Soul: Diorama

SOUL: DIORAMA

______

A Master’s Exhibition

of Sculpture

Presented

to the Faculty of

California State University, Chico

______

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree

Master of Fine Arts

Art

______

Fall 2017 SOUL: DIORAMA

A Master’s Exhibition

Ryan Skylar Gibbons

Fall 2017

APPROVED BY THE INTERIM DEAN OF GRADUATE STUDIES:

______Sharon Barrios, Ph.D.

APPROVED BY THE GRADUATE ADVISORY COMMITTEE:

______Cameron G. Crawford, M.F.A. Cameron G. Crawford, M.F.A., Chair Graduate Coordinator

______Sheri Simons, M.F.A. PUBLICATION RIGHTS

No portion of this project may be reprinted or reproduced in any manner unacceptable to the usual copyright restrictions without the written permission of the author.

iii TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

Publication Rights...... iii

List of Figures...... v

Abstract...... viii

CHAPTER

I. Introduction...... 1

Limitations ...... 3 Definitions...... 5 The Ampelmännchen...... 7 Plato’s World of Forms and Allegory of the Cave ...... 12 Double-Slit Experiment ...... 14

II. Historical and Contemporary Influences ...... 16

Surrealism ...... 18

III. Methodology...... 24

Introduction...... 24 Screen Printing, Color, and Light ...... 24 Diorama...... 28 Installation Compositions ...... 30

IV. Conclusions...... 33

Bibliography ...... 35

Master’s Exhibition...... 38

iv LIST OF FIGURES

MASTER’S EXHIBITION

JOHANNES-GUTENBERG UNIVERSITY, MAINZ, GERMANY

FALL 2017

FIGURE PAGE

1. “Soul: Diorama, Before: Detail 1,” found object, paper, cloth, cardboard, Edison bulb, LED lights, steel wire, string; 9m x 1.5m x 3m; Summer 2017 ...... 39

2. “Soul: Diorama, Before: Detail 2,” found object, paper, cloth, cardboard, Edison bulb, LED lights, steel wire, string; 9m x 1.5m x 3m; Summer 2017 ...... 40

3. “Soul: Diorama, Before (Detail, Vessel III): Detail 1,” found object, cardboard, Edison bulb, steel wire, string; 9m x 1.5m x 3m; Summer 2017 ...... 41

4. “Soul: Diorama, Before (Detail, Vessel III): Detail 2,” found object, cardboard, Edison bulb, steel wire, string; 9m x 1.5m x 3m; Summer 2017 ...... 42

5. “Soul: Diorama, Before (Detail, Vessel III): Detail 3,” found object, cardboard, Edison bulb, steel wire, string; 9m x 1.5m x 3m; Summer 2017 ...... 43

6. “Soul: Diorama, Before (Detail, Vessel III): Detail 4,” found object, cardboard, Edison bulb, steel wire, string; 9m x 1.5m x 3m; Summer 2017 ...... 44

7. “Soul: Diorama, Before (Detail, Vessel III): Detail 5,” found object, cardboard, Edison bulb, steel wire, string; 9m x 1.5m x 3m; Summer 2017 ...... 45

8. “Soul: Diorama, Before (Detail, Vessel II): Detail 1,” found object, paper, cloth, cardboard, LED lights, steel wire, string; 9m x 1.5m x 3m; Summer 2017 ...... 46

v FIGURE PAGE

9. “Soul: Diorama, Before (Detail, Vessel II): Detail 2,” found object, paper, cloth, cardboard, LED lights, steel wire, string; 9m x 1.5m x 3m; Summer 2017 ...... 47

10. “Soul: Diorama, Before (Detail, Vessel II): Detail 3,” found object, paper, cloth, cardboard, LED lights, steel wire, string; 9m x 1.5m x 3m; Summer 2017 ...... 48

11. “Soul: Diorama, Before (Detail, Vessel I): Detail 1,” found object, paper, LED lights, steel wire, string; 9m x 1.5m x 3m; Summer 2017 ...... 49

12. “Soul: Diorama, Before (Detail, Vessel I): Detail 2,” found object, paper, LED lights, steel wire, string; 9m x 1.5m x 3m; Summer 2017 ...... 50

13. “Soul: Diorama, After: Detail 1,” Screen print, light activated ink, scrolls of paper, programmed LED lights, cloth, cardboard, steel wire; 9m x 6m x 3m; Summer 2017 ...... 51

14. “Soul: Diorama, After: Detail 2,” Screen print, light activated ink, scrolls of paper, programmed LED lights, cloth, cardboard, steel wire; 9m x 6m x 3m; Summer 2017 ...... 52

15. “Soul: Diorama, After: Detail 3,” Screen print, light activated ink, scrolls of paper, programmed LED lights, cloth, cardboard, steel wire; 9m x 6m x 3m; Summer 2017 ...... 53

16. “Soul: Diorama, After: Detail 4,” Screen print, light activated ink, scrolls of paper, programmed LED lights, cloth, cardboard, steel wire; 9m x 6m x 3m; Summer 2017 ...... 54

17. “Soul: Diorama, After: Detail 5,” Screen print, light activated ink, scrolls of paper, programmed LED lights, cloth, cardboard, steel wire; 9m x 6m x 3m; Summer 2017 ...... 55

18. “Soul: Diorama, After: Detail 6,” Screen print, light activated ink, scrolls of paper, programmed LED lights, cloth, cardboard, steel wire; 9m x 6m x 3m; Summer 2017 ...... 56

vi FIGURE PAGE

19. “Soul: Diorama, After: Detail 7,” Screen print, light activated ink, scrolls of paper, programmed LED lights, cloth, cardboard, steel wire; 9m x 6m x 3m; Summer 2017 ...... 57

20. “Soul: Diorama, After: Detail 8,” Screen print, light activated ink, scrolls of paper, programmed LED lights, cloth, cardboard, steel wire; 9m x 6m x 3m; Summer 2017 ...... 58

21. “Soul: Diorama, After (Ampelmännchen): Detail 1,” Screen print, light activated ink, scrolls of paper, programmed LED lights, cloth, cardboard, steel wire; 20 cm x 20 cm; Summer 2017 ...... 59

22. “Soul: Diorama, After (Ampelmännchen): Detail 2,” Screen print, light activated ink, scrolls of paper, programmed LED lights, cloth, cardboard, steel wire; 20 cm x 20 cm; Summer 2017 ...... 60

vii ABSTRACT

SOUL: DIORAMA

Master of Fine Arts in Art

California State University, Chico

Fall 2017

Soul: Diorama Exhibition 2017 Johannes-Gutenberg University, Mainz,

Germany, is a sculptural installation made up of idiosyncratic imagery, processes, and

compositions of my art making practice. The work speaks to the idea of the place it was

made and stands as a self-portrait of the artist through the manipulated and appropriated

German iconography, the Ampelmännchen. The written portion of the Masters’ project

explores a cross-discipline investigation and conceptualization of the processes and imagery.

