Sunday, January 1, 2012

Judaica Contest Entry

This past semester I took part in the 2nd Annual Judaica Contest here at Ringling.  Much to my surprise and delight I took home first place.  I feel honored to have been given this award, and humbled by the experience.  The piece is based on the Tower of Babel.  Here is the artist statement I wrote up for the contest:
            "My piece for the judaica contest is based on the story of the Tower of Babel. The story focuses on how the world came to speak different languages and created cultural separation between different people of the world. The piece I made depicts a weathered bronze hand holding a representation of a peaceful world. The hand is weathered to show the trials and tribulations the jewish people have been through over the course of history. No matter what they face they still have remained strong and powerful. The world Shalom rests between the two fingers atop the hand, to symbolize a peaceful world which is what everyone hopes and strives for. It is the highest point of the sculpture since it is such a high, yet foreseeable goal. Other words for peace, written in multiple languages, trickle down the palm and shatter on the base. This is one of the most important parts of the sculpture as it shows not only the destruction of the Tower of Babel at the base of the piece but also symbolizes the turmoil and pressure that cultural differences cause the world. The destruction of Tower of Babel not only made people unable to communicate verbally, it created a tension between races and groups of people. The lack of understanding made people frustrated and tense. Although even through all of the cultural differences peace is still a possible aspiration. If people could just put aside their cultural differences and come together into one understanding, the world would be a monumental step closer to finding peace. Among all of the cultural turmoil in the world, peace, or shalom, will still find a way to rise up and stand tall."




More More More Sculptures!!!!

Here are more sculptures from this semester.  They are quite small but still fun to do.  The dragon was designed by my friend Andrea Dailey.  Enjoy.