Wasps
12'' x 8''
Cardboard Relief
Feb. 2024
Cardboard Relief
Feb. 2024
This relief piece was constructed from cardboard and beeswax. It is an abstract figure, depicting 3 figures, one body dead on the ground and two pairs of shoes standing around him; the corpse has a pickax lodged into his back, the only 3 dimensional aspect of this project. Beeswax coats his jacket, simulating blood, and delphinium flowers sprout from the wound.
Inspiration
Costantino Nivola
Costantino Nivola was an Italian sculptor born July 5th, 1911. He was a prolific civil sculptor of his time, faced with hardship after escaping fascist Italy with his wife in 1939 and serving the people with his art. He created artwork for parks, sculptures for public spaces, and, in the case of my inspirational piece, murals for local businesses. This untitled piece was a commissioned mural in his town; when I first saw it, I was intrigued. Abstract art is an art form that has always intrigued me, and I feel that the most popular is very messy, seemingly misconstrued art. However, Nivola's was very clean and soft, still gaining that abstract end, even if it was created from an opposite approach. The way Nivola was able to create figures out of basic forms was something I took to heart while creating my piece, to push myself with my design, inspired by his artwork. The man towards the middle was especially one I was immediately drawn too. Just from looking at it, I got the sense of a person, despite the form being all I could see. Nivola's ability to convey these ideas through an oval, rectangle and circle astonished me. I also loved how, despite not using color, the use of shadows added depth to his piece, constructing ridges and swirls in his work to give it a natural sense of dimension around the piece, even at the sides of the flat backing of the relief. Overall, just from viewing this artwork, I was confused and intrigued. I wanted to learn more, to pick apart each shape in sight to try and connect them together with some through line. Past everything I observed during this project, this was the aspect of this artwork I was most inspired by; to get the audience confused, intrigued, and wanting answers.
Process
From the start, a murder was present, however there were many aspects that needed to be taken into consideration. Time, ambition, and the aspects of art were all things I needed to think about. I decided to focus on the element of line and the principle of contrast. While Costantino Nivola's work lacked color or contrast, his use of line informed my decision to focus on that element of art. His soft craftsmanship portrayed an idea of abstractness, forming figures that the viewer has to decide on what they are. I wanted to use this same idea but in an opposite approach; my use of line would be extremely messy, contrasting his clean cuts of slab, so the viewer still has to make out the meaning of the scene even though the execution of this idea was completely different.
From there, I began to construct my piece. I cut apart the backing of a simple cardboard box to use as the base of the piece. My idea was to mimic what Nivola had done in his final; to break the forms of people to their most basic figures and build off of the wall, adding cardboard on top of each other in varying sizes and degrees. However where'd we differ is that the form I'd created wouldn't be my final. My plan was to wet pieces of cardboard and pull them into their three pieces, then using those damp chunks to form the clothes on his body, attaching them directly onto the base so it'd give the ideas of natural wrinkles against his skin before more are added.
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Then, I created the pick ax. I knew that the ax would be the focal point of the project, and it was crucial it would stand out to draw the attention of the viewer. From this understanding, I decided to both make the ax three-dimensional and in black; this would create a strong, physical dimensionality to the piece that hasn't been before, as well as a striking visual difference, highlighted by the brown background. Furthermore, this aspect would be cleaner than all the rest, the edges smoother, giving it a powerful weight, as if this weapon could truly be brought down in an act of murder. To do this, I bought Organic Yellow Beeswax pellets. I took these pellets and filled the cardboard base with them; this both saved on cardboard and became thematically relevant. I started with the handle of the tool, then ended the construction with the two end pieces, finally attaching them all into one figure. To secure the ax in the back of the man, I cut into the cardboard, deep enough that the ax would be deep seeded, but not deep enough to penetrate the entire board.
From there, I created the delphinium flowers. This flower was a very subtle but crucial part of the artwork. Delphiniums are plants that promote good fortune and wealth; as well as that, however, they are also often used in funeral arrangements. In the overall piece, I believed this was a subtle way to hint at the motive of the murder. To construct these flowers, I started by rolling a line or cardboard into a line, using this as the base of the plant. Then, I pulled apart little pieces of cardboard to use as the petals, slowly becoming smaller as it traveled up the stem. Finally, I glued them into the wound of the corpse, sticking them very close to the weapon. These flowers are a very small, but crucial touch to the final product.