Art is a place where the mystics of philosophy and observation of science may collaborate to

influence the pursuit of research and final compositional decisions in exhibition. Within the

cerebral state, I envisioned the mechanics of particle physics of light and color in the world

around us. Cerebral visions of these underlying physics of the everyday led to the surreal

paradoxical environment that is Soul: Diorama. I hypothesized on how to create illusionary three-dimensional spaces: Soul: Diorama, Before illusionary effects are achieved by restricting the viewers perspective and applying forced perspective practices of painting to three-dimensional small-scale dioramas. Soul: Diorama, After illusionary effects are the

viii result of screen printed images of light activated ink and programmed LED lights that create a primary hologram reaction.

ix CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Soul: Diorama is a sculptural installation that is a product of studying color and

light with the intentions of creating illusionary space within three dimensions. I began the

series as an attempt at building paintings, utilizing the foundations of light and color and applying this to installations. These installations are built utilizing compositional practices of paintings’ forced perspective to create illusionary space and the illumination of two- dimensional surfaces to create a primary hologram. Soul: Diorama is a collection of imagery from my experiences travelling, performing music, and visions from my psyche/soul. I make compositional decisions based on the idiosyncratic imagery I have developed throughout my studies in art and a nod of reference to the artists that have influenced Soul: Diorama.

The series is an expression of a cross-disciplinary investigation involving elements of the art making process and philosophy met with a scientific research of the physics of color and light. My education in art informs my understanding of light and color on a primary functional level of color theory. My interest in how the systems of our reality work from microcosm to macrocosm led to researching the physics and scientific mechanics of light and color. My research helped to inform the composition and the conceptualization of the processes used in this exhibition. Soul: Diorama is the physical results of the synthesized information found throughout my research. This cross-disciplined research affected the outcome of the expression of my visions in Soul: Diorama.

1 The subjects, suitcase, bucket and the Ampelmännchen, exist in their physical

state as well as an iconographical state. The subject exists in a cerebral state upon recognition

of the image or object by the viewer. From a Platonic lens the cerebral state of the subject,

our closes experience to the purest form. This cerebral state exists within our subjective

consciousness and the connotations of a subject is loaded by our experiences or the lack of

experience with a subject. This cerebral state is also where my art originated, through the

conduit of dreams and visions. These visions are an amalgamation of imagery collected

throughout my life. Art and philosophy are disciplines that explore the mysticism of reality

and question the known unknowns.

Soul: Diorama is a site-specific installation built in the film class and exhibition

space in the art academy at Johannes-Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany. Soul: Diorama

is made up of two components with separate methods of creating illusionary space. The first

component encountered, Before, is meticulously built miniature dioramas within found

objects that are hung from a tunnel like structure. The small dioramas are to be viewed

through a peephole or viewing apparatus1 and use forced perspective to create an illusion of

large spaces within a small object. The second component, After, is a large-scale installation

of screen prints, six scrolls each 6-meters long of tear resistant paper illuminated by programmable multicolored LED lights. The ink colors were mixed with the intention of interacting with the colors of the lights. This process lead to the discovery of how to make a primary hologram effect out of ink, paper and LED lights. The subject is a repetition of an

appropriated and manipulated image of a German cultural icon, the Ampelmännchen. I

1. Dictionary.com, s.v. “diorama,” accessed November 7, 2017, http://www.dictionary.com/ browse/diorama. 2 minimally manipulated the Ampelmännchen to create a self-portrait. The Ampelmännchen is presented in a sequence of walking positions. The completion of the cycle of walking along with the hologram effect breathes life to this German icon. The Ampelmännchen floats above the surface of the paper and then sinks into the paper disappearing by way of this primary hologram. My interest in light led to the theory of how to make this hologram function, my studio skills gave me the ability to apply the theory and my experiences and visions gave way to the imagery that my labor would transform from the cerebral state to the physical.

Limitations

As my self-portrait suggests I am a bit of a traveler. I travel for a combination of

work and fun most any place I go. Whether I travel to install artwork, make food at festivals

or play music, I seem to find substance from place I am in. To travel as an artist or musician

opens up many opportunities to interact with people. Travelling and limited space brought on

limitations that formed the parameter of my making process. Moving to Germany the year of

building my exhibition prepared me for the limited resources and space I soon face after

university. This nomadic lifestyle has affected the way I worked on Soul: Diorama. I

intended to intervene with a space and create enveloping large-scale installations. I attempted

to make the series in a manner that could travel easily and compact into a small space. The

fluidity of the studio space, in Mainz, lead one to work in a nomadic manner that paralleled

my lifestyle. Tools and work were to be compartmentalized and prepared to be moved by

others if necessary. Sculpture that is designed to be collapsible was typically efficiently

installed and/or uninstalled.

3 The limitation of the studio space caused me to compartmentalize parts of projects

into separate studio spaces. One studio space was a small second room of my home that

became my drawing and sculpture studio. At home, I would work on my miniature dioramas built inside of found objects. These works are small and required minimal amounts of tools simply a small kit of cutting tools, glues, sewing kit, string, tape. Materials in Mainz,

Germany, are more expensive than in the United States of America. The hardware/Baumarkt stores in Mainz are on the outskirts of town and took nearly two hours round trip on a bus, with the many walks necessary in between. Transporting heavy or long material is nearly impossible using public transit depending on the driver. This limitation dictated the materials

easily accessible. Spools of string or steel wire, and scrolls of paper become an obvious

material choice to be compact yet maintain the ability to envelope a space with material. The

materials determined how the work would be engineered and the final composition. The

utilization of lightweight and strong materials eased the need for a solidified structure. The structure of steel wire and string was treated as three-dimensional lines that also functioned to hold up components of the installation.

At the university, I had shared space to hang large drawings and variations of installations that led up to Soul: Diorama. The screen-printing studio was vital to my success although the times of availability were limited compared to my access in Chico. Printing

each version of the Ampelmännchen could take a two-week wait time to redesign and print

the new version. The images were drawn and then designed in Photoshop and Illustrator

programs, which was a new process for me. The programs at the university were purchased

without the software necessary to change the language of the program so what little prior

4 knowledge of the programs was nearly useless. The key command became my savior in this process along with Robert Meyer the technical assistant for the media lab, who taught me how to use the programs for my applications.

Definitions

Soul/Psyche

Soul: noun \ ˈsōl \ 1: the immaterial essence, animating principle, or actuating cause of an individual life: 2: the spiritual principle embodied in human beings, all rational and spiritual beings, or the universe: a person’s total self :an active or essential: a moving spirit: 3: the moral and emotional nature of human beings: the quality that arouses emotion and sentiment: spiritual or moral force :2

Psyche, noun- 1.Classical Mythology. a personification of the soul, which in the form of a beautiful girl was loved by Eros. 2. the human soul, spirit, or mind. 3. Psychology, Psychoanalysis. the mental or psychological structure of a person, especially as a motive force. 4. Neoplatonism. the second emanation of the One, regarded as a universal consciousness and as the animating principle of the world.3

Paradoxically our psyche houses the cerebral state of existence and only exists within the cerebral state as well as a potential symbol, representation or word. Our study and pursuit of understanding the psyche/soul is a cerebral activity.

