Second Project Reflection 2

I'm not a big fan of the Crayola model magic. I'm not very good at sculpting with clay, as I found out in my Ceramics class last semester, and the model magic is really difficult to work with. It stretches, tears, and flops around too much for my liking, but I think it worked really well for this project. For the image I needed to create, it was probably one of the best media that I could have used.

The sagging of the model magic worked beautifully in capturing the feeling inherent in the image I wanted to construct. I really wanted to capture the feelings of despair and the visceral melting of the situation of many of the homeless. At the same time I really wanted to capture the bench as "home." So, having it curve in with the weight of the person captures both the sagging of sorrow and the strangeness of trying to find comfort in the bench. It's almost as if the bench has a personality of its own, and is trying to accommodate and comfort the person, to try to take some of the burden, the vast weight, from off the sitter's heart. I really thought that a simplified version of my sketchbook idea would be the best way to go on this project. The simplicity allows the pure visceral to shock the viewer, with minimal distraction. The simplicity also reflects the lifestyle of the homeless , and the minimalism that their life must take.
Another aspect of this piece that I like is the proportions. The person seems to be shrinking into himself, shriveled and bent beneath the weight of his situation. At the same time the bench appears to grow in the eye, flaring at the sides in a comforting and even protective embrace. But at the same time, very little of the figure is actually attached or toughing the bench, indicating that officially the person does not own this bench and the ties that tie their symbolism together are ephemeral or at least ethereal in nature, and are harshly opposed by the laws of society.