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Scarecrow spottings
October 05, 2007
One sported a blue face. Another’s face and arms were intricately painted and bedazzled with jewels. A third looked innocent sitting under a tree surrounded by a camera and book.
In all, nine unique figures popped up around campus last Tuesday. Dubbed “scarecrows,” the figures were created by students in assistant art professor Spencer Ebbinga’s Sculpture I course.
Unlike the traditional image of a scarecrow, these figures were colorful and positioned in unconventional poses. The sculptures, the first project of the semester, represent psychological self-portraits of each student.
“I found each one of them interesting in their own ways. I thought they were very creative, and I thought they were an excellent first attempt at making a sculpture,” Ebbinga said. “They tackled it really, really well.”
Most of the students in the course have no experience working in three dimensions, he explained. Primarily, the project introduced students to working in 3-D. Plaster gauze bandage was used to create casts of various parts of the student’s body, and the rest of the sculpture was created using wood and other materials.
“The project was also trying to get them to begin conceptualizing … to start coming up with ideas that may be meaningful to them and to the outside world,” Ebbinga explained.
When the figures were placed on campus, the students dealt with the environment surrounding them. The placement needed to go along with the message or view their sculpture was addressing, Ebbinga explained.
“Part of making sculpture is dealing with context and the environment,” Ebbinga said. “Not all of it belongs in a gallery or in the classroom.”
Unlike the traditional image of a scarecrow, these figures were colorful and positioned in unconventional poses. The sculptures, the first project of the semester, represent psychological self-portraits of each student.
“I found each one of them interesting in their own ways. I thought they were very creative, and I thought they were an excellent first attempt at making a sculpture,” Ebbinga said. “They tackled it really, really well.”
Most of the students in the course have no experience working in three dimensions, he explained. Primarily, the project introduced students to working in 3-D. Plaster gauze bandage was used to create casts of various parts of the student’s body, and the rest of the sculpture was created using wood and other materials.
“The project was also trying to get them to begin conceptualizing … to start coming up with ideas that may be meaningful to them and to the outside world,” Ebbinga explained.
When the figures were placed on campus, the students dealt with the environment surrounding them. The placement needed to go along with the message or view their sculpture was addressing, Ebbinga explained.
“Part of making sculpture is dealing with context and the environment,” Ebbinga said. “Not all of it belongs in a gallery or in the classroom.”