Diorama

The origins and etymology of the word diorama and definition: “ ‘through, that which is seen’ from Greek di- ‘through’ (see dia- ) + orama ‘that which is seen, a sight’ ” 4

Diorama /ˌdaɪəˈrɑːmə/ : noun 1. a scene, often in miniature, reproduced in three dimensions by placing objects, figures etc., in front of a painted background. 2. a life

2. Merriam-Webster.com, s.v. “soul,” accessed November 13, 2017, https://www.merriam- webster.com/dictionary/soul.

3. Dictionary.com, s.v. “psyche,” accessed November 7, 2017, http://www.dictionary.com/ browse/psyche.

4. Dictionary.com, s.v. “diorama.”

5 size display representing a scene from nature, a historical event, or the like, using stuffed wildlife, wax figures, real objects, etc., in front of a painted or photographed background. 3. a spectacular picture, partly translucent, for exhibition through an aperture, made more realistic by various illuminating devices. 4. a building or room, often circular, for exhibiting such a scene or picture, especially as a continuous unit along or against the walls.5

This definition is deconstructed and various aspects of the description have been adopted to inform the use of materials and processes for the construction of the series.

Throughout the paper particular care is taken to reference this definition literally and metaphorically.

Together the title, Soul: Diorama suggests the cerebral state of the soul/psyche, is the apparatus in through which we view the world.

Perspective

Soul: Diorama is compiled of in-depth studies of perspective.

/pəˈspɛktɪv/ noun -1.a way of regarding situations, facts, etc, and judging their relative importance: 2. the proper or accurate point of view or the ability to see it; objectivity: 3. the theory or art of suggesting three dimensions on a two-dimensional surface, in order to recreate the appearance and spatial relationships that objects or a scene in recession present to the eye.6

Within this investigation I used perspective as a system of parameters that is defined by a point, from this point an image is seen; the body is the point of perspective in the three-dimensional reality in which we exist. The interdependent relationship of body and mind both shapes the way in which an image is absorbed retinal and contextually; thus, forming one’s physical and theoretical perspective.

5. Dictionary.com, s.v. “diorama.”

6. Collins English Dictionary, 10th ed., s.v. “perspective,” accessed November 14, 2017, http://www.dictionary.com/browse/perspective.

6 The Ampelmännchen

Ampelmännchen is German for the symbol of the man in a traffic signal: Ampel:

traffic light or signal light; Männchen: a man or men of a particular trade or group.7 Giving a name to the man that lives within the traffic light is a declaration of cultural significance.

The word Ampelmännchen helped to shape my understanding of this character.

This name for the man in the signal light does not exist or translate directly in English. The idea of naming the man gives him greater importance and defines his existence as a character within our reality rather than inanimate object. The American crosswalk symbol is robotic, sterile and devoid of this interdependent relationship of a person living within an object.

Without the word Ampelmännchen, we clump the crosswalk device into one object without distinguishing the parts. This is in strong contrast to the idea of the man living or existing within this object. On the streets of America, it was common to say “wait for the light” but in

Germany it was common to “wait for the Ampelmännchen.” This relationship between man and object sparked my curiosity to investigate and add to the mythology of the

Ampelmännchen. This series has appropriated an icon of cultural significance to Germany, the Ampelmännchen; One of few cherished icons reminiscent of East Germany.

The Ampelmännchen provides rich imagery in design and name. Excerpts from an article of 1997 interviews, from ampelmann.de, of creator of modern this designer Karl

Peglau explained the process and intentions in making the Ampelmännchen:

On October 13th, 1961, the traffic psychologist Karl Peglau submitted his suggestions in Berlin for new traffic light symbols, including very specific ones for pedestrians: the

7. “The Development of the East German Ampelmännchen,” AMPELMANN GmbH, accessed June 17, 2017, ampelmann.de, http://www.ampelmann.de/en/a-brand-with-a-history/the-development-of-the- east-german-ampelmaennchen/.

7 little East German traffic light men were born. On the basis of these suggestions Peglau had submitted, he “was commissioned in 1962 by the Chairman of the Permanent Transport Committee of the City Council of Greater Berlin to develop a concept for control and safety in road traffic.” The East German Ampelmännchen are true children of Berlin . . .. As a psychologist, Karl Peglau knew the importance of the emotional effect, and gave his little men a pug nose, a hat and the beginning of a paunch. After all, we are most likely to trust someone we like or even resemble. Sometimes even Karl Peglau himself was amazed by the effect of his Ampelmännchen during the approval procedure. But the fact that the little men did not have to forfeit their perky little hat along the way greatly baffled us. Maybe it was because the DDR representatives also wore a hat, at least to protect themselves from the sun? We have to thank Karl Peglau’s secretary and her talent at drawing for the shape of the hat: “At my request, my artistically gifted secretary Anneliese Wegner added the details to my sketches of the shape and colour.” But above all, the hat and the generally plump figure of the Ampelmännchen served a very good purpose. It was not primarily a matter of their charisma and creating a likeable effect, but that of safety and functionality, because a larger area means more light, and as a consequence, better visibility – and thus greater safety for pedestrians.8

To this day, the Ampelmännchen has had a psychological effect in maintaining safety and growing a new context of nostalgia of the Soviet Occupied Deutsche

Demokratische Republik. The Ampelmännchen has become the symbol of Ostalgia for

German citizens. Ost is the German word for East, particularly East Germany, DDR in this context; a play on the word nostalgia.9 10 This carefully designed figure inspired me to appropriate and contribute to the changing context of the Ampelmännchen. Karl Peglau’s creation is birthed from a meeting place of psychology, philosophy and design; thus, the

Ampelmännchen is an appropriate subject for investigation11.

8. “The Development of the East German Ampelmännchen.”

9. Collinsdictionary.com, s.v. “ost,” accessed November 7, 2017, https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/german-english/ost-.

10. “Ampelmännchen is Still Going Places,” Deutsche Welle, June 16, 2005, accessed June 17, 2017, http://www.dw.com/en/ampelm%C3%A4nnchen-is-still-going-places/a-1618163.

11. “The Development of the East German Ampelmännchen.”

8 The Ampelmännchen is an icon of the East Germany that has been preserved and even moved to the west. In many cases, the icon transformed from the original

Ampelmännchen design but maintained the same concept. This mundane idea and image has been appropriated by many cities forming their own Ampelmännchen to help identify them

from other cities.12 Mainzer Ampelmännchen could be found in the center of town.13 I found

the functionality of customizing the Ampelmännchen to be appealing as a form of self-

portrait; having added a campaign hat/flat hat14, glasses, suitcase and bucket.

Sperrmüll

Sperrmüll, “bulky waste,”15 is the German terminology for a system of trash

collection that allows people to leave their trash or unwanted belongings on the street for a few days before having it collected. Some cities like Mainz have Sperrmüll days while other cities only allow trash to be on the curb for a few hours before private company collects the material immediately. Many of the piles of stuff would have a similar consistency to one another. Often times the pile is heavily reduced from its initial size down to broken or

overabundant objects. Sperrmüll is a resource used by many of the art students as a free

source of material and found objects. Young Mainz people were proud of this aspect of

12. Judith Vonberg, “This Is Why Traffic Lights Are So Much Better in Germany,” CNN, last modified July 20, 2017, accessed July 28, 2017, http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/20/europe/germany-ampelmann- pedestrian-traffic-lights/index.html.

