Dimensions

What is the context and how did that influence the work?

Kinetic art is the type of art that refers to art involving movement. By movement, I mean pieces of that the work that can move. These pieces typically run on a motor but they can also move by wind power or by its viewer. The viewer can touch the part of the sculpture that moves and allow for a set of a chain reaction of events to occur that allow for the movement of the remaining parts sculpture.

This type of artwork came to be around during the late nineteenth century when Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and Edouard Manet started to experiment with this type of work. Many people came to be interested in this type of work because, like me, they found it to be interesting.

One particular artist is David C. Roy. He is a kinetic sculptor that has designed over 150 unique sculptures. His work is largely known across the United States and is very popular among the sculpting community for his work. He has been featured in “The New York Times’ and Discover magazine, among many others.

For this project, I have chosen to talk about Roy’s sculpture “Dimensions.” This sculpture was made in 2015 by Roy. He used a spring to make this sculpture. The sculpture itself is a flowerlike piece whose petals change in size and shape as the spring works, drawing the viewer’s attention to the center of the sculpture.

What is the artist communicating and how?

Roy isn’t necessarily trying to communicate anything through his piece; he has made it more for the enjoyment of himself and the viewers of the piece. There really is no clear message as to why someone, in general, would make a kinetic sculpture either. Though it is possible to convey a message through these types of work, it may be a bit hard. Artists primarily make these pieces just to make them and to put them in exhibits. Seasoned critics may be able to find some type of subliminal meaning behind these sculptures but it may not have been the artist’s intention.

Why do you find it beautiful?

I have always admired kinetic sculptures. To be honest, the I first came across this was actually sometime during middle school or elementary school. I was watching an episode of “Arthur” and one of the characters had heard about this art show where they were showing kinetic sculptures. She attended the art show and fell in love with these sculptures. She became interested in them and decided to create some of her own which she later exhibited at her home.

From this episode, I have always liked this type of sculpture. Other sculptures I have seen are boring and stationary, but these kinetic sculptures are really unique. I liked the fact that things were changing and that the sculpture wasn’t wasn’t boring. I never understood how people are able to look at sculptures for such a long time and try to find the meaning beneath them. I just liked to look at it for a few seconds and move on to the next. Kinetic sculptures, however, held my interest for more than a few seconds. I  also liked to see the patterns in the sculptures when something would stop and something new would start. For example, after doing a certain thing for a while, the sculpture would loop back again and restart its cycle. Though it does become quite repetitive after quite some time, it is interesting at first to see what the sculpture will do.

I really wish I would be able to see one of these sculptures or other kinetic sculptures in action. From videos and pictures I have seen of them, they are very entrancing. It would be quite an experience to be able to actually see one move right before my eyes.

"The Kite Runner"

What is the context and how did that influence the work?

The Kite Runner is the first novel to be written by Khaled Hosseini. The novel was published in 2003. The novel is set in the mid-1900’s in Kabul, Afghanistan. Like his following works, Hosseini focuses on telling the stories of Afghan - Americans over a large course of time, typically at pivotal points in Afghan history.

This particular novel follows Amir, a young Pashtun boy from a wealthy district in Kabul. He is friends with Hassan, a Hazara that is the son of Ali, Amir’s father’s servant. The novel begins with the two boys flying kites in Kabul. Amir flies the kite while Hassan runs the kite’s thread for him. When Hassan isn’t doing that, he is expertly chasing down kites that have fallen down from the sky after kite flying tournaments.

On one particular occasion, Amir and Hassan were in a local kite-flying tournament. The tournament was coming to a close with just Amir’s kite and another kite only in the air. With a sudden twitch of his hand, Amir’s kite sends his opponent’s kite down in a spiral. As was the tradition with kite flying tournaments, the runner of the kite would try to find the kite and bring it back to the kite flier. In all other times, Hassan has done this expertly and comes back to Amir with his opponent’s kite. This time was different. Amir noticed that Hassan was taking to long so he went out to find him. Amir ended up finding him in an alley being raped by Assef, a local bully who made fun of the Hazara children. Amir could have stayed and tried to help his friend, but, instead he ran back home. The rest of this part of the novel tells of how the friendship between Amir and Hassan dissolves and eventually comes to the point that Hassan and Ali both leave the residence.

