True Meaning
A Senior Project exhibition by Madeline Miller
Understanding the complexities of the human mind has challenged many people throughout history. Individuals such as Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung have contributed two major keys that have helped unlock answers to questions regarding why humans think the way we do. The keys provided were defining the subconscious mind and identifying stream of consciousness. The subconscious is the portion of our minds that we are not able to recognize but has a major role in our decision making and emotions. Stream of consciousness is the term for an individual’s thought process and conscious reactions to events. These thoughts and reactions are described as a continuous flow. The three scenes that I created were influenced by surreal juxtaposition because it is known to help people tap into their subconscious mind.
Throughout my artistic journey I have often wondered why I create a piece first and assign it meaning post creation. When I create, the order starts with an image in my mind. The image constantly changes and grows until its completion. The idea does not have any conscious meaning to me as I bring it to life. My additions are based from the joy or lack of it that I feel when looking at the piece and I know that it is done when I start to smile. I am then left with a complete piece that lacks a title or known meaning. Later, I feel obligated to assign the piece a false meaning. I created my scenes with the same process but this time I did not assign them meanings that were untrue. I discovered that meaning hid behind what I thought were random ideas such as body type, color, and gender. True meaning was alive in my subconscious and was finally brought to the surface in my conscious mind.d.
The materials used to create the scenes were newspaper, Elmer’s art paste, masking tape, paper clay, acrylic paint, gesso, wood panel, and wood glue. The creatures and letters were first built up with balls of crumpled newspapers and masking tape. Thin strips of newspaper were then wrapped and pasted around the balls with Elmer’s art paste. They were then set out to dry. Once fully dried they were covered in the first layer of paper clay. The first layer of clay was then set out to dry for one day and additional layers were added for full detail. The sculptures were then set out for three days to dry fully. A layer of white gesso was later applied to them as a base for painting. Acrylic paint was then mixed with gesso and applied for the color. The panels were painted and glued together to form a living space for the creatures and letters. The sculptures were placed appropriately in the living spaces and a bright light was pointed at them to create harsh cast shadows.
