Tension

Using the AI tool Dall-e, I was able to begin my idea process. I put in the prompt I was given for the tension theme. Then I started to play around with various wording to see what was produced. I also a few comments under the pictures to help me remember what stands out to me most. Above the photos are the exact prompts I used to generate the images. 

"The prompt, "Tension – this could be either physical or conceptual tension. I can see this playing out in the materials and form they choose or in the subject matter (found objects possibly). It is open ended and I can see a variety of solutions for it. " as a sculpture."

-found objects stacked and balanced

"A wooden art piece representing tension"

-the wood pieces look strong, they are all balanced in unique ways

"A wooden sculpture with the theme of, "Tension – this could be either physical or conceptual tension. I can see this playing out in the materials and form they choose or in the subject matter (found objects possibly). It is open ended and I can see a variety of solutions for it. ""

-lots of variety in here, I am gravitating toward the last one

"Variations of the first image."

-tri-leg bottom/spiky sections, I am liking this tall silhouette

"A stacked wood sculpture with the theme of tension."

-lots of pieces of wood, nicely sanded pieces that flow together

Here are my work-in-progress images:

Here are my final images:

AI-Generated Artist Statement: 

My wood sculpture explores the theme of tension through the physical balancing of sanded wood pieces on top of each other. The pieces are carefully selected and sanded to create a sense of weight and stability, while also highlighting the inherent fragility of the balance. The interplay between the solidity of the wood and the precariousness of the balance speaks to the tension present in our lives, as we navigate the competing forces of stability and insecurity.

The process of creating the sculpture is itself a reflection of this tension, as I must carefully consider each element and its relationship to the whole in order to achieve the final balance. The result is a work that invites the viewer to consider the balance in their own lives and the delicate negotiation between opposing forces. The sculpture serves as a visual reminder of the beauty and fragility of life's tensions.

Personal Artist statement:

After playing around with some ideas, I decided to use wood for my sculpture, "Counter Tension." The idea of tension made me think of balance. As I typed in prompts for AI to generate pictures for me, I found some interesting wooden structures that inspired me. At first, my wood was supposed to look like it was branching out and up. I then decided to make the piece flat. I carefully cut and sanded the pieces. I mapped out where each plank would go so that the whole sculpture would be able to balance. I pointed the edges to make the piece appear sleeker instead of just piled wood. I carefully planned out holes for the screws. I learned how to hide the screws with cut wooden dowels to complete my work. The piece appears to be solid full wood, which is the look I was going for. I prefer my wood sculptures to look like time was put into each individual piece before making the full structure. I followed the theme of physical tension. If you were to take one of the wooden pieces off, the whole sculpture would not be able to sit up. Every piece relies on the others to hold it up. 

I chose wood because I felt that making the wood itself look tense would be a challenge. I pushed myself to think of creative ways I could cut, style, and put the pieces together to demonstrate tension. I used a mix of pine and red pine wood. Pine is extremely durable, which made for a balanced and strong material for my project. I leaned toward using scrap pieces of wood at first, but then changed my mind when I saw the new pine pieces. They appeared to have more potential to them as I could sand and cut them in any way I wanted, unlike the used pieces. There is a correlation in tension between how stiff the balancing wood pieces are and how firm the pine wood is. I specifically made drill holes before inserting the nails so the wood would not split. This was extremely tedious. I learned that I could cover the holes with wood so that the nails would be hidden altogether. I want the viewer to only see the wood. The work is meant to look like the wood pieces are simply balanced delicately on one another. I intend to have viewers feel tense, in a way, as they worry a small gust of wind could knock over the balanced sculpture. The sculpture itself is intended to have subtle tension in the way each wood piece is balancing another. Without tension, the sculpture would not be able to stay up alone, even with the support of nails. The tension is tied into the interconnectedness of each piece relying on another, they have no choice. I create based on my own ideas, I do not have other artists or writers in mind when I make my work. I prefer to use my own ideas and see what I can come up with. If I have trouble, I use online resources to generate basic ideas and go from there. I utilize AI as a form of inspiration. Instead of looking for other artists and their work, I find myself checking out what 'robots' have in store for me first. I guess this makes me feel better in a way because I am getting inspired by a newly generated idea, not one that another person has already created.  Next, I will be working on the 'body'. I am thinking of making a rib cage made out of scrap electronic pieces. I talked a bit to the people at my table and everyone seems to know the direction they are going in. The work I saw so far looked great! Comparing my writing to AI, I would say that they have a similar dialect. When I write, I try my best to sound professional and use 'big' words. My work is subject to more mistakes and took significantly longer to write. Chat GTP took maybe 10 seconds to write the whole statement. I think that if my prompt was more intricate, AI could have produced an artist statement more similar to my own writing. I did write more, however, both convey just about the same idea. AI aired on the lighter side (probably because of my limited information) while I went more in-depth about my ideas. The AI writing touched on some important ideas of my work, but was extremely surface-level. I do not think the 'fake' statement could pass off as my own due to a lack of information and detail.