Experimentation
While I had originally purchased beeswax pellets by accident, originally wanting larger cuts so I could melt them down easier, it proved to be a happy accident. While constructing the ax, I knew it needed to be filled to give it a realistic sense of weight to truly convey the fatality of the situation. I had originally wanted to construct the business man completely from the wax, symbolizing that he only stands tall because of the labor of the worker bees below him, like the corpse on the floor. However, that idea quickly became unattainable. I had heated the pellets to form sticks of beeswax from the pellets, then placed it under direct heat of a lighter to melt the wax and try to use it as an adhesive. However, it was not strong enough to hold the build of the cardboard. While it would hold two pieces together for a short period of time, even after the substance would dry and stick together, it was dangerously easy to pull apart. Because of this, I decided to reevaluate my idea of the wax and construct the ax out of the pellets itself. Thematically, it showcases that the pickax is only meant for use of work, built up from the labor and only used by those who are in the fields. It's torn and broken, the handle visibly showing the inner workings of the cardboard; it surely cannot be comfortable to bear. This showcases that there are reasons for someone to participate in the "dog eat dog" aspect of work. But the murder cannot be ignored. It cannot be hidden, even if corporations try to "sweep it under the rug" behind a mess of smoke and mirrors, quite literally sticking out of the board, being the first thing that viewers will see. I furthered this idea by using the beeswax as simulated blood, melting wax on the ax, body and flowers. This idea shows that the bees wax makes up the tools in the situations, used against one another by someone who's now above it all.
As I was creating the clothes on the man's body, I quickly hit a roadblock, confused on how I should add additional wrinkles in a way that was both confusing and comparable. I attempted many different ways of achieving folds in the outfit; First, I had added physical cuts into the back of the jacket hoping to use those as signals to where the folds should form, however it helped to no avail. Then I attempted to search for references online, but the results were not what I had in mind and sparse in finding. So, I decided to make my own reference. I had my younger sister lay face first on the ground wearing an old jacket and my platform boots. After taking this photo, while I did have to replace the backing of the man's coat, creating the creases in his back came much more naturally. I also added a hood to the corpse coat, liking how it looked in the reference photo and thinking it was a smart way to add more elements to the jacket. Overall, I was more comfortable with this process after experimenting and even ventured off reference when I thought it would help the design.
Critique
CompareBetween my inspiration of the Untitled mural by artist Costantino Nivola and my Wasps relief, there is a common through line of simplistic, broken down designs. While this is much more clear in my process, this idea shines through with my artwork, the shoes specifically. They are not hyper realistic, beautiful constructions, they are simple ovals with lines to convey the idea of laces and other aspects of footwear, much like how Nivola's human figures are nothing but an oval on a rectangle torso. Furthermore, both of our pieces are very abstract, although in different directions. Our works require the viewer to try and discern what they are seeing and what they think it means, both to themselves and to us, the artist. Additionally, our ideas of political commentary is something deep rooted in the themes of the construction. Our artworks are observations fueled by our society around us; it is extremely personal and influenced by our culture, even though the creation of these pieces come from very different places and very different time frames.
ContrastWhile the comparisons come from the themes and the influence on my construction of my piece, visually there are many differences. For one, Nivola's mural is very clean cut and smooth, whereas mine is intentionally messy and "gross". Nivola's relief is very flat and polished, blending the sides directly on the walls so they are not as sharp as the ones that extend off of pieces of the stone towards the middle of the piece; this gives his work very strong shadows, as hes able to manipulate them with the cuts of slab he cut. Compared to mine then, it is quite literally cut up, the viewer being able to count all individual pieces of cardboard stuck on one another. Furthermore, my piece doesn't have as strong of a shadow sense, the most prevalent coming from the ax; it was not something that I was concerned about as much as it seems Nivola was. Both of our pieces are abstract, but they reach that end goal through very different techniques. Additionally, Nivola's relief, while coming off the wall, doesn't come off the sides like mine does, the mans legs reaching past the board it was built on.
