Sarah Yang

Major Project 1: Creative Synthesis Memo

2/6/2020

blank pages, a mixed media sculpture, is my submission for the Creative Synthesis

project. It includes a clay figure of a blank face with mirrors inside of the eyes. The clay rests

inside of a book with painted, colored pages. As the color moves closer to the face, it seeps into a

white color so that the clay face is entirely painted white. The two texts that I chose were

“Return of the Author” by Kristina Busse and “Theory of Resonance” by Wai Chee Dimock.

Dimock’s analysis on how the context of time, the author, and the audience all impact how

works are discussed and interpreted inspired me to delve deeper into experimenting with the

context and experiences surrounding both the author and consumer. I also pulled the

conversation about the importance of the author and their experiences and background in the

interpretation of media from “Return of the Author”.

I chose to make a mixed media sculpture because I felt that it was the best genre to

portray my idea in. Primarily, I wanted to make something that the viewer could touch and

interact with. The thought of physically working the clay spoke to me and I enjoyed the fact that

the viewer and I would have a physical connection through the clay and the book when they

touched the piece. I chose to have the sculpture in a book because I wanted my art to resemble an

interaction that actually happens between a consumer, the media, and the creator. Another reason

why I chose to create a sculpture is because I wanted to experiment more with clay. It is not a

medium that I am used to working with and I wanted to see what I could sculpt, pushing myself

to incorporate other materials such as glass and paper. Ultimately, I created a sculpture because

of my love for art and I wanted to produce a work that I was proud of.
 My main goal with blank pages was portraying the dialogue that happens every time

media is observed between the creator and the consumer. The creator involves themselves, their

background, and the context surrounding them every time they produce their product, whether

intentional or not. This is exhibited in my work through the vibrant color and words written on

the pages of the book. The color symbolizes me, the author of the piece, and my style and

context. The color fades into white as it gets closer to the clay because the work is a blank slate,

open to the consumer’s interpretation. The mirrors in the eye of the face show that ultimately, it

is up for the viewer to understand the media from their own perspective. Furthermore, when the

consumer is looking into the eyes of the clay, they see their own eyes reflected back. This

symbolizes how with every piece of media they see, they are subject to their own personal

history and background, which influences and shapes how they interpret the work.

The modes that I used in the project were visual, gestural, spatial, and linguistic. I used

the visual mode in that I created a sculpture, taking into consideration composition, layout, and

color. By placing the face in the direct center of the book, I make it the centerpiece and channel

the viewer’s gaze right into the eyes of the figure. I wanted to make a visually impactful piece,

and the contrast of the bright colors to a stark white further emphasize the dichotomy of the

author and the consumer. Furthermore, I used color to contribute to the feeling of dimension by

placing darker/cooler colors underneath the figure and highlighting taller points with bright

colors such as white and yellow. The expression of the figure lends itself to the gestural mode. I

chose to have a blank expression in order to relate to the fact that the media or work itself

doesn’t have any premade opinion about itself or force anything onto the consumer. By creating

this work in three dimensions, I use the spatial mode by balancing the composition in space. The

clay is purposefully mostly contained within the confines of the book in order to show that it is
an interaction caused by and inside of the book. Finally, I incorporated the linguistic mode by

writing quotes onto the pages of the book. The quotes were from the texts that inspired me to

make the piece and that I felt elevated the sculpture by providing more context. I also chose to

hand-write the quotes because I wanted to show that it was context from the author and cement

the connection on my end. The title of the texts can be found on the tops of the respective pages.

The book, the mirrors, and the words on the pages were the found objects that I chose to

incorporate into the piece. Originally, the book The Hidden World of Fairies was about the life

of Tinkerbell and her fairy friends, and I read it in my childhood. I picked it up on one of my

trips to my house and I thought it would be the perfect size to house my structure in. I included

of the mirrors because when I was formulating my idea for this project, I glanced at a mirror and

then thought of how it could illustrate the fact that consumers are ultimately subjected to their

own perspective in the end. I came across the quotes when I was reading the texts for the class,

and I included them because they combine commentary on art, the author, and the consumer and

the relationship they all have with time. The left page is dedicated to “Theory of Resonance” and

the right page is for “Return of the Author”. Below, I list the works and the quotes I pulled from

each text.

My intended audience is the spectators that frequent the Henry Art Gallery, which more

specifically means spectators around ages 18-28. I picked this audience because I felt that they

would be more open and interested in the concepts surrounding the piece. The meaning behind

the piece is also not easily seen without some commentary, and this audience would be more

likely to read and understand the goals behind the piece.

The peer feedback I received was centered on wanting a more established explanation of

my claim, genre, and how it connected to my artwork. One of my peers recommended that I
solidify the ideas in my claim and establish the relationship between the author and the audience.

I tried to incorporate this feedback by reworking some of my ideas and really deciding what

concepts I wanted to pursue. I simplified my idea a bit by taking out the creator material and

narrowing my claim. My other peer feedback consisted mostly of suggesting that I do not “scrap

my work a bunch of times” and for me to be patient with myself.

 References

Busse, Kristina. Framing Fan Fiction: Literary and Social Practices in Fan Fiction Communities.

University of Iowa Press, 2017.

Dimock, Wai Chee. “A Theory of Resonance.” PMLA, Vol. 112, No. 5 (Oct., 1997), pp.

1060-1071, https://www.jstor.org/stable/463483. Accessed: 22-09-2018 00:47 UTC

Quotes Used in blank pages

From “Theory of Resonance”:

- “...The behavior of words across time...” (1060)

- “...Reading is topical, circumstantial, the effect of an ephemeral existence, and bound to

appear obtuse to future readers… Bring to the same words a different web of meaning.”

(1061)

- “...For every language resembles an echo chamber...” (1062)

From “Return of the Author”:

- “...Reconceptualized the role of the creator of a work of art...” (21)

- “...That creates texts that are authorless in the way they continually resituate and redefine

themselves...” (24)

- “...The way readers filter texts through their concepts of the author.” (30)

- “ ...Balance between difference and repetition, between referencing and drawing from

existing works and creating and imagining things anew.” (38)