Frozen Meat

My brother and I had a good discussion about "Frenemies" the other night. A frenemy is a person who doesn't care about you enough to be your enemy, and yet doesn't think you're valuable enough to be your friend. Avoid frenemies at all costs. They are more detrimental to your health than any enemy could be. They are traitors and they are false.

Among other things, this piece has to do with that "glass box" that certain people place you in. As a student and an athlete on the mend, I faced many mental and physical challenges this quarter. But, through much struggle and determination I broke from the ice. This piece is a personal metaphor for my own struggle in the face of enslaving "frenemies."

From this milled REN form I took a brush-on 40 mold and cast in plaster. I painted the piece red as symbolic for my own vitality and froze many layers of ice onto its surface. I presented this piece in full ice, allowing it to melt away during critique.

update 11,17.09. glass sculpture after it has completed slumping in the kiln

Glass Box

Have you ever felt limited by a title, your race, or your origins? Have you been in a situation where, because you are known for this, you cannot be capable of that? You feel trapped, constrained, unappreciated.

I am attempting to capture that constricting feeling you get when someone places you in that invisible box. The human person is a powerful creature, capable of growth and full of life. And when someone places infinite capabilities into a finite "box," there is going to be an insurrection in some form or another.