Concentration
My concentration focuses on the obstacles and hardships (represented as shadows) that adolescents face as they come of age. The concentration consists of a series of 8 stained glass boxes tying into each hardship that an adolescent may face. The boxes include: swirling shadows (to show all of the hardships closing in), school trouble, distorted body image, turbulent friendships, heartbreak, parental problems, an unclear future and finally "rising from the ashes". The figure in the scenes remains the same but is gradually engulfed in fire to represent the person being overwhelmed. The ash in the base of each box shows the person getting burned out and tired of trying to meet every standard that's presented. The final box shows the phoenix, a bird that rises from the ashes. Just like the phoenix, the person going through hardships will rise up victorious in the end. Each box can also be taken as a cage for an adolescent, something they're not able to escape. The inability to show who they truly are. The last box shows the adolescent being able to find themselves, to become who they want to be.
Concentration 1: Capti In TenebrisThis first box depicts shadows. The hardships and obstacles constantly causing chaos in adolescent's lives. The structure above the figurine spins to represent the whirlwind of problems that seep down and poison a person's mind. The box shows an adolescent's thought of an imminent dismal future.
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Concentration 2: In Academia ChaosThe second box in the concentration depicts an adolescent in academic chaos. Academics can bring on much stress to a teenager coming of age and there is much pressure to please standards. The figure is being engulfed in school work and paper of all sorts. When a teacher writes on a student's paper, many things run through the adolescent's mind. A "nice try" can turn into many things. A "stupid", a "failure", and even a "never good enough". An adolescent's mind has the tendency to think the worst of themselves in some cases, even when it's not realistic.
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Concentration 3: Aspectus DysphoriaThe third box of the concentration shows the adolescent surrounded by mirror shards, distorting their own self image. Society's standards of beauty can be unreasonable and unrealistic. As they come of age, teenagers struggle to meet these standards. They compare themselves to those in magazines and media and to those everywhere around them. Teenagers can become obsessed with their body image, they may find themselves too fat, too tall, too skinny, too short. They may think that their nose is too big, and their eyes too small. Teens may think they have to wear makeup and do their hair just right to "fit in". It has become the status quo in society, the idea of "perfection". But when "perfection" is unattainable, an adolescent begins to hate their body. The mirrors show the adolescent in many different perspectives, and seeing all those images around can force a teen into over-analyzing. We are our own worst critics. But just because a teen doesn't match society's image of "perfection", it doesn't mean they aren't beautiful. All it takes for an adolescent is another good look in the mirror to see how incredible and beautiful they truly are.
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Concentration 8: Resurget Ex Favilla
Mini Concentration CommentaryThe central idea of my mini concentration is to prove that while the 4 elements are very different in their compositions in nature, they can be unified and balanced. With this fact, each element can be easily represented with the most basic, mundane objects. I wanted to utilize different types of chairs that are commonly overlooked and depict them in a very powerful way. Each chair represents one or more basic qualities of each element.
My works in my mini concentration fully demonstrated my intent and sustained investigation of my idea because I accurately depicted each element by molding basic copper wire and metal into miniature detailed chairs. For example: a basic stationary chair was used in representation of earth because it was solid and grounded, never phasing. A lawn chair was used to personify fire because a lawn chair is placed in a circle around an Autumn bonfire. Additionally, the chair spins to portray the fact that fire "spins out of control". A rocking chair was chosen to mimic water because it rocks similarly to a boat in heavy waves during a storm. Finally, a swing was used to capture the essence of air. The swing sways to fully portray the wind blowing an object on a stormy day. To bring cohesion and balance to the mini concentration, all of the pieces were formed from copper and proportioned accordingly, to unify the mini concentration, just like each of the elements originate from the earth. |