The Assignment- This project comes to us courtesy of John Siblik, current professor of sculpture and a former classmate of mine. In our school days, he was primarily a painter, but like all good art students he worked in a variety of media. While we were out in the midwest he participated in an outdoor sculpture competition that started with detailed sketches of his idea, then a scale model, and finally the full size work: a ten foot long piece that appeared to be a giant piece of intestine erupting from the ground.
He sent me a link to photos of this inflatable project that his students have had success with, so we're going to give it a try. We will follow a similar set of steps. You will be designing an inflatable sculpture that is at least 8 feet long in one dimension, made from thin clear plastic drop cloths and clear plastic sealing tape, and inflated with a shop vac in reverse. The sculpture must be based on a living thing and must include articulated shapes. (you can't just make a tube, call it a snake, and be done with it) Today we worked on the first step, developing a plan. Each student made pencil sketches of five ideas, and then constructed a simple model of one of the ideas using bristol board and foam core. Below are some examples from last semester.
Students will be working in groups of 2 or 3, so each group will select from their paper models which one idea to create at the full 8 foot scale. You also may work by yourself if you prefer.
Photos of finished inflatable sculptures from last semester may be seen here.
