ARTWORK(sculpture) Threads, Church Community

This artwork was apart of the 'Reflection' exhibition held at C3 Kingscliff. 

Below: Images from the exhibition

 Below: Images from the C3 Kingscliff   'Lets Picnic'  event

The box which participants chose threads from 

Photo from the 'lets picnic' event

flyer for 'lets picnic',  which is a free bbq/food for the c3 kingscliff chuch since early 2014  

Church Community

baby clothes and threads

To have those around us to remind us that we are not alone, give us the chance to learn and grow, to love, trust and help in our times of need. Like a single thread when we stand alone we are vulnerable, but through fellowship we are strong.

As an interactive work , participants who attended the monthly C3 church bbq selected the materials used in its creation.

The following is what was presented to participants in the creation of the artwork:

“Tristan invites you to participate in the creation of an artwork about our church.

What to do:

1. Choose a “thread” or donate one

2. Place your thread in the box

Project outline

Project IV

Threads

'….even the marks of the typewriter, so different from the smoth, bland product of my word processor – they seem so ...old fashioned.

I think about the significance of these marks , of the pen and the typewriter, of the official and the personal. None seem quite righto to be carrying the weight of these stories. They do not sit upon the surface of our lives, are not written upon uus as much as they are embedded in us, part of the grain of us, so to speak. Oral histories so often bypass the written word;

They are snug, recited,drawn in dust upon the ground, passed into social currency through the agency of thread.'

Anne Brennan (artist)

Craft and Contemporary theory, Edited by Sue Rowley, Allen and unwin 1997

Using the theme of 'threads' you are asked to make an interactive sculptural work. You will need to link this conceptually to the overarching body of work so

What are threads?

How might you work with that idea?

Are they real, physical threads, or metaphoric?

How can you make the sculpture interactive?

Who are the other participants?

What is their role ?

Use mudmapping and brainstorming to work through some of your ideas in your visual diary. There are many different ways to approach this kind of work

Materials; will be appropriate and specific to you individual concept

Scale; you will need to consider how you want to install this work and how it might be realised on completion. To a great degree, the scale will be relative to this work.

Installation ; Try to work it flexibly so that you have a number of potential installation stragegies that may fit the space you have to give it in the end.

Technique ; 'interactive' work invites input from a number of other people . As the artist, it is your job to carry the vision and the concept so you can use their contributions to bring together to make a whole work. You will need to think about the target group and develop a way to engage them with your idea so that they will bother to invest time and energy.

Although this unit will not be assessed until the end of semester II on a date yet to be determined, the suggested timeframe for completion of this project is 6 weeks. However , your individual timeframe will be governed by you own exhibition schedule, so discuss options with your teacher

my concept

What is the artwork about ?

Through sculpture, Tristan intends to represent C3 Kingscliff church. He will bind each of the threads that you choose or donate around the threads of Steve and Kristy. This is to reflect our church and how we are all coming together to build on the foundations that Steve and Kristy have laid.

Ask Tristan or Marija if you wish to donate thread. Threads can be cotton, wool, string, dental floss, fishing line etc.

What is the artwork for ?

The artwork will be on display at Tristan Griffin’s Advanced diploma Solo Exhibition towards the end of 2014, date to be confirmed”

The Body of Christ, like all bodies, is comprised of many parts. There are limbs, organs, and various members that, when left alone, are useless, but when assembled make up the entire body. 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 describe it like this: "The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body - whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free - and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many." This means each Christian is an equal part of the body of Christ!

1 Corinthians 12:27-28 also says, "Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues." Every Christian possesses a gift and is called to use it in service within the body to build up the body of Christ, to strengthen the body and to carry out its purpose within the world. Each member of the body of Christ is also called to serve the church through his or her natural gifts and abilities. This service is offered out of devotion to Christ for the sacrifice He made on the cross, providing them with eternal life in heaven. The diversity of gifts, each supporting the other, makes the body strong!

Through sculpture Tristan intends to represent C3 kingscliff's church family , building on the foundations of the Senior pastors , steve and kristy. Tristan is looking for donations of clothing/threads which he will use to create a sculpture that reflects our church family. Bring as much or as little as you like , any and all contributions are welcome

http://www.allaboutgod.com/body-of-christ.htm

"Heavenly Father, Thank you for making me part of Your body. It is my desire to be an active part of Your church by serving, promoting unity, and sharing my faith with others. Give me opportunities to accomplish these things for Your glory! Use me LORD. In Jesus' name I pray, amen." -the churches members come together to form the body of christ , each member has a different function wether it be services , ministering , music etc . through a sculpture the intention is to explore this relationship using 'threads' .

Method of exploration

the foundation (armeture) of the form ontop of 'threads' donated by the senior pastors of C3 kingscliff

additional layers will be build up by layers of donations or chosen articles of clothing by the members of the church ( in a sense the contribution will reflect the contribution of the church members )

The phrase “the Body of Christ” is a common New Testament metaphor for the Church (all those who are truly saved). The Church is called “one body in Christ” inRomans 12:5, “one body” in1 Corinthians 10:17, “the body of Christ” in1 Corinthians 12:27andEphesians 4:12, and “the body” inHebrews 13:3. The Church is clearly equated with “the body” of Christ inEphesians 5:23andColossians 1:24.