13. Vonberg.

14. Edgar M. Howell, United States Army Headgear 1855-1902, Catalog of United States Army Uniforms in the Collections of the Smithsonian Institution, II (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1975), 52, accessed June 17, 2017, https://repository.si.edu/bitstream/handle/10088/2429/SSHT- 0030_Lo_res.pdf?sequence=2.

15. Collinsdictionary.com, s.v. “sperrmüll,” accessed November 7, 2017, https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/german-english/sperrm%C3%BCll.

9 Sperrmüll; this isn’t necessarily trash it was seen as an opportunity for continued use.

Upcycling in many cases rather than recycling. Nearly anything necessary for an apartment

could be found on the streets, typically in good condition. The streets were clean and tidy

until the days before Sperrmüll is collected, then structures of furniture and appliances would be erected, then picked through and restacked. It became a part of the cityscape at times. As a part of class people would report on where the good piles of Sperrmüll had been spotted: as

students asked others to be on the lookout for specific materials and/or objects. This

Sperrmüll influenced the fluidity of my cerebral image of the city. I noticed that the

Ampelmännchen live amongst this Sperrmüll, within reality, metaphorically and in the

exhibition.

Amongst the Sperrmüll the object that immediately caught my eye the most was

the suitcase. Sometimes piles of crude pyramids of suitcases would form and transform the

sidewalk, some old some new, some leather others metal. Some suitcases are that of travelers

upgrading their gear, others whose travels have ended and are no longer needed and some

come from those seeking refuge in the city of Mainz. My musical background gave me a

special interest in suitcases because certain suitcases make great drums. I am always looking

for a suitcase that is strong, had a nice aesthetic and sound. I pondered the history of the

individual suitcase, of where it had been and who had owned it. The acknowledgment of

history gave the suitcase its own particular story that it is individual from other suitcases.

While personal connotation and history exist, the suitcase is an innate symbol of travel. What

we carried with us shaped our experience on our journey. The contents of one’s suitcase

10 provided the intentions and priorities of an individual. There exists a commonality and unity within each suitcase in its function and even contents.

Another object that had retained my attention was the excess amounts of paint buckets. These German buckets are an oval shaped cylinder rather than the circular cylinder of American bucket I am accustomed to. I kept buckets in the studio for their versatility as a vessel. Each time I had interacted with the bucket it struck me as odd because of my dependence on experience with the American style bucket. The bucket tilted, poured and felt different in the hands. I then realized that my expectations for the form of the bucket comes from a subject perspective. The cerebral bucket in my mind is not typically shaped like this yet I still recognize it as a bucket and as well the symbol that represents a bucket. The symbol of the bucket created a connotative recognition of an American style bucket within my cerebral state. While a German viewer recognition of the bucket symbol potentially brought about a different cerebral bucket.

Cardboard regularly scattered the streets of Mainz and became an object for collection. I would source enough cardboard for each prototype of the arched forms that used in the diorama within the suitcase. I would seek out cardboard that is sturdy and cuts clean.

The idiosyncratic imagery of my past works included cardboard as a material. I adopted this excess material society produced then discarded and made an object of beauty and contemplation, that reflected a sacred space. Through conceptualization of the art making process any material can be canonized by art. I chose cardboard to reference sacred spaces as an act in acceptance of impermanence: Rather than the grand heavy stone arches of antiquity,

I chose the ephemeral cardboard to build pointed arched forms inside of a suitcase. The

11 viewer was allowed to interact and manipulate suitcase. Each possible viewing point was

considered and created an illusionary large space through forced perspective. The restricted

lighting and perspective delayed the recognition of the forms material. The brown cardboard

and yellowed light of the Edison bulb blended to create a golden monochromatic glow and

stark contrasted shadows.

Plato’s World of Forms and Allegory of the Cave

Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave, Book VII, The Republic, a dialogue between

Socrates’ and Glaucon that discussed the levels of perception and how our perception defines

the reality we exist in.16 Allegory of the Cave can be utilized to parallel concepts of Plato’s

World of Forms and the relationship between the cerebral state and the physical state: How a

subject exists in the cerebral state contends with our perception of the physical reality. 17

Within the paradigm of Allegory of the Cave we only perceive the shadows of our existence within our physical reality.18 Our physical limitations of perception created the framework of

how we had come to organize the world around us that we are capable of bearing witness.

Our cerebral state helped to define how we perceived the physical world and our capability to

communicate within it. Our physical state is made up of these shadows of the purest form,

that is the cave.19 One can draw the truths from the World of Forms through questioning,

16. Plato. The Republic of Plato, 2nd ed., trans. Allan Bloom (New York, NY: Basic Books, 1968), Book VII, accessed July 28, 2017, http://www.inp.uw.edu.pl/mdsie/Political_Thought/Plato- Republic.pdf.

17. Ibid.

18. Ibid.

19. Ibid.

12 thought, and visions. Philosophy is conducted within the cerebral state. The cerebral state is

what existed outside of the cave, enveloped by light.

In Allegory of the Cave, Plato examined the activity of naming a subject and the

significance of a collective agreement on what that word represents. Words developed as a

symbol of an idea, in order to communicate and exchange the idea. In an attempt to reason

and classify words developed to maintain the ability to pass on information. As a result of

reasoning a word loses some of the mystical relationship that exists most pure in a cerebral

state. The word is not fully expressive of what a chair is but is a symbol or re-presentation of

a chair. Assignment of titles is an attempt to classify a subject or idea and is necessary in

order to seek recognition or express recognition of a subject or idea; the basis of

communication. The symbol must be agreed upon through collectivism of recognition. Plato

assigned the cerebral chair to be our closes experience to an archetypal chair. This archetypal

chair shared the essential characteristics possessed by anything classified as a chair. The

archetypal chair existed in a separate reality of the physical and even of the cerebral state.

Within the World of Forms, Plato described the archetypal chair existence as prior to our

current physical experiential existence; therefore, we actually recognize the idea or subject from a previous plane of existence.20 I would add that upon our transference of planes, the cerebral chair is slowly degraded from a pure archetypal chair and embedded with subconscious and conscious subjective perspective developed through experience.

20. Plato, Book VII.

13 Double-Slit Experiment

Double-Slit Experiment has been advanced upon over many centuries. Double-

Slit Experiment, sometimes referred to as the Young Experiment, studied how light interacts when given two paths to pass through; later applied to study quantum mechanics.21 Two open slits interfere with the path of light guiding and splitting the single beam in two.22 Within the

double slit test a photon beam is projected with planned interference of the path. Two

microscopic doorways allowed the light to pass through. The middle section between the doorways is there to interfere with the pathway of the electron. The photon’s path is determined by the projection of light observed on the backdrop after passing through the doorways. The intention of the experiment was to observe whether or not light acts as a particle or a wave. The projection of the photon’s path after passing through the doorway determined whether or not light is a particle or a wave. A particle’s projection will be funneled into a straightforward path retaining the shape of the doorway in proportion to the space in-between the doorway and the backdrop much like a spotlight. A wave will enter the doorway and then flare outward as though it were a floodlight losing clarity of the absence of light created by the interference. The experiment provided paradoxical evidence that light possessed characteristics of both particles and waves.23 Rather than light retaining the shape

of the doorway and two slits or creating a band of light, a combination of the both is

21. “Feynman’s Double-Slit Experiment Brought to Life,” New Journal of Physics, March 14, 2013, accessed July 28, 2017, http://www.iop.org/news/13/mar/page_59670.html. “Feynman’s Double-Slit Experiment Brought to Life,” New Journal of Physics, March 14, 2013, accessed July 28, 2017, http://www.iop.org/news/13/mar/page_59670.html.

