WP3: Pre-Writing 4

When looking at SANDY, I have greatly taken into account the year that the sculpture was created because of the historical context. SANDY was created in 1967 which was a tumultuous time in American history with the civil rights movement going strong. I thought of this fact as soon as I saw that date and took note that SANDY is very obviously a woman. Historians attribute the beginning of the women's movement with the women's rights convention in July of 1948 at Seneca Falls (Timeline of Events). However, most people think of the 1960s and 1970s in the United States when they think about women's rights. In 1967, it had been a year since Betty Friedan founded the National Organization for Women and women had seen some victories such as the Civil Rights Act and other laws that banned discrimination based on race, sex, and gender. Betty Friedan's book The Feminine Mystique in 1963 opened most of the country's eyes to the narrow role that they had put women in and how women felt about this. Even with laws and national awareness of the subject, women would continue to fight through the seventies for their rights to be who they wanted to be, not trapped in what society wanted them to be(Women's History in America). This historical context is extremely pertinent to the creation of SANDY.

The sculptor's own work provides some context to work with when thinking about SANDY. Miller mostly worked with nude models to create wax and clay sculptures that he later cast into bronze. After working with abstract concepts he delved into the world of the art of human form and thus came the nude work. He also thought of the human body as geometric forms put together and incorporated this into his work, which we can see he expanded upon this outside of the human body with the boxes around SANDY and with the positioning of her legs. This will also be an important concept to think about when I develop my statement of purpose and writing project.

Works Cited:

"Richard Miller - Artist, Art - Richard McDermott Miller." AskART - Art Prices, Painting Value, Art Appraisal, Art Values, Auction Prices. Web. 18 Apr. 2010. .

"WIC - Women's History in America." Welcome to WIC - Breaking News and Opinion, Womem. Web. 18 Apr. 2010. .

"Women's Rights Movement in the U.S.: Timeline of Events (1848-1920) — Infoplease.com." Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free Online Reference, Research & Homework Help. — Infoplease.com. Web. 18 Apr. 2010. .

WP3: Pre-Writing 3

After further observing SANDY, I have thought more about the material that she is made of and what that does in this particular form of communication. She is made of bronze which until now I did not understand the long process that it takes to use bronze as a material. From my understanding, the artist must first create a mold and use wax and other materials to form the details that they wish to incorporate and then use molten bronze alloy material over the mold. This is interesting when looking at SANDY because she is not incredibly, intricately detailed but this only makes the details in her face, body, and legs stand out. For example, her eyes and her mouth to me are the most important features of her face that communicate her demeanor. Also, the features in her arms and legs stand out because they are what give her the appearance of being strong.

The material of bronze is one that can be affected by weather and can be altered in its creation stage to look as if it has already been affected by weather. This alteration is a film of color change that is called a patina. Overall, SANDY seems to be a consistent color overall, and I am not knowledgeable enough in this material to say how much she has been affected by weathering because I do not know what she originally looked like. However, I did notice some swathes and patches of greener color in places that it would be beneficial for me to inspect further.

Bronze as a material has allowed the artist to create a sculpture that speaks the most through the physical positions of the different parts of the sculpture and allows this to be the focus. The details that stand out are those that the artist deemed most important to and I think the material made this possible.

WP3: Pre-Writing 2

The sculpture I have chosen is SANDY: in Defined Space by Richard McDermott Miller of the year 1967. This sculpture captured my attention because of the way the sculpture functions from many different perspectives of the viewer. This is provided by the fact that the woman is captured within a cube that is formed by the frames that directly surround her and also seem to surround her, depending on the perspective of the viewer.

Logos is employed through this alternative perspectives because it seems to me that there are also different visual hierarchies for each perspective. Looking at the sculpture from directly in the front is interesting because of the way the two box frames work together. The one closer to the viewer appears larger and then encapsulated in that is the second frame, which itself encapsulates SANDY. This puts the focus directly on her and on the state that she is in. This seems to emphasize the trapped feeling of the sculpture.

When looking at her head on, as if I am making eye contact with her, I found that the detail that is provided in her facial expression and demeanor is somewhat lost when looking from further away. Her eyes are almost closed and her other body language makes it seem like it's from exhaustion. Her mouth is set in a way that could be interpreted as either in defiance or in defeat. Her shoulders are slumped and her body is caving in on itself because of the fact that she is trapped in a box. This arrangement speaks to the title of the piece of Defined Space. The arrangement of her legs seems to be set in a way that she is either trying to fight back or just in a position that would be the most comfortable in dealing with the fact that she is trapped.

I feel that the ambiguity in how you can interpret her body language is an appeal to pathos because of what I believe the sculpture is about. The first thing I thought of was the struggle of women against society because the fact that SANDY is a woman is obviously defined and detailed. I think Miller made this clear because of this. Thus, the ambiguity of her body language interpretation is almost an analogy for the different reactions of women to the oppression that society has imposed on them. Some women fight back and want to get out of the box. Some women give up the fight and are in a state of defeat.

I also find it curious that her hands and feet seem to be large in proportion to the rest of her body. They are what seem powerful about her in addition to her legs and arms that also seem strong. However she cannot show her strength because of the fact that she is trapped, and her legs, as previously mentioned, are a source of interpretation of what she is doing because of their position. I look forward to further examining SANDY so that I can further establish how I myself interpret her position and body language in relation to her situation of being trapped.