Part two and three of the novel tells of how Amir learns that Hassan was his brother but has now passed away. This and that fact that Hassan saw Amir the day that he was raped is revealed to him through a letter after he returns to Kabul after living in America for a very long time. Upon returning, he learns that Hassan has a son that needs to be taken care of. The remained of the novel tells of what Amir does to get custody of his nephew and to bring him back home with him to the United States.

What is the artist communicating and how?

The novel was written to show the relationships that exist between parents and their children. Amir never knew that Hassan was his brother until it was very late. This was also due to the fact that Amir’s father did not tell him that Hassan was his brother. Amir’s father treated both boys equally, loving them both unconditionally. This was shown when before a kite flying tournament Amir’s father took him and Hassan to buy new kites. Hassan was quiet and easily please and settled on a modest kite. Amir, on the other hand, chose an extravagant kite to buy. Amir’s father saw this and instead bought both boys the kite that Amir had picked out, proving that though Hassan does not know that he and Amir share the same father, they will both be loved in the same way.

Why do you find it beautiful?

This book is definitely one of my favorite books. As of now, I have read both his first and second novel and am in the middle of reading his third. However, from what I have read so far, I am not enjoying it that much. Both his first and second novel were far more interesting and held my attention more. This may be because both the first and second novel were told in third person. The third novel is also told in third person, however, it switches between characters. Normally, I like these types of books because I like to know what the other characters are also thinking, but his third novel does a poor job of stating whose point of view the chapter will be from.

I love the story that is being told in The Kite Runner. The story is unique and interesting and captures and holds the reader’s attention. When I first read the book, I read it in the course of one sitting because I was so intrigued by the events that were unfolding in the novel and I couldn’t bear to put the book down. I loved each and every second of it. I just recently reread the novel for this project and I still had the same reaction to it. Moved and in awe. Hosseini does an incredible job to make the readers feel as if they personally know the characters with the way he tells their stories. Each bit of information draws the reader more and more into the novel and they can’t help but be interested in the deliberate and unique writing style of Hosseini.

Lotus Temple

What is the context and how did that influence the work?

The Lotus Temple is one of the seven Houses of Worship for people of the Baha'i faith located in New Delhi, India. The temple sits on a plot of land of 26 acres in the village of Bahapur. This plot of land was bought by Ardishir Rustampur; he gave all of his life savings to the purpose of building this in 1953.

Fariborz Sabha was the architect of the Lotus Temple. He was approached in 1976 to design the temple. After designing it, he was also in charge of overseeing the construction of it.  The structural design of the temple was made by the United Kingdom firm Flint and Neill.

The temple was completed in November of 1986 but it wasn’t opened until Christmas Ever. Upon seeing the temple and its grounds, many people were awestruck by its beauty. The temple was so beautiful as both a religious site and as a tourist site, that it as won many awards. Some say that it is one of the most visited buildings in the world.

What is the artist communicating and how?

In the Baha'i faith, the number nine is viewed as a very special symbol. For this reason, the Lotus Temple has a great deal of references to this particular number that can be seen throughout the temple itself and its grounds.

All Houses of Worship share a large deal of similarities with one another because they try to adhere to the stipulations set forth by the son of the founder of the religion. He said that all Houses of Worship should have a nine - sided circular shape, which the Lotus Temple does have. Most Houses of Worship also have domes as a part of their structure but since this is not required, the Lotus Temple does not have it.

The temple itself is made up of white marble from the Penteli mountain range in Greece. This is significant because this is the same material that was used to build other Baha'i Houses of Worship.  

The temple is in the form of a lotus with nine sides. Each of the sides of the temple is made up of three 35 - 40 metre tall marble flower petals. From each of the sides of the temple, there are nine entranceways that lead worshippers and visitors alike to a central hall with the capability of seating over 2,500 people. Surrounding the temple are nine ponds, each on a side of the temple.

Fariborz Sahba was the architect for the temple. He is an Iranian who presently resides in Canada. Whether or not he is a member of the Baha'i faith, however, is unclear. He was able to combine important aspects of the faith to create a work of art.

Why do you find it beautiful?