22. Colin Barras, What is a Ray of Light Made Of?, July 31, 2015, accessed July 27 2017, http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150731-what-is-a-ray-of-light-made-of.

23. Ibid.

14 projected onto the backdrop. Two slits or doorways created four or more projections of light parallel to one another in a band onto the backdrop. Light acted as a combination of wave and particle as the forms of light and shadows multiply from the doorways.24 The illustrative diagrams of the Double Slit Experiment influenced the cerebral state in visions of the streetlights functions on an atomic scale.

24. Barras.

15 CHAPTER II

HISTORICAL AND CONTEMPORARY

INFLUENCES

My studio and theory based research has led to the consideration of Plato’s World

of Form. The cerebral state of visions is synthesized, and distilled into in the physical

expressions of sketches, drawings, songs, sculptures and curated objects that led to the

fruition of Soul: Diorama. Together these components provided an opportunity of expression

that is then edited, refined then expanded upon, in order to reflect the purest experience of the

vision; existing as the final exhibition.

Considering the legacy of Marcel Duchamp and Andy Warhol, even the most

mundane object or image can be sanctified as art through the processes of conceptualization,

reproduction, manipulation and/or transformation.

Plato’s World of Forms is a foundation of the study of the relationship of psyche,

body and the physical world; from thought to expression. Within this theory, Plato argued that the purest form existed within the idea or cerebral state, while the expression, physical or

communicative, is a secondary reproduction of the idea. This theory is particularly relevant

for examination by contemporary artists. The process of making art is, in and of itself, an

investigation into Plato’s philosophy. Artists work in an attempt to express and transform

their vision from the cerebral state into the purest physical form possible. Influence of how

the cerebral state of vision is transformed to physical expression is key to an artist’s process.

This World of Forms presented a dilemma for artists in some ways and opportunity in other

16 ways. Having displayed the physical object and/or the symbol created a reaction in the viewer by way of subconscious and conscious recognition of the symbol or object. This recognition sparked the cerebral existence of the subject. This affirmation of recognition is typically expressed through language, the standard way of communication of ideas. Plato’s philosophy is utilized to discuss the development of words and numbers as a form of representation of objects that exist physically and as an idea; some symbols and words exclusively exist in the cerebral state.1 Depending on the culture or place a word or idea might not exist at all due to the collective or individual perspective. My interactions with

learning the German language has inspired the examination of the importance of words and

what they represent literally, abstractly, and connotatively.

A discussion in the studio about measurement and whether or not I would convert

from feet to meter helped me to understand how words/ideas hold different contexts. I

associated the metric system with science prior to living in Germany. The class was

interested in the measurement of the foot as related to objects and then converted into metric

because they had never knowingly encountered a foot measurement all while I was involved

in the same paradigm with the meter. My understanding of meters had formed through

physical and cerebral recognition after time of interacting with this measurement.

Measurement systems both defined the same space with a similar technique of marking but

with a different symbol or expression used to communicate how the room existed. The room

never changed but the expression and connotations had the potential to change. The

measurement of feet does not necessarily exist without I or another American in the room.

1. Plato, Book VII.

17 This discussion revealed a paradoxical existence of the cerebral state of words and ideas and

the connotations that are defined by perspective. While a room is potentially made up of feet

or meters these do not actually exist until the room had been defined through measurement:

The measurements’ existence is dependent on our cerebral state. This dependence of ideas

existence and the relationship to our physical reality is evidence of the importance of our

cerebral state, psyche as stated by Plato.2

Surrealism

The surrealistic imagery of Soul: Diorama, tips it’s hat to that of Belgian artist,

Rene Magritte. Like Magritte’s “window paintings” such as Interpretations of Dreams

(1935), I established idiosyncratic imagery to be repeated in different compositions. This title

Interpretations of Dreams suggested the work was a nod to Freudian perspective of subconscious association of objects. Freud contributed to the conversation of representation

of words and ideas begun by the World of Forms. Freud adds another layer to the

understanding of forms and the relationship to the psyche, unconscious association.

Magritte’s representation of this layer existed somewhere between science and mysticism.

Within the Interpretations of Dreams (1935), Magritte presented a painted representation of

an object each within its own three- dimensional illusionary painted frame. The object

appeared in front of flat dark background with white writing reminiscent of chalk on a slate

blackboard: A painting of a horse written below “The door.” A painting of a clock written

below “The wind.” A painting of a pitcher written below “The bird.” Most intriguingly to me

2. Plato, Book VII.

18 is the painting of the Suitcase Written below “the Valise”3: I did not know until researched is the French word for suitcase.4 Particularly peculiar considering the other words are unassociated to the representations painted. Valise stands simultaneously associated and unassociated depending on perspective of the viewer.

The imagery does not outright explain the theory but serves a synthesized representation of the artist’s relationship to the Freud’s theory. Magritte is a modern era artist that helped to incept the contemporary art practice of cross-disciplinary philosophical investigations. Magritte offers a parallel investigation through visual metaphor extending a reflection of the understanding of his time’s contemporary concerns, that Freud was also exploring. These window paintings and the famous Treachery of Imagery(1929), identify, participate and push forward the conversation started by Plato’s Word of Forms.

Joseph Kosuth, One and Three Chairs (1965) is a mile marker in discussions of conceptual art.5 Kosuth’s title and subject aligned itself with philosophy of Plato and art practices of Duchamp.6 Duchamp’s choice of mundane objects traded the retinal pleasures of the history of art with that of the mind and idea of conceptual art. The work provokes thought and questioning rather than the reassurance and comfort of retinal art. The title and imagery sparked questions about words and their forms of meaning and representation. The subject of

3. Liena Vayzman, “Magritte: The Mystery of the Ordinary, 1926-1938 at MoMA,” Dailyserving.com, December 17, 2013, accessed July 28, 2017, http://www.dailyserving.com/2013/12/magritte- the-mystery-of-the-ordinary-1926-1938-at-moma/.

4. Collinsdictionary.com, s.v. “valise,” accessed November 7, 2017, https://www.collinsdictionary.com/us/dictionary/french-english/valise.

5. “One and Three Chairs: Joseph Kosuth,” MoMA Learning, accessed July 28, 2017, https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/joseph-kosuth-one-and-three-chairs-1965.

6. Vayzman.

19 representation is a mundane object, chair, that is examined as an archetypal icon for an

object. Kosuth created a situation that presents a visual statement that invoked questioning

and thought. The One in One and Three Chairs (1965) would be the purest form of the chair

or the cerebral chair created by recognition of the subject. Particularly important to my work

was the acknowledgement of the existence of the subject in the cerebral state of the viewer. I

also aligned the exhibition with this historical discussion of art and philosophy by

examination and deconstruction of a subject’s form; as a word, image, object, and the

recognition of these forms within the psyche or soul

Pierre Hughey served as a contemporary artist that pushed the formalist

tendencies of surrealism to conceptualism through cross-disciplinary investigations expressed

in the forms of films, installations, performance, documentation and various other means.

