Sculpture II: Fast, Cheap and Out of Control

9 Responses to “Final Critique”

1.    Kaitlyn Says:
   April 26th, 2008 at 3:21 pm

   I think the final critique was what the Spore Collective was designed for and as they say “Better late than never!” More than two people talked this time, which is always great, and I don’t think anyone really held anything back. We had great discussions, I learned about new artists and valued everyone’s comments about my own personal work. This was definitely the best possible way to end the semester!

2.    Isabel Says:
   April 26th, 2008 at 4:48 pm

   This last critique was a great opportunity to learn more from each of my classmates. The work that everyone presented showed the growth of the group during this semester. I feel that the Spore Collective has helped bring some of us closer to the group and has also permitted each one of us to explore materials and ideas.

3.    archress Says:
   April 27th, 2008 at 3:07 am

   The last critique, for the ones I was present for (I had an appointment I needed to keep) seemed much more productive than previous critiques. Critiques (sculpture and otherwise, like ceramics) are usually painful because there is so much silence. I know I only add to the silence; it’s a bad habit that’s hard to change. And it isn’t just that it’s difficult to come up with something to say on the spot, but that in a group there’s this diffusion of responsibility; that is we all expect that someone else will say what’s needed to be said. For example, when I was working in the studio one night, Kaitlyn asked for my opinion and Isabel’s on what she was working on, and it was a lot easier to give my two cents worth because there wasn’t as much pressure of having a group of people staring at each other.
   So here’s everything I should have said, but didn’t:
   Kaitlyn’s piece: I really liked the use of materials; I wouldn’t have guessed it was dryer lint. Visually it reminded me of bamboo if you stand back and look at all those linear forms. But as was previously stated, it would have been better if it wasn’t so compacted to that small wall space.
   Casey’s piece: I thought the presentation of how it hung on the wall was a good solution, and I didn’t think there needed to be any variation in sizes of the pieces on the ends.
   Robert’s pieces: I was really excited about the last piece with the stacked books; I was surprised that it actually lit up, that made my day. And it was important that the actual bulb was hidden from view and you could just see some light coming from underneath this gravity defying object….which seems to be what all of his pieces are about. The artist wants the viewer to suspend his/her belief for a moment, even though clearly we know there’s a string holding up that ball, and those boards aren’t holding up anything, and those books must be attached in some way to stay like that, so there’s also this mischievous element to it all. It reminded me a bit of what Vik Muniz is all about in what he does.
   Isabel’s piece: I actually liked the words in the square frames; I didn’t realize there was anything written there until I had gotten up close to it. The white on white was a good choice, the subtleness of it made it really successful. And the fact that I could make out some of what it said, but not everything was nice. The importance wasn’t placed so much on what it said, but that there were words there at all was aesthetically pleasing.
   Amber’s piece: Putting all that masking tape into context did help a lot, because I kept thinking that masking tape is what you use to get cat/dog hair off your clothes, so I’m not sure what kind of a weird statement that makes…like the sterile and creepy pet option for someone who has allergies.
   Elaina’s piece: Well I actually liked the black and white piece that was on the floor, and yes I can see how she could have pushed it a little further, like how she created a nice shadow from the piece, but should have suspended it in such a way to create the same effects that the curved piece was trying to do. But it had some nice formal elements, like how they were all attached with the twisted twine or what have you, and the use of a simple color palette. I do find black and white visually appealing.
   Andrew’s piece: I actually liked the igloo on top of the pole, and maybe because I knew it was meant to go there, but the top of it seemed empty without it. I liked seeing the pink reflect on the flat surface. I really don’t understand why there was fake easter grass and a rubber duck at the bottom. Maybe he wants to intentionally confuse the viewer…well it’s funny at any rate.
   I regret to have missed the first part of critique; I have a vague idea about what transpired. But I think that’s most of the spore that I’ve mentioned….So as Kaitlyn says, better late than never.

4.    Casey Says:
   April 27th, 2008 at 7:30 am

   I have to agree with Kaitlyn and Jessica when they say better late than never. I think the critique went really well. I don’t remember any lengthy awkward silences, and I think most people contributed something. There were some very exciting discussions, and even disagreements that had us talking even more about the work. I, like Jessica, am very quiet during critiques, sometimes because I am thinking about something intelligent to say, and sometimes because I don’t want my opinions to be rejected. But I have to get over that. So I think I spoke a little more than usual, and I think this critique was a big step in my growth as an artist critiquing work.
   I was really excited about all of the different pieces, everyone has developed a lot in this class. Walking into the studio was really excited before class, there was work everywhere, it seemed like the Manifesto actually existed on Wednesday.

