Kevin Mahoney, Student Work

“And to see the world is also, at the same time, to experience oneself as visible, to feel oneself seen”

David Abram, Spell of the Sensuous

Separation
Chapter 2, Section II

With this work I’m attempting to separate myself from the image of myself with tracing paper.

Wood, photograph, tracing paper, 18" x 24"

Kevin Mahoney, Student Work

Natural History of the Senses

For this project I set up a microphone going through a loop pedal going through an amplifier. All of this was covered with a red velvet curtain to add a layer of mystery. So as the business of the Molly Wiley Art Building happened each day, the sounds of it’s inhabitants would be reflected back into the building. Each time the sounds would loop they would loop back on top of eachother, building up into a sea of feedback. I placed a mirror behind the curtain so that nosy viewers would be able to see that it was, in fact, them making the music. Unfortunately I faced problems with people not wanting to listen to the music and I also faced problems with the microphone on my camera not picking up the sound as it truly happened. I feel that this piece would be specific to whatever site it was installed in and I feel that it operates more as a physical experience that does not lend itself very well to documentation.

Research:
John Cage

Research/Inspiration:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pcHnL7aS64Y

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjeRCsoufII

Michelle Behling, Student Work

The sense I chose was hearing:

"Sea robins, drum-fishes and many others make sounds with their swim bladders; croakers grunt loud enough to keep China Sea fishermen awake at night; Hawiian triggerfish grind their teeth loudly ; the male toadfish growls; bottlenose dolphins click and squeak like badly oiled office chairs..." (198)
Diane Ackerman, Natural History of the Senses, 1990.

This part of the chapter made me think a lot about the natural sounds in our environments. When I go to sleep at night, the sounds I hear are the refrigerator and other electrical humming sounds. I wanted to respond to the abundance of mechanical sounds that can be heard throughout the day. Often I think we tune out these sounds and then blend into the background. However, in most building these sounds are present. I think it's interesting that often lights and machines buzz more and more with time as the parts wear down, making them impossible to fabricate.

I wanted to interfere with the space and create mechanical noise in the background to alter the sense of hearing.  I tested several types of lights using an electronic dimmer, a common cause of humming lights, to test the volume and sound of the hum. Although this experience has visual sensory information, it is primarily meant to be felt as an auditory experience.  I attempted to partially shield the visual aspect of the light with a curtain in my installation.

Ultimately this project was my first experience with lighting and sound. At first, I was unsure if I could even produce humming lights, as they are considered a problem meant to be solved. It seemed as if this project was the backwards solution to a problem- a solution created through a reverse process. 

Research:
http://homeguides.sfgate.com/fix-humming-incandescent-light-fixture-34036.html
https://www.smarthome.com/sh-solutions-why-do-lights-buzz-when-using-dimmer.html

Andrew Hollingsworth, Student Work

Installation in response to an excerpt titled the Painter's Eye 

from Diane Ackerman's A Natural History of the Senses.

Emily Lowell, Student Work

Touch Chapter
From the book A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman

Maja Hydbom, Student Work

Chapter - Smell, A Natural History of The Senses by Diane Ackerman

Metal, tights, ceramic, petals, lace and a red light

I created this site-specific installation after reading the chapter on Smell in A Natural History of The Senses, by Diane Ackerman. The chapter was interesting mostly for the informational part, such as; learning that children likes all smell until they are taught differently, smell is the most direct of all senses, women are not drawn to men’s natural scent, humans like smelling flowers because they have an energetic sex life and that is a plausible reason why we spray ourselves with fragranced perfume- to feel desirable. I wanted to create an installation that would endorse the idea of scent, but not actually smell of anything. I created a crucifixion of the female sexuality as it is commonly portrayed as something sinful, although it being natural. The crucifixion has been turned in to a drainage, hence the pipe like support, that stands to capture the infamous sexuality.

My research for this project includes the works of Robert Gober. See below. 

Alex McNutt, Student Work

Sense: Touch
from the book A Natural History of The Senses by Diane Ackerman
I chose to create my hallway installation based on the sense of touch. Yarn World was built February 17, 2014. I wanted to create an enclosed space where you could not avoid being touched. In the book "A Natural History of the Senses" Diane Ackerman talks about hair being a receptor of touch. When something is close to our bodies our hairs get all tingly and sends information to our brain that something is there. Yarn World was supposed to be a kind of claustrophobic touch overload. When you step inside Yarn World you are being touched by thousands of strands of yarn coming from all sides.