Pierre Hughey is recognized for having created mystical imagery that paradoxically

resonated from a scientific preciseness of examination. There is a magic that happened in

Pierre Hughey’s retrospective, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, that offered an

alternative world of physics and experience to our common reality. While Hughey’s work

was visually pleasing in some regards, there is an unsettling tension that existed in his

surrealistic imagery and installations as well.7 The work created a space and opportunity for

the viewer to compile a story from the context and components of the work. There was a contemplative and challenging nature of the paradoxical imagery of surrealism. Relationships

7. Jessica Hoffmann, “Pierre Huyghe at LACMA: ‘Does an Image Come to Mind? An Emotion?,’ ” SFAQ: International Art and Culture, February 18, 2015, accessed July 27, 2017, http://sfaq.us/2015/02/pierre-huyghe-at-lacma-does-an-image-come-to-mind-an-emotion/.

20 between the viewers and the subjects of the works are manipulated to a point of unfamiliarity.

Soul: Diorama series was particularly influenced by the light and sound installation L’Expedition Scintillante (2002), by Pierre Huyghe. L’Expedition

Scintillante(2002) provided an immersive experience for the viewers by utilizing colored light and water vapor and created an illusionary window that was synced with music. This work walked the edge of retinal art, entertainment and a religious experience. The light show was an iconoclastic play of low and high culture: The light pattern and compositions reminiscent of something between that of a Pink Floyd rock concert, a high dollar theatre production and even the crisply defined light beams of a stained-glass cathedral. The audience becomes the actors of the stage as the faces of contemplation backdrop the work itself. In both L’Expedition Scintillante (2002)and Soul: Diorama the viewer is a part of and bears witness to transformation of the installation. The classical music composition contrasts the subcultural utilization of lights, disassociated L’Expedition Scintillante (2002) from each connotation, and created a meeting place of the familiar and the unfamiliar.

Huyghe and I both investigate a form to the extent that the subject is deconstructed, the components of the image are distilled and then represented through an unfamiliar reconstruction of the source imagery. Each investigation utilized the building blocks of the expression of ideas through the means of forms, light, color and sound. Soul:

Diorama and L’Expedition Scintillante (2002) are somehow reminiscent of cave paintings.

LED lights acted as torches that activated a space of visual information, people, and sound.

21 Pierre Hughey’s character, film subject, social and corporate sculpture, An Lee had influenced the thought and care I have taken to idealize and create my own

Ampelmännchen. An Lee is a subject of an intensive investigation into the life of a fictional character.8 The documentation is a key to the work of Ann lee and the development of our understanding of the character. Hughey created a mythology of An Lee that invites others to contribute to. I believe Karl Peglau also created the Ampelmännchen with the hopes that others would add to the mythology and customize it to contemporary times.

The Eadweard Muybridge photographs of movement sparked a new understanding of how to represent time and movement through space.9 Due to the limitations of the human eye the movements of the physical form are not fully understood until photographically documented by Muybridge. The sequences of still images can create an illusion of movement.10 These photographs are the bases of study of movement for many artists. The Italian Futurists, were perhaps influenced by this series of photographs. Duchamp is documented as having been influenced by Muybridge’s works as seen in Nude Descending a Staircase NO.2. The Muybridge series is an early depiction of film, although not entirely original. The zoetrope of antiquities pre-dates film and utilizes the same characteristics found in the photographs. The series of images were then constructed into Zoetropes.11

8. Hoffmann.

9. “Eadweard Muybridge: Defining Modernities,” Kingston Museum and Heritage Service, and Kingston University, accessed July 28, 2017, http://www.eadweardmuybridge.co.uk/muybridge_image_and_context/zoopraxography/.

10. Ibid.

11. Ibid.

22 Bruce Nauman’s The True Artist Helps the World by Revealing Mystic Truths

(1967) disassociate the connotation of neon lights of advertisement and pushes into a study of the human psyche. In this series of neon lights Nauman adopts an eye-catching use of short

strong statements, bright lights: even the illusion of movement in Five Marching Men

(1985).12 The use of neon lights at one time was a clash of ideals of high art but later came

into style partly due to Nauman.13 The acceptance of LED lights in high art has already

begun and will have a future place in art. The LED lights are an apparatus to study light as a

material. Both Nauman and I have used this light to illustrate movement and ideas.

12. Leah Ollman, “Elusive Signs: Bruce Nauman Works with Light at Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego,” Los Angeles Times, last modified June 10, 2008, accessed November 7, 2017, http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/arts/la-et-nauman10-2008jun10-story.html

13. Ollman.

23 CHAPTER III

METHODOLOGY

Introduction

Soul: Diorama was constructed using a combination techniques and processes

both familiar and unfamiliar to me. The physical processes reflect a progression from my

past work pushing familiar techniques forward into unfamiliar territory. Throughout each

step the process helps to inform the resulting imagery. The processes created limitations and

provided characteristics that helped the installation function physically as well as

conceptually. The process also left the work with artifacts and history of the creation

processes. I prefer to emphasize these markings and characteristics of processes and

materials rather than hide them. Emphasizing these characteristics of the material and process

pushed the connotations and history to the foreground of the work. There is an unabashed

rawness in emphasizing the material as it functions under conditions it is not necessarily designed to exist under. The material responds and reacts to the various conditions instantaneously and records that interaction. These records of interactions through making is what was presented in the exhibition Soul: Diorama. I found that installation as a whole responded to the processes used and feed the imagery within this exhibition.

Screen Printing, Color and Light

Screen printing converted the cerebral existence of an image into a physical state by way of labor. The screen printing process involved many steps that transformed the image. Each step the cerebral image transformed in order to conform to the processes’ 24 limitations. The process metaphorically and physically left traces of history. The cerebral

image of the modified Ampelmännchen was realized by my initial interaction with the

Berliner Ampelmännchen. The image was later drawn and developed in Adobe Illustrator and

Photoshop.

The Ampelmännchen required little modification to become a self-portrait due to the fact of how striking the resemblance is naturally. In designing the Ampelmännchen symbol to resemble myself, the hat form was raised to a rounded point to resemble my campaign hat1 and glasses along with a second arm. The campaign hat came from

appropriated imagery of my past work. The Ampelmännchen hat distinguishes it from the

American crosswalk symbol. This limited modification of design led to instant recognition of

the icon as a satire of the Ampelmännchen. My Ampelmännchen carries a suitcase and bucket

adding to the mythology of the Ampelmännchen. Four sequences of the Ampelmännchen

were carefully designed: Each position of the stride edited in order to find the natural and

nostalgic gate of the original Ampelmännchen.

The use of Illustrator and Photoshop programs to build and compile the image

was a new technique in my work. The image was then printed digitally. The digital prints act

as a positive in the burning process of the screen. The burning process involves coating a silk

screen in a layer of UV sensitive photo emulsion: UV rays cause the photo emulsion to

harden. The digital print is laid over the screen and then exposed to light, the positive covers

sections from exposure. When masked from light the emulsion does not harden and therefore

washes out leaving the negative of the Ampelmännchen. Light is used as a material within

1. Howell, 52.

25 this process creating a chemical reaction. Seeing this exposure process happen, particularly in the style of machine used at Johannes-Gutenberg University, fueled my desire to learn more about the physics of light and the more mundane reactions that help to shape our reality:

Sparking the questioning of "what is happening beneath my perception of reality?" This line of inquiry gave way to discovering publications on the Double-Slit Experiment. The impact of this information and illustrations of the Double-Slit Experiment ultimately affected the composition of Soul: Diorama.