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Reflection
For this relief, as a class we attended a UWM gallery showcase. There, my classmates and I presented our work to one another and a panel of critics, (). Originally, I was disappointed in my work. After seeing my classmates pieces, I was worried that my project was not complex enough visually; While I was going for a very "ugly" structure, I felt as though my relief stuck out in a bad way, like a sore thumb in a sea of very beautiful constructions. However after the criticism, I am now feeling very good about myself and my work. The meaning of the piece shown through, both thematically and from an abstract aspect. I have never made a straight abstract piece before, so it made me happy for people to look at my piece and be confused at what they were seeing, guessing it was a bird or there were a pair of scissors in the construction, or even noticing the pickax and wanting to know more about what they were seeing. My biggest encounter was definitely doing all of the work by hand; I did not use any scissors or X-ACTO knives; it was time consuming and left my hands numb, often times I accidentally gave myself blisters from my poor handling of the hot glue gun after long periods of time work. Despite that though, I believe it was worth it, and it gave the relief and authentically "ugly" aesthetic. Furthermore, my favorite part is now the look of the piece. My classmates telling me that they felt gross after looking at it make me know I achieved my goal; they came to me saying that they truly felt like they had been the one to bring the ax down, or that they had an ax brought down on them. I knew from that the weight of the ax and the fatality of the situation struck a cord with the audience, and I'm very proud of that. Overall, I think this is my favorite artwork I've created thus far.
ACT
Clearly explain how you are able to identify the cause effect relationship between your inspiration and its effect on your artwork?
The artist Costantino Nivola played a crucial part in the construction of this project, using his ideas to create the form of the corpse on the ground. While that inspiration was lost in the clothes of his body, his simplistic design shines through with the other aspect of the work, like the shoes and the blank background.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
I believe that Nivola would be appreciative that I was using his work as inspiration for a deeply political piece of art. It was something that was deeply important to him, to the point that he fled home for the art that he made.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I came to the generalization that Nivola was an artist particularly focused on the people in his community, and that it was something that was very dear to him.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
Giving back to the community and bringing them into your work was a major theme throughout all of the research.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I made the inference that, unfortunately, Costantino Nivola is being forgotten. This made me want to use his artwork as an inspiration even more. He was a very taleneted artist focused on the people around him, on those he cared about. That is something very commemorable to me, and so I wanted to spread his art through through me.
The artist Costantino Nivola played a crucial part in the construction of this project, using his ideas to create the form of the corpse on the ground. While that inspiration was lost in the clothes of his body, his simplistic design shines through with the other aspect of the work, like the shoes and the blank background.
What is the overall approach the author has regarding the topic of your inspiration?
I believe that Nivola would be appreciative that I was using his work as inspiration for a deeply political piece of art. It was something that was deeply important to him, to the point that he fled home for the art that he made.
What kind of generalizations and conclusions have you discovered about people, ideas, culture, etc. while you researched your inspiration?
I came to the generalization that Nivola was an artist particularly focused on the people in his community, and that it was something that was very dear to him.
What is the central idea or theme around your inspirational research?
Giving back to the community and bringing them into your work was a major theme throughout all of the research.
What kind of inferences did you make while reading your research?
I made the inference that, unfortunately, Costantino Nivola is being forgotten. This made me want to use his artwork as an inspiration even more. He was a very taleneted artist focused on the people around him, on those he cared about. That is something very commemorable to me, and so I wanted to spread his art through through me.
Bibliography
AStein, Carl J., Costantino Nivola: 100 Years of Creativity, Charta/Italian Cultural Institute in Washington, 2012
Small, Zachary, The Crumbiling Art of Costantino Nivola, a Picasso for the People, Atlas Obscura, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/who-was-costantino-nivola, Feb, 28, 2024
Small, Zachary, The Crumbiling Art of Costantino Nivola, a Picasso for the People, Atlas Obscura, https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/who-was-costantino-nivola, Feb, 28, 2024