Ambitious in-depth project (Wearable Sculpture)

Video Documentation

Process Photos/ Documentation

I began the process of creating my "Wearable Garden" with a cheap Marshall's backpack, I looked for one bag that would have plenty of space on in interior and would be able to be worn reversed on the front of the model's torso. I chose one that had a cylindrical form and a round zipper opening on the top end. I then proceeded to spraypaint the bag in green and attach four wooden stakes I bought at home depot with the spraypaint to imply a garden fence. I then hotglued artificial moss on the bag's panels that were inbetween the wooden stakes. I also took advantage of a zipper enclosure that the bag came with in the front, which I sealed off with a spare black t-shirt to create a pocket-like space. I then filled this pocket with artificial flowers positioned in a manner that portrayed a protruding form escaping from the bag's center.

I then placed a bucket which was supported by a bowl I set in from the bottom of the bag, which would serve as my literal garden for the sculpture. I also garnished the sculpture with more artificial leaves wrapped around the entire structure and tied at two ends which met at the backpack's straps. I then filled the bucket with soil and planted a small variety of 3 plants inside the bucket. This garden will sit on different height levels based on the wearers shoulder height but it should primarily be directly parallel to the wearer's face or lower jaw.

Summary & Reflection

My general basis for my wearable sculpture was to force the wearer of the sculpture to be in the role of a garden and have the attractive plant life that makes gardens so distinguishable be a part of themselves. I originally wanted to push the idea of a garden being a stagnate structure that does not move, but then after brainstorming with Don Lambert I realized the potential of exploring the idea of a garden being mobile and found in variously unexpected environments. I wanted to play with the idea of physical restrictions that the wearable would constitute when someone puts it on, such as attaching sleeves to the two bag handles that are found on either end of the front-facing zipper. You can see in the documentation video that I am grasping the handles as a means of limiting the freedom of my arms. Another restriction the wearable grants is the weight that all the soil from the garden applies to the wearer's torso. It is not an overwhelming amount of additional weight, however it is enough to cause a slight shift in movement that provides a lack of ease alongside the spacial awareness the wearer must have when having the sculpture on their persons.

Personally I believe I took away a much stronger conceptual understanding of how wearable sculptures can provide us with a better understanding of how slight shifts in our movement mannerisms can carry a message. The wearable was also very enjoyable to construct, as I had much freedom to explore different forms of garden imagery and could have taken the wearable in many different directions. I also got a better comprehension of how important the intention of the work is, as my original intention for the wearable would have resulted in a completely different looking end result. I believe the challenge of creating a wearable was my biggest motivation, as it was an art form I had never delved into seriously. Although after this assignment I will most definitely continue to create wearable sculptures or just put my art into a wearable form, as the piece both inspired me to further explore the medium but also shone light on what sculptural capabilities I had while making the piece.