5.    drgirlfriend Says:
   April 27th, 2008 at 5:17 pm

   Final critique was easily our best, but I don’t think I can agree with any considerable lack of silence, there is still room for improvement. I know that there were times that I held back, not for fear but perhaps to avoid the obvious. The problem with that is, of course, that not everyone notices the same things, something for which I am grateful. Ideas were brought up considering my own pieces that I had not fully realized, and that is a great help. Just the sheer amount of difference in our approaches to art is infinitely helpful and inspiring. I don’t consider myself among the quietest of the group, but neither do I speak out as much as others, thus were times when I felt productive and moments of personal silence, but I suppose that finding a balance between speaking out constructively and holding back that which is not helpful is the goal.

6.    roblog Says:
   April 27th, 2008 at 9:31 pm

   As far as I am concerned, this was the best critique I’ve ever been part of at Mary Washington–both for the resulting discussion and the quality of the work itself. We covered a great deal of topics and approaches and each work was subjected to a genuine discussion and debate, rather than obligatory comments or low-level investigation.

   I think, in the end, the Spore Collective was a dramatic success–something I didn’t necessarily feel a week ago. Also, I get the distinct feeling that the SPIRIT OF THE SPORE has caught on with almost all of us, and we seemed to be less oriented towards grades or the semester itself than figuring out beginnings of major pieces and directions–I expect all of us to keep working in sculpture well after this class, and that is, frankly, the point of taking a sculpture class: to learn how to be a person that makes sculptures.

   Also, I was pleased with how much feedback all of my pieces received and especially the dialogue that resulted. Earlier this semester I found it hard to make work knowing how much silence I received in critique. I really hoped to provoke a discussion with all three works I presented on Wednesday and I think that I definitely did.

7.    csnif3jm Says:
   April 28th, 2008 at 12:31 pm

   Like my fellow spores I too think the last critique was the most productive. In some past critiques (and not just sculpture) we have focused on a couple of pieces for quite awhile. Towards the end of our scuplture class though I noticed a trend of talking for a shorter amount of time for each piece. This helped speed things up some and forced us to give critical feedback quickly and then move on. By spending less time on each piece and by talking about pieces that weren’t “complete” it made the discussion less intimidating. It wasn’t as if we were talking about a work that was totally done anymore. It was more like “these are some strengths/weaknesses and these are some new possiblities about where the piece can go.” This helped me learn that in the process of making work, there is continual editing and even something you thought was done can be improved and be displayed in different settings.

   I really enjoyed the last critique because although we talked about specific pieces we also talked about general ideas about art. I think some of the ideas we discussed (how important is the time that went into the making of a piece? what is bullshit? what is strictly formal and what has content?) are important topics that we all must think about and come to our own conclusions on.

   The last critique added a climactic finish to the class, but it makes we wonder how we can work to have that exciting of a critique every time.

8.    mollybigmonkeybird Says:
   April 30th, 2008 at 1:21 pm

   I agree with the rest of the spores that this was the best critique I’ve had at UMW. I was pleased with the critique because I heard people talking about most of the main points I wanted to come through in the performance. I agree with Andrew though that there is still room for improvement. I still find myself having trouble figuring out how to criticize a piece in a constructive way. Overall the critique left me in a very good mood because I was excited to discuss art and impressed by how much the spores improved over the semester.

9.    smackababy Says:
   May 2nd, 2008 at 1:22 am

   I have to agree that the critique was an excellent one and I too felt either excited or confident afterwards. I know that even though it won’t matter (academically speaking), I am going to push some of the things that I gained/learned from the critique in at least the crawler. As for finding out how such a critique can come about every time, I feel that tragically, there is no sense of pressure in a critique so close to the end of the semester. I feel that people are not afraid of holding back because (and I may be totally wrong on this) whatever suggestions are made, there is no obligation on behalf of the artist to enact them. I hope that this is not the case but something that has been bothering me in reflecting about the final critique.

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