though were the most appropriate for the different parts of the church. At some point, I even had to cut some of the pieces of glass in order to obtain shapes that I felt I needed. When I was done positioning the pieces of glass that composed the figure, I glued them with a thin layer of glue to the base, also filling the little empty that I had left with smaller shatters of glass. I filled the empty spaces to donate to my figure more homogeneity and smoothness once it was fired. Once I was done gluing the figure I filled up the empty space around it creating a yellow and white background that helps giving depth and three dimensionality to the whole piece. When I was done positioning and gluing all the pieces I put the artwork in the glass fusing kiln and I left it there until the moment it was completely done. At first I wasn't planning on adding the yellow background to the sculpture, but given the quantity of blank space contained in the artwork, I decided that it was necessary for me to give it more details.

This artwork for me represents a journey that I lived with my aunt. The trip we took together is and will always be one of the most beautiful memory that I have with her. Two summers ago, my aunt, my uncle, my little cousin and I went for an extraordinary journey together discovering all the big and little towns in Umbria, a region in the center of Italy. During that trip I had a great time, together with people that I love, sightseeing tremendously beautiful towns that I will never forget. The cathedral that I represented in my art piece is located in one of the cities that I liked the most and whose art I most appreciated. If I could change something about my art I would probably try and add more details to the the figure of the church to make it look a little bit more realistic.