Gregor's Room

 

Comfort & Isolation

A visual response to the short story The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka 

White copy paper, Ink, (No Adhesives)

Largest Sculpture measures: 7" x 5" x 4"

Details: 

Artist Statement: 

The sculptures reflect my perception of the short story The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka. Before reading the story, I researched it a little and discovered that Kafka wrote the story during the early 1900s. This information helped me realize what furniture I thought he would have in his room like a trunk and metal pole headboard. The descriptions of the room given within the story lead me to imagine a very drab- dirty looking room, this is also because he is a large bug which I associate with being dirty. Another aspect of the story that affected my interpretation was the fact that he was trapped within a single room. This isolation also makes me think of things getting very dirty as he was confined to one room for an extended amount of time. The bed especially reflects his confinement. I wanted the bed to look especially dirty as he expresses having nightmares, so I imagined frequent sweating at night- without ever washing the sheets plus being a dirty bug. I even made the bed posts to look rusty and worn down. The square brown sculpture is supposed to be a trunk suitcase, which was common for the time period and it is what I imagined Gregor having for his travel intensive job. On top of the trunk is a sliver platter and two bowls containing the rotten food that he actually can eat. 

Gregor's Room Work in Progress 

Figurative Bust Sculptures

 

Hypnosis 

Air-Dry Clay, Wood, Ink

Right Sculpture: 5.5" x 5" x 4" 

Left Sculpture: 5" x 3" x 3"

Additional Photos:

Artist Statement: 

The sculptures, titled, Hypnosis reflect how our society has become hypnotized and overconsumed with media. The bust on the right has the head of a computer screen with swirling black and white stripes. This represents the medias hypnotizing and addicting effect it has on its viewers. This is further represented by the human bust, on the left, having the same swirl within its eyes. In addition, the human figure has a very slack expression, with its mouth open, almost as if drool was about to come out. This expression was also to show the all consuming effect the media has, as the viewer, (the left bust) is so hypnotized they are just sitting there letting the screen take over. This sculpture also relates to how the media can warp peoples perceptions. As the human bust takes the information on the screen and relays it within its own eyes, showing how the information gets passed on from the media to the viewer. 

Research: 

https://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2021/10/29/addictive-potential-of-social-media-explained/

    This article discusses how social media is extremally addictive, even releasing the addiction-related chemical Dopamine within our brains. The article is an Interview with author, Anna Lembke. MD. She describes social media as being partially addictive because humans brains have always released dopamine from human connections, and social media does that to the max, "Making us vulnerable to compulsive overconsumption".  

https://www.thechicagoschool.edu/insight/from-the-magazine/a-virtual-life/

    This article talks about how social media is changing our perceptions. For example they discuss how social media is not a real world, and what a study in 2011 found about adolescents and families using social media and creating "Facebook Depression" from not accumulating enough friends or likes.   

https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20200512-how-the-news-changes-the-way-we-think-and-behave

    This article considers how the news and the constant influx of tragedy affects the viewers. Some examples of how it changes our perceptions include, "[Leading] us to miscalculate certain risks, shape our views of foreign, countries, and possibly influence the health of entire economies." 

Work in Progress Pictures:  

 

Masking Tape Shoes