When Christ entered our world, He took on a physical body “prepared” for Him (Hebrews 10:5;Philippians 2:7). Through His physical body, Jesus demonstrated the love of God clearly, tangibly, and boldly—especially through His sacrificial death on the cross (Romans 5:8). After His bodily ascension, Christ continues His work in the world through those He has redeemed—the Church now demonstrates the love of God clearly, tangibly, and boldly. In this way, the Church functions as “the Body of Christ.”

The Church may be called the Body of Christ because of these facts:

1) Members of the Body of Christ are joined to Christ in salvation (Ephesians 4:15-16).

2) Members of the Body of Christ follow Christ as their Head (Ephesians 1:22-23).

3) Members of the Body of Christ are the physical representation of Christ in this world. The Church is the organism through which Christ manifests His life to the world today.

4) Members of the Body of Christ are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of Christ (Romans 8:9).

5) Members of the Body of Christ possess a diversity of gifts suited to particular functions (1 Corinthians 12:4-31). “The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ” (verse 12).

6) Members of the Body of Christ share a common bond with all other Christians, regardless of background, race, or ministry. “There should be no division in the body, but . . . its parts should have equal concern for each other” (1 Corinthians 12:25).

7) Members of the Body of Christ are secure in their salvation (John 10:28-30). For a Christian to lose his salvation, God would have to perform an “amputation” on the Body of Christ!

8) Members of the Body of Christ partake of Christ’s death and resurrection (Colossians 2:12).

9) Members of the Body of Christ share Christ’s inheritance (Romans 8:17).

10) Members of the Body of Christ receive the gift of Christ’s righteousness (Romans 5:17).

my execution

material/media: baby clothes and threads

techniques: binding, constructive sculpture

scale: ¼ life size representation of christ on the cross

installation: free standing, figure mounted to cross

1. What research did you engage with ? Artist contemporary or traditional

what did I look at when brainstorming

what were threads, literal, metaphical etc what the definition of interactivity is and how it can be applied. Ie participation during the creation of the work, participation in the materials, interact when the work is completed, the participant being the artwork, the participant assisting in the concept creation of the artwork.

research into:

• how threads have been used in churches previously, both conceptually and aesthetically ( to avoid repeating)
• ways of representing the church and christ
• techniques for use of threads, binding
• dimensions and meanings behind the use of the cross

image :

• body of christ and church representation
• human figure ,baby representation the later was the original form of the sculpture

artist:

• Lindy Ivemay – her stiched artworks and stylised representation of the human figure, fingers and faces in particular.
• Aborigial artists (bound human figures) on display at GOMA
• David Mach – his work Die harder for its binding techniques even tho he had used wire

3. Discuss the planning of your project , including experimentation , technique selection, overcoming technical problems and determining limitations and constraints ( Refer to your journal)

Due to the interactive nature of this project planning of it was very different from previous projects. Once I had decided to use threads literally and allow participants to select the materials that would go into the creation of the artwork I had to host the event. This was to be at the monthly BBQ.

Event:

• purchase a wide varierty of threads from Noys nic nacs, kingscliff and dollar tree, tweed heads
• make a box for the threads to go into
• make a visual queue (small thread cross in red and yellow)
• make a flyer for people to read so that they knew how to interact with the artwork
• contact venue, senior pastor Steve Godfrey to allow the even to take place at church and be announced on the day
• prepare for bbq, table dedicated to the artwork

experimentation and technique selection , why ?

Marquette:

• face cast of doll using plaster
• wire armature of ½ scale newborn baby figure
• build up form using baby clothes
• binding of various threads to strengthen the form

Christ figure(final form):

• projected image of myself to use as template onto paper
• wire armature
• baby clothes to build up form
• binding of the threads chosen by participants around the form to give it strength

Cross:

• cut timber to appropriate lengths
• use router to cut channels into both pieces of timber so that they are flush
• create a timber base that the cross can be mounted into
• glue/nail cross and base together and allow to dry
• paint both in white

joining of cross and form:

• base and cross slide together
• the figure is nailed to the cross

technical problems, limitations and constraints

I had intended on making the form quite realistic either by mold casting or through stiching, after making the marquette and realising the time required to do this and the lack of time I had available I chose not to go with this aesthetic.

4. What aesthetic decisions did you make? Eg working with particular equipment to achieve particular effects, establishing a key , determining a palette and deciding upon a format and a scale

Scale:

The scale of the form was chosen due to the volume of materials provided by participants, which is reflective of the group.

Form:

originally I had considered using the form of a baby, the church is in its early stages, with new senior pastors who are growing the church, and many of the established members have moved on and it has a very young culture. I chose not to use this form tho as it would detract from the concept shifting the focus from the strength of unity to making a perceived judgement about the current state of the church.

display:

after playing with positioning of a sculpture with the money angel in 2013 I was aware that scale and display height greatly changes the dialogue of an artwork. As a result of this prior experience I chose to display the sculpture quite high , so the viewer would be looking up at it. To alude to something bigger than themselves, even tho the physical form was much smaller than the viewer.

6. How could you further develop your techniques in relation to you professional practice ? How might you build upon your ideas towards future work ?

I am unsure as to the future use of christian iconography in my future works. The cross and christ carry a great deal of history , both good and bad. This effects the viewers viseral response to the work before they even consider what it is about. This could work both positively or negatively.