The screen prints of the Ampelmännchen was illuminated by LED colored lights changing the appearance of value and revealing various sequences of a walking

Ampelmännchen. The use of LED light fulfills a characteristic of the definition of diorama and helps to animate the image, thus bringing life to the Ampelmännchen.2 The light does not

simply present the work to the viewer but is the work as well. My research has revealed there

is a subtle reaction that happens when the surface of a material is exposed to light. The

material absorbs all other colors spectrums of light and reflects back the color recognized by

the human eye; therefore, the object actually has the characteristics of being all colors except

the colors being reflected back. This reflection/absorption paradox and the Double Slit

experiment made me aware of the existence of the subterranean workings of particle physics

and inspires aspects of the surrealistic expression of Soul: Diorama. Many surrealistic

activities lie beneath our perception: The physical existence of which continually function

and exist independent of our experience of reality.

2. Dictionary.com, s.v. “diorama.”

26 The programmable LED lights are the leading technology in contemporary light sources. These LED lights offer many opportunities as a material. Upon researching the capabilities of a small hand held Red-Green-Blue LED light I discovered by accident that these LED lights have the potential to move images, based on their colors, from the foreground to the background. This realization sparked the true potential of these LED lights in my series. Through my understanding of color and observing this LED light change an image, I hypothesized how to manipulate this further. When the green surface is exposed to a red light it appeared nearly black and to float slightly above the surface of the paper; this is due to the physical blending of the color of the light and color of the pigment creating a third color, a product of contrast. This basic principle of design informed all further design aspects of the Ampelmännchen.

The Green, Red, Blue and Yellow inks were mixed and used in a specific sequence in order to animate the Ampelmännchen when exposed to the LED. Rather than limiting my color palette of the series to only green and red I choose to use this as an opportunity as departure to study colors. The ink color used to screen-print are mixed to match the color of the LED light on the paper thus disappear under the same color light. The mixing of the ink took much research and trial and error. I worked in a room with fluorescent lighting and apply varying degrees of the base color, white, yellow, and translucent gel, at measured increments. I made testers out the roll of paper I was to print on; making different thickness of the ink in dot patterns, arrow and block forms. I then would then go into darkness and test each batch of colors under the LED light. I would consider the ratios and repeat until the colored forms are unperceivable from the paper under the same color light. I

27 found that there is a threshold for the color to disappear under the same color light while

gaining in contrast and shade under the opposing light colors. I manipulated the colors

further to improve their dual function. In doing so I hypothesized that I could have best

results of disappearing and contrast by designing the Ampelmännchen out of a grid of dots.

The grid of dots allows space for the light color to optically mix in addition to interact

directly with pigment; similar to the sequences of color dots in an old tube model TV and

printing techniques used in newspapers. The grid of dots is unseen from a distance until

closer inspection of the Ampelmännchen form. The texture of the Ampelmännchen changes

the perception of the image based on distance. This grid helped to prevent the over flooding

of ink in the screen providing more control over the quality of the color distribution. There is

still evidence of variation and artifacts from the wear of the screen. These artifacts and

variations gives clues to the process of how it was made and therefore recall the amount of

labor of the artist. There is a unity that exists through color and spacing but each

Ampelmännchen has unique characteristics based on the pressure of the pull.

Screen printing is an efficient way to mass reproduce an image. The repetitive

physicality of screen printing can place one in a meditative state. The meditative state

provides me with the opportunity to instill intention into the work. The characteristics of the

screen determines a level of quality but also offers variations in each print. The pressure of

the squeegee varies how the ink is loaded into the screen and then transferred to the paper.

Diorama

At my home studio, I designed cardboard and cloth sculptures based on the

studies of two dimensional practices of perspective. I transferred sketches into perspective 28 drawings then translated this information into three-dimensions, creating a structure based on proportions that can exist within the found object. The resulting miniature installation creates illusionary space by way of forced perspective and scale. A process of reverse engineering the techniques of forced perspective that revealed how to manipulate the perceived scale by limiting the viewing window. A peephole-viewing window reveals what lies within the object, a three-dimensional miniature installation. The bucket contains a miniature theatrical

stage of red curtains and a blue-threaded needle, magnetically suspended at a dynamic

diagonal with one LED spot lighting the needle as it shakes. The suitcase houses an interior

space of pointed arches based on the architecture of a cathedral, constructed of carefully and

cleanly cut cardboard sewn together lit by an Edison bulb on the outside of the suitcase that

created dramatic beams of light.

Soul: Diorama series is an attempt to build paintings. I understand paintings as the

study of light, color and forms. These installations are built utilizing compositional practices

of paintings, such as forced perspective and illusionary space. Shapes and forms of color

pigment that interact with light. The works exist autonomous proportionally to the human

body, similar to a painting. The manipulation of scale and use of illusionary space in three-

dimensions aligned this series with the history of dioramas. Depending on the context,

dioramas can be considered a form of installation art.

Dioramas are a median between paintings and sculpture. The diorama defines a

scale in which the forms exist proportionally to one another and the environment they live.

This environment functions as a background much like a painting.3 Dioramas are designed to

3. Dictionary.com, s.v. “diorama.” 29 be viewed from a particular point of view. This helped to control the viewer's' visual/physical experience and relationship with an object. This constriction of perspective framed the image and created a viewing window. This viewing window reinforces the alignment of the work with painting and diorama. The forced perspective separates the diorama installation from a model. Each point of view is calculated and then exaggerated. The suitcase diorama visual effect is achieved by two-point perspective applied to three-dimensions. The bucket diorama mixture of one point perspective and is an oval adaption of the Ames’ Room.

Installation Composition

Upon entering the Dom Cathedral in Mainz, Germany I had a moment of realization of the purest form and function of a cathedral; a vessel form to house light. The cathedral is constructed as an intervention on light. The light is constricted so drastically that the light becomes emphasized by contrasting darkness. This light becomes a material that mimics the properties of the shapes and color of the windows. The windows are a stencil that the light passes through. The cathedral is a stage for the material forms of light. The light is fluid and affected by time and weather. This light also interacts with the images and forms within the cathedral. These realizations fueled my investigations into basic principles of light and color. The Ampel or traffic light is a vessel of light with similar principles to a cathedral in the primary objective functions. The light is manipulated by the stenciled window in the form of an Ampelmännchen and shines green. These simple characteristics inspired further investigation into how light functions on a physical level to increase my understanding of how to manipulate light and color from a scientific perspective. Scientific advancement helps us to examine the underlying physics of our reality. As the scientific equipment and research 30 advances so does our ability to observe particle physics that reveals layers of existence

unobserved before.

Scientific documentaries and research papers are a rich source of visual

information; diagram illustrations, animation and other visual and conceptual information

help to visualize and thus create a better understanding of the physics of the world around us.

