A Dream Within A dream By Wilfredo Menendez
Process & Reflection: My original idea for this piece was to make a duck out of clay. It was going to be hollowed out and have gears in its stomach and it was going to be painted to look like it was made out of bronze.
When the duck was bone dry and it was fired, it blew up in the kiln. Due to the shortage of time to remake the piece I decided to come up with a new idea. I started looking at new artist that I hadn't used before thats when I came across Odilon Redon and Albert Ryder. I really like how Redon used Edgar Allen Poe poems as inspirations so I decided to do the same. At the same time I liked Ryder's painting style, specifically his painting "The Flying Dutchman". So I combined Ryder's style with Allen Poe's poem "A dream Within A Dream". One thing that came out of this piece is an improvement in my painting skills. The painting in the background of the piece took me many attempts mainly because I was very close minded and kept trying to make the waves with a brush. Mr. Chad suggested that I experiment with a ink spreading tool. This tool allowed me to make natural looking waves and have the colors mix themselves. Through this piece I have found a interest for painting with unorthodox tools. Inspiration: My inspiration for this piece was Albert Ryder and his painting the Flying Dutchman. As far as for the symbolism in the piece and what's happening in it it was inspired by Odilon Redon and his use of Edgar Allan Poe poems in his piece. In my piece I used Poe's poem a dream within a dream. Which reads in the second stanza,
"I stand amid the roar Of a surf-tormented shore, And I hold within my hand Grains of the golden sand -- How few! yet how they creep Through my fingers to the deep, While I weep — while I weep! O God! Can I not grasp Them with a tighter clasp? O God! can I not save One from the pitiless wave? Is all that we see or seem But a dream within a dream?". As you can see Poe talks about raging waves which is why I used Ryder's Flying Dutchman. The painting depicts a raging ocean that just perfectly fits in with Allen Poe's poem. |
Exhibition Text: This painting is based on Edgar Allen Poe's poem "A Dream Within a Dream" and how he explores the difference between the real and fake. I thought this would really connect to the Organic v Industrial project and that to show the waves Poe described I used Albert Ryder's painting.
Medium: Plastic Hands and Acrylic on Gesso Measurements: 18in x 24 in (45.72cm x 60.96cm) Completed: April 2016 I plan to make a series of paintings in which I explored different tools together with brushes in a effort to develop my own unique painting style. An artist that does this is Jan Serr for her series called "Dance Moves" she uses pieces of news paper as a way to draw with ink on paper. This produces some unique looking lines that go beautifully with her exploration into ballet dancing.
Even though I am really proud of how this piece turned out I wish I would have focused more on the Organic V. industrial aspect of it. If I were to redo this piece I would completely start over and keep this piece as another project. I would re-attempt to make my original idea of the steampunk duck because it was an idea that I vividly imagined and was very excited to do. |
Meaning: In this piece I wanted to show how time and joy can slip through our hands so easily. In my life I constantly find myself rapidly shifting from being happy to extremely down. When I read in Allen Poe's poem when he says "O God! can I note save One from the pitiless wave?" I thought of how I can't seem to grasp happiness and can't save myself from the pitiless wave that is sadness. The main reason I choose this poem out of all of Allen Poe's poems is because I had read this one before and I really connected with it. Even though how I interpret the poem is not how Allen Poe intended for it to be interpreted just like visual arts it's all in the eyes and mind of the beholder.
Word Count (Not Including the Exhibition Text ): 728
Research:
Ryder, Albert Pinkham. Flying Dutchman. 1887. Smithsonian American Art Museum. Smithsonian American Art Museum. Web. Mar.-Apr. 2016.
Research:
Ryder, Albert Pinkham. Flying Dutchman. 1887. Smithsonian American Art Museum. Smithsonian American Art Museum. Web. Mar.-Apr. 2016.