Sasha Lute, Student Work

This installation represents parts to a whole system by utilizing windows to see into "rooms" that housed scenes of miniatures of furniture, noses, ears, lips, and hands. The installation to me portrays pieces of a whole person and the little things that make us who we are. I began by making several miniature clay body parts that I sculpted by hand to create molds. I built a faux wall that fit into a small space in the art building. This way my abstract formation of a person could physically take up and claim its own space, ceiling, walls, and floors.

Sasha Lute, Student Work

I was inspired by the fantasy we can create when interacting with miniatures and how these perceptions shift to a larger scale in our own homes. I placed a dollhouse I built between my home and my neighbors home to suggest ideas about space and place. The shadows casting from the light inside the dollhouse onto the neighboring houses pushes this idea even further, by projecting its falseness onto others. 

Maren Mitzer, Student Work

For this piece I was inspired by a parade held in Saint Augustine, Florida in the early 1900s celebrating Ponce De Leon's discovery of a new land.  The St. Augustine Garden Club participated in the parade as well. It was customary for a Saint Augustine family to ride a float and act as the King and Queen of Spain. I was inspired by the ornately decorated float and throne-like chair Catherine Canova, a local community member representing the "Queen of Spain", was seated in. Catherine Canova was also a member of the Saint Augustine Garden Club. I highlighted the settlement of Saint Augustine by the Spanish crown through the use of dirt and a red velvet chair. The red velvet chair, decorated with flowers and outfitted with a cape, symbolize the monarchy. The dirt spread out before the chair represents the earth, landscape, colonized by royalty. The site for installation was chosen due to the proximity to the parade route as well as the grandiose grounds, situated behind a gate. 

Student Work

March 2020, COVISD-19 forced us to move to online classes. Ceramic Sculpture students are still working spatially and with a pliable material. While play-dough not the preferred material, it is standing up to the challenge of visual expression. Below are a few pieces made in response to two prompts, Inspired by Nature and Inspired by Fabricated Objects. 

Alexa Listani

Rachel Lee

Amanda Shaw

Amelia Weber

Caroline McClellan, Student Work

This work is a response to a mass held in St. Augustine on September 8th, 1565 by Father Francisco Lopez de Mendoza Grajales. After studying paintings and drawings depicting the event, I decided to focus on the idea of rituals within a ceremony and created a large scale object to represent this moment. The mass was held outside, with ceremonial objects placed on a large, wood table.  The large, box form appears weighted and heavy. The top area depicts "traces" of ritualistic objects: candles, a bible, and a monstrance. The labyrinth is significant as it communicates ritualistic undertones. The box sits perfectly in the center of the labyrinth, highlighting its central importance to the concept of a mass celebration. 

Conrad Kane, Student Work

Site-Specific Art Work

Collaborative Art District, Riberia Street, St. Augustine

Palm Print, 50″ x 150″ bed sheet, suspended on two 20-foot shrimp net poles.

The piece references the history of “Tree Pirates” in St. Augustine.

Ilyssa Harrington, Student Work

Indigo Fields

In response to the indigo crops worked by slaves in Northeast Florida. 

Installed at Collaborative District, St. Augustine, Florida. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx_CTs-pWRw

Christian Ard, Student Work

DO NOT FORGET

A Site-Specific Art Work

St. Augustine, Florida

April 2018

I highlighted civil rights by creating a replica of the podium that was used by Martin Luther King Jr. to deliver his "I Have A Dream" speech. I decided to incorporate sound into the piece since I was setting up in a busy, public space. I wanted MLK’s voice to be heard among a crowd of present day visitors to St. Augustine. I made an audio file that included excerpts of MLK's speech and MLK speaking to the owner of the Monsoon Motor Lodge in St. Augustine. I looped the video and placed a Bluetooth speaker inside the podium.

The Monsoon Motor Lodge in St. Augustine is a nationally recognized site of racial discrimination. The owner of the lodge poured acid in the pool while African Americans were swimming. MLK visited the site and held a peaceful protest in response to segregation and was later arrested for his action of protesting. 

I chose to present this piece at the site of the Fredrick Douglas Marker on St. George Street. Frederick Douglas played an important role in the ending of slavery. Douglas visited St. Augustine and spoke about emancipation. The marker on St. George Street acknowledges his presence. 

After an hour and fifteen minutes at the Frederick Douglas Marker, two police officers approached me and I was asked to remove the podium. At a later date, I re-assembled the podium and photographed it front of the house that MLK stayed at during a visit to St. Augustine. 

Annie Thompson, Student Work

SHE IS WE

A Site-Specific Art Work

Corazon Cinema and Cafe, St. Augustine, Florida

2018

Link below to watch the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Kvi2-KinxM&t=6s

Statement:
The piece consisted of a video presented in the Corazon Cinema and Cafe. The video was looped on the public able to view during First Friday Art Walk. 

The video showcases the depiction of women throughout film history. Inspired by the history of the site as a movie house, I created a short film that highlighted female roles in cinematic history. Prior to housing the Corazon Cinema and Cafe, the building housed Pot Belly's Theater. The history of the building is rooted in a site that functioned as a visual culture source for the community of St. Augustine. The power of film to relay messages about social constructs while providing moments of entertainment is significant to the medium.  

As a woman, I felt a necessary impulse to promote positivity that uplifts the female gender. Currently in 2018, much unsettling news about sexual harassment and assault has come to light. The "Me Too" movement was birthed from the wretched acts of assault against woman. Although these unfortunate truths need to be exposed, I have felt a weighted grief that these situations even exist, and in such a commonly high quantity. Thus, She Is Weis a video that brings a sense of contentedness and positivity to the viewer. Connections between clips and the diverse characters that women play allow the viewer to feel a deep sense of celebration for the glory that woman are. I aim to expose the many contributions women have made to film. 

Corazon Cinema and Cafe

The building when it was Pot Belly's. 

Open Studio, Fall 2018