These illustrations are particularly intriguing when displaying the hidden mechanics of what

lies beyond our perception. I began to research how light functions on an atomic level. I

found out that light is one of the most fleeting subjects in physics, as our ability advances to

observe light we find more unknowns exist. Light acts as a particle and a wave thus existing

as a paradox within past understanding of physical existence. The Double-Slit Experiment is

a particularly influential in the science community's current understanding of light. This test

observed how light moves through two slits and how the slits distinguish the lights’ form

after passing through the slit. This test observed on a subatomic scale the effects of this

stencil to light relationship. The hypothesis of the Double Slit Experiment was that two forms

of light will be observed on a backdrop directly after passing through the stencil. What is

observed is a multiplication of the slit forms in unpredictable amounts and locations.4 The stencil of the Ampelmännchen form is the interference on the light source of the street lamp.

Theoretically the street lamp projected a form of the Ampelmännchen throughout the space around creating a multiplication of bands of Ampelmännchen. The light is exposed to Three-

Dimensional forms of the street and Sperrmüll. The gridded dot acts as a signifier of the particles of that made up the Ampelmännchen. Soul: Diorama, After composition considered

4. Barras.

31 this array of multiplications of the Ampelmännchen and built a lofty paper and cloth form to

catch the theoretical projection of Ampelmännchen. Within Soul: Diorama the white paper

and cloth reflect or become the color of light that is projected upon them. The

Ampelmännchen pigment created a reaction to the light caused the Ampelmännchen to blink

from existence into non-existence. The Ampelmännchen is enveloped in light of the color in which it reflects rather than the ampelm fading into darkness as it does in the street. The

Ampelmännchen becomes one with the light that leaving no trace. In the contrasting light the

Ampelmännchen awakens through the hologram animation and transformation of the

Ampelmännchen; I attempted to create a visual metaphor to breathe life to an abstract

image/icon. The transitioned colored lights were programmed to slow the breath and heart

rate of the viewer. The pace of transformation invited the viewer to stay and enter closer into

the work. The cloth provided a soft transition from the paper to the floor. The scale enveloped the viewer’s peripherals creating a grid like field of Ampelmännchen. The paper is made up of three parts like a triptych. The middle painting raised above head with draped arms opened downward. The envelopment of the peripherals of the illusion was a representation of a cerebral state of my mind’s eye manifested in the physical world.

32 CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSION

Soul: Diorama was a product of the experience of living in Germany. My work is consistently fueled by imagery collected from travel and experiences of place. Cultural experiences seemingly insignificant to some could provide a rich source of research to an artist or philosopher. Through labor and philosophy, I represent imagery synthesized by experiences and examined in thought and art making processes. In my pursuit of making the exhibition I responded to new information found in my research that led to creating a three- dimensional illusionary space. I applied principles of painting to sculpture in order to establish a three-dimensional viewing window. I framed the sculptures through limited lighting, space, and proximity of viewing. Limiting the peripheral information to create a window for viewership. Upon entering the installation one's eyes become the viewing frames that creates a separation of physics of our common reality and the physics of the art installation. Within the art installation objects exist at head height referencing the existence of the cerebral object within the mind. The presentation of the suitcase suspended presented the object presented from an unfamiliar perspective and invited closer inspection. The position and dramatic lighting revealed the suitcase-ness of the suitcase that is presented. The recognition of the suitcase created the existence of the suitcase in the cerebral state that is then loaded with another layer of context of imagery inserted by the miniature diorama within the suitcase.

My research on light and color led to the hypothesis of how to create a hologram by illuminating a two-dimensional surface and using an ink that would optically blend with 33 the light.1 The exhibition is evidence of the success in the function of the hologram. The application of the hologram was a fruition of imagery that existed within a cerebral state prior to its expression in the physical form. I was influenced in this moment through awareness and presence. Being present came about through awareness of where one is from, where one is, where one is going. Past, present and future make up the state of one's perspective. Space and time defines this state of awareness and our perspective as fluid. Our relationship with time and space can be examined by way of the walking stride of a human.

As we move through space and time we have one foot in the past, one foot in the future and the head exists in the narrow space in between and even above the past, or future. The material light that is makes up the Ampelmännchen serves as a visual metaphor for these states of presence and time.

While the work does not exist physically in the same place the interactions with the works and the place now exist within the cerebral state once again within the viewer from their own perspective. The work successfully contributed to the mythology of the

Ampelmännchen started by Karl Peglau. I hope to not only have appropriated the symbol but also the viewers’ future connotative association of the Ampelmännchen: The cerebral existence created through recognition of the Ampelmännchen will also manifest the cerebral existence of Soul: Diorama. The appropriation of icons created new association or connotation. My continued appropriation of the Ampelmännchen in America helps to pass on the mythology to those unaware of this positive German icon.

1. Dictionary.com, s.v. “diorama.”

BIBLIOGRAPHY

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Barras, Colin. What is a Ray of Light Made Of? July 31, 2015. Accessed July 27 2017. http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150731-what-is-a-ray-of-light-made-of.

Deutsche Welle. “Ampelmännchen is Still Going Places.” June 16, 2005. Accessed June 17, 2017. http://www.dw.com/en/ampelm%C3%A4nnchen-is-still-going- places/a-1618163.

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MoMA Learning. “One and Three Chairs: Joseph Kosuth.” Accessed July 28, 2017. https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/joseph-kosuth-one-and-three- chairs-1965.

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MASTER’S EXHIBITION

JOHANNES-GUTENBERG UNIVERSITY, MAINZ, GERMANY

SUMMER 2017

FIGURE 1. “Soul: Diorama, Before: Detail 1”

FIGURE 2. “Soul: Diorama, Before: Detail 2”

FIGURE 3. “Soul: Diorama, Before (Detail, Vessel III): Detail 1”

FIGURE 4. “Soul: Diorama, Before (Detail, Vessel III): Detail 2”

FIGURE 5. “Soul: Diorama, Before (Detail, Vessel III): Detail 3”

FIGURE 6. “Soul: Diorama, Before (Detail, Vessel III): Detail 4”

FIGURE 7. “Soul: Diorama, Before (Detail, Vessel III): Detail 5”

FIGURE 8. “Soul: Diorama, Before (Detail, Vessel II): Detail 1”

FIGURE 9. “Soul: Diorama, Before (Detail, Vessel II): Detail 2”

FIGURE 10. “Soul: Diorama, Before (Detail, Vessel II): Detail 3”

FIGURE 11. “Soul: Diorama, Before (Detail, Vessel I): Detail 1”

FIGURE 12. “Soul: Diorama, Before (Detail, Vessel I): Detail 2”

FIGURE 13. “Soul: Diorama, After: Detail 1”

FIGURE 14. “Soul: Diorama, After: Detail 2”

FIGURE 15. “Soul: Diorama, After: Detail 3”

FIGURE 16. “Soul: Diorama, After: Detail 4”

FIGURE 17. “Soul: Diorama, After: Detail 5”

FIGURE 18. “Soul: Diorama, After: Detail 6”

FIGURE 19. “Soul: Diorama, After: Detail 7”

FIGURE 20. “Soul: Diorama, After: Detail 8”

FIGURE 21. “Soul: Diorama, After (Ampelmännchen): Detail 1”

FIGURE 22. “Soul: Diorama, After (Ampelmännchen): Detail 2”