Taking a chance

Rabbit Hole, First Blog Post

“Artists like Hans Arp were intent on incorporating chance into...art.”

As a modeler, this statement really… cuts to the core of how I approach modeling in general. It’s not really in the way many would. I don’t meticulously plan out details and think ahead of time of what I will do to create the thing I want to create, I get an idea, and the journey I take to reach my goal of seeing that idea take shape in front of me is like a going down a river blindfolded with all the gear necessary to stay afloat, I likely won’t sink, but I don’t know how I will reach the end, only that, one way or another, I will. Naturally, I wanted to see more of Hans Arp’s work…

Start Point: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1NtxicOW2kw0N31-ghVKNYzUhbaw1HXUPBDIJ7HZC9Gg/edit#slide=id.g90c2ce9d9b_1_1

Jump 1: https://www.moma.org/collection/works/80760?sov_referrer=artist&artist_id=0&page=2

For the record, I wasn’t interested in what a “Concretion” was. Rather, this… doesn’t look like it should work… doesn’t look like it should belong or be part of our reality… but it doesn’t change the fact that it is part of our reality (it literally exists, takes up matter and can be touched) and it does work merely through the act of existing in the same world as objects that make sense in our day-to-day, that are practical. This impractical, illogical “thing” exists, makes sense for that reason, and belongs. I wanted more impractical pieces to look at.

Jump 2: https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/abstract-sculpture-stone-textured-balance-concept-hand-statue-holds-geometric-museum-gm1173712060-326110155

Aspects of this piece make sense (the hand, the stone) yet as a whole also shouldn’t work… this isn’t even real, it’s a 3D rendering, yet, looking at it, it “feels” like it should be part of our world, feels like something we can touch and feel. I don’t want to be simply limited to stone or plaster though, I want to explore abstract pieces with other materials.

Jump 3: https://www.deviantart.com/gameradodesigns/art/Metal-Abstract-3D-Wallpaper-Render-567555485

The piece certainly looks nice… but the appeal of the abstract isn’t captured here as compared to before… this doesn’t look like it fits in anywhere, it’s too far removed from what is possible to conceive. However, I do want to see metal abstract pieces that do feel like they belong despite everything.

Jump 4: https://www.metalmuseum.org/metals-studio

This Metal Museum is more in line with what I imagine goes into making abstract metal pieces. It’s amazing to see the labor that can go into making pieces potentially similar to what I’ve been looking at thus far.

Jump 5: https://www.deviantart.com/genoforsmash/art/Smithy-true-form-sprite-3D-remake-627692623

One word caught my attention in the Metal Museum site, “Smithy”. The antagonist and final boss of ‘Super Mario RPG” for the SNES. This is a character that is abstract all on its own. It doesn’t feel like it should be in the same world as the Mushroom Kingdom… but it is. It is acknowledged, it is fought, and it is destroyed throughout the course of the game. It is a perfect example of a design that should not belong, belonging. A concept of a metal monster and its metal army invading an established organic world taken seriously. This is the abstract given purpose against a world thrives in its own (logical) consistency – that consistency now challenged.

Final Jump: https://twitter.com/Trueloveheart94/status/1175407374955352065

Speaking of the abstract going against the norm, Smithy reminded me of a fantastic comic I read a while back. The IDW Sonic the Hedgehog series. I was reminded of the now concluded “Metal Virus” saga and the incredible imagery associated with that tale. Best shown with the issue 24 cover. The abnormal, encroaching on the normal. Chances being taken to create things that may not seem right… but can potentially feel right for the world (any world) or a story.