The part of the book that I took the most inspiration from was the section titled "Adventures in the Touch Dome." Mostly I just think that is a great title. I imagine a giant dome packed full of different objects to touch, all the different textures and consistencies. That is essentially what you do at San Francisco's Touch Dome apparently.

http://www.exploratorium.edu/visit/west-gallery/tactile-dome

In the Tactile Dome you explore the pitch darkness using only your sense of touch. Yarn World is a similar concept. I created Yarn World by covering the brown floor and skirting the walls with white paper which I taped to the top of each wall. I then created a false ceiling out of foam board to hide the pipes above as well as to give a surface to attach yarn to. Using multi-colored duct tape I taped strips of yarn which I cut to reach just above the floor to the foam board ceiling above. I used 12 rolls of yarn and calculated that there are over 1000 strings of yarn hanging. I then hung a thick yellow curtain in front of the yarn with an opening so that you have to enter into the curtain to find the yarn. Over the top of the curtain I created a sign on foam board to seal the top of the curtain and invite guests in.

I wanted Yarn World to be playful and have almost an amusement park feeling but also be a little intimidating and make the guests feel uneasy about being inside the tiny space.

Marlena Lomonaco, Student Work

Response to Touch, a chapter from the book A Natural History of the Senses by Diane Ackerman

Installation, includes video.

Link here to watch video and see images of installation.

http://marlinstalls.tumblr.com

Josh Slinski, Student Work

Josh Slinski, Student Work

What is Red Clay?

Weathering or decomposition of rock produces clay. Rain, wind, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other physical and chemical processes all cause weathering in one form or another. All rocks contain minerals, and when rocks containing iron oxides weather, they produce red clay. Granite and basalt are examples of rocks containing iron oxides. Red clay consists of very fine particles that are more than 1,000 times smaller than grains of sand.

Clay Composition

Clay particles contain silica (SiO2) and a mixture of other minerals, such as quartz, carbonate, aluminum oxides and iron oxides. The ratio of SiO2 to other clay minerals within clay determines clay type. Continued weathering of clay causes leaching of minerals, such as sodium, potassium, calcium and carbonate, but iron and aluminum oxides are more stable and less likely to leach out. Highly weathered clay deposits contain mostly aluminum or iron oxides, the minerals in red clay.

Clay Properties

Minerals in clay particles strongly attract water, causing particles to expand and contract in response to wet and dry conditions and temperature changes. When particles become hydrated in wet conditions, they can double in size. Buildings that are constructed on clay may suffer structural damage caused by seasonal swelling of clay. On the positive side, the oxides in clay, including red clay, also act like glue, holding soil particles together, and are useful for lining ponds and water basins.

Clay minerals also produce a charge on clay particles, causing the attraction of other ions -- charged molecules in solution -- such as pesticides and contaminants. For vegetable gardening and crop production, retention of pesticides and contaminants in clay soils could be a serious problem.

Red Clay Distribution

Red clay soils, called ultisols, are the dominant soils in the southeastern United States, and make up about 8.1 percent of the ice-free land around the globe. These soils are found mostly in humid temperate and tropical regions. Partly due to climate conditions, calcium, magnesium and potassium have leached out of these red clay soils, causing the soils to be of low fertility. Supplementation with organic matter and fertilizer, however, can easily restore the fertility of ultisols.

Red Clay Uses

The use of red clay has a long history in pigments for painting. Today, some of the clay iron oxide pigments have been replaced by synthetic compounds. Because water molecules are attracted to clay, a mixture of water and clay makes a mud that can be shaped, dried and fired into pottery and material for industrial uses. Red clay makes terracotta pottery and other types of pottery, but because red clay's iron content melts at lower temperatures than minerals in other types of clay, the strength of red clay products is lower, and industrial uses are usually limited to brick and tile.

Source link:

https://sciencing.com/red-clay-22940.html

BA Student Blogs Spring 2016

Lacey Caskin
Ashley DeLoach
Matt Dolby
Van Eggers
Adrian Gonzalez
Meagan Henshaw
Mary Beth Hietapelto
Sarah Howard
Bailey Johnson
Key Russell
Marci Shull
Lara Sibson
Michael Swiger
Dominic Whitaker