I saw this temple in July of 2013 while my family and I were driving back home after seeing the Taj Mahal. After seeing the beauty of the Taj Mahal, I admit that I wasn’t entirely interested in the Lotus Temple. My mother, however, loved the fact that the temple was in the shape of a lotus flower and got out of the van to take a picture in front of it. After she got back into the car, we drove back home and I didn’t even turn back to look at the temple fading in the distance.

It wasn’t until we got back to America that I became more interested in this unique temple. I tried to find the name of the temple online and it wasn’t that hard because this was the only temple that looked like this. After seeing many photos of it online, I did come to appreciate its beauty, a little late, however.

I loved the clean and simple structure of the temple. Much like the Taj Mahal, the white marble that was used in the construction of the temple added to this and made it stand out even more to me. I appreciated the simplicity of it and its beauty. The temple itself is very large with a height over 40 metres tall and a diameter of 70 metres and demanded the attention of its viewers.

I really regret not getting out of the car to take a picture in front of the temple or go and see the actual temple and its grounds in all its beauty.

The Persistence of Memory

What is the context and how did that influence the work?

Surrealism is “a 20th – century avant-garde movement in art and literature that sought to release the creative potential of the unconscious mind, for example by the irrational juxtaposition of images.” Many famous surrealist artists include Frida Kahlo, Man Ray, Pablo Picasso, and Salvador Dali among many others. In their work, they manage to combine a variety seemingly different images into one cohesive piece. For this reason, the works of these artists are widely renowned.

For this project, I have decided to focus on Salvador Dali. Dali was a Spanish surrealist artist from Catalonia, Spain. By profession, Dali was a draftsman but he also dabbled in sculpting, filmmaking, and photography. However, he was most known for his surrealist paintings. These paintings, critics believe, were influenced by Renaissance artists. Of all his paintings, the most famous was “The Persistence of Memory” that was completed in August of 1931.

Though the painting is well known, many critics are still confused as to what the painting is representing. Many critics believe that the painting was inspired by Albert Einstein’s  Special Theory of Relativity. This theory states that space and time are interwoven into what is known as the space-time continuum. Meaning that the events that occur for one person at a given time could occur at different times for another person. However, after an interview, this idea was disproved. Dali said that the inspiration for “The Persistence of Memory’ was actually inspired by a block of Camembert cheese melting in the sun. Dali likened the watches melting to what he saw happening to the Camembert cheese when it was under the sun.

What is the artist communicating and how?

Dali was able to show a lot of themes and symbolism though his a painting. One of the themes was the relativity of time and space. The melting of these watches shows that time is not forever and it can easily be destroyed or damaged. Nothing in our world is as it seems to be and can easily be changing according to our surroundings and environment.

Another one of the themes is of conscious versus unconscious. This theme is about what we think while we are awake versus what we think about while we dream and how these two things are actually entirely different. Even if what we dream about is different from what we think about while we are awake, these two things can influence one another. For example, we can dream about things that we want to happen. Dali represents this by having the center of the painting be a “thing” with its eye closed to that it is dreaming.

Many of the symbols seen in this painting can be seen in many of his other works also. An example of this would be the “thing” in the center of the painting. This “thing” has a melting watch on top of it and seems to have its eye closed with long eyelashes extending from it. Dali often used this “thing” in his other pieces as a representation of himself. The viewer of the painting is not really able to figure out what kind of person or creature the “thing” actually is and it seems like something a dream would create. It also has its eye closed to show that is is in a dream like state.

The second and third symbols are not as large or as prominent as the first symbol but they are the ones that are recurring in his artwork. The ants that are seen on the orange watch on the left side of the painting are used in Dali’s other paintings to symbolize death. The landscape seen in the background of the painting represents a peninsula in north eastern Catalonia where Dali is from.

Why do you find it beautiful?

I first saw this painting sometime during middle school and I remember how much I liked the painting. In comparison to the other paintings I have seen, this one seemed the most interesting to me. It was different from other types of paintings and held my attention for more than a few seconds.

I liked this painting because it has a lot of quirks. Dali put many ties to himself and how he felt in the painting. For example, the background of the painting showed where he grew up and the center of the painting featured a “thing” that he believed to be himself. I also liked this painting because it has a lot of layers. Dali uses a variety of symbols and ideas to get his message across about his painting.

The painting and this entire art movement has always fascinated me. I find it to be more interesting and beautiful than all other types of art and I love to discover works of other surrealist artists.