WP 3: Final Draft

Dear Bather, 

From the first day I laid eyes on you, you captivated me.  You stole my time from me as of late, making me contemplate on your abstract shapes.  By definition you should be submerged in water, cleansing yourself.  However, you resemble nothing of the sort, and the only bathing you are doing is that in the sun, day after day, while keeping your pose in front of the museum. 

I have wondered many times in these last few weeks if your father, Jacques Lipchitz, knew what he was doing when he created you.  Were you perhaps a mistake in his first attempts at lost-wax molding?  Every time this ran through my mind my logic got the best of me.  I know he must have had a plan and a vision when he created you.  I sat in that grass and sketched you from all angles; the front, the back, and even both sides.  I orbited you around and around and yet even after all of that, I just do not see it.  To better understand you I broke you down into elements I could perceive. 

I started at the top.  I saw a showerhead protruding through the top of your mass.  Followed by your one-eyed face with angular bronze locks cascading down the back of your head.  From there your shapes were but a mystery to me.  I wracked my brain for hours upon hours to decode your abstract and cubist nature.  I thought about things that may be in the area you bathe.  I saw a towel around your waist, covering parts of your midsection.  And again I was stuck, so I moved to your other features.  Your legs are quite curious.  You seem as if you are posing.  Why would one pose during such a private act as bathing?  You have confused me yet again old friend. 

As much as I have stared at your shape I have yet to know whether to call you ma’am or sir.  You have qualities of both, of which I am sure was intended.  Yet I felt compelled to try and prove you one way or the other.  You have voluptuous curves that flow throughout your silhouette yet you have an odd masculinity about you.  Perhaps it is those bronze arms of Braun.  Yet in the end I know that your gender is a mute point as it speaks to your universality and ability to reach more people. 

What does this all mean?  You were created for some purpose were you not?  I know you were intended to be viewed and analyzed for years and years to come as you were cast out of a strong and resilient metal compound.  You are impervious to whatever Mother Nature may throw at you.  However, your bronze coloring brings an artistic flair that is something to be desired.  You evoke emotions through your abstract nature.  Personally I find you frustrating.  Yet we can appreciate the elements that make you, you.  When you were created the art world was transitioning to more abstract methods, as realism was nearly mute.  The camera and photography ruled that dominion with near perfection.  Your father created you through a different eye in which only he knows your purpose. 

As our time comes to an end dear friend, I am not so much saddened by our departure.  I am left feeling unsatisfied that I do not fully understand you.  Have no fear as I will surely see you again and each time I do, I will always remember the time we have spent together. 

Your sincerest friend,

James

WP 3: Rough Draft

Dear Bather, 

From the first day that I met you, you have captivated me.  You have stolen my time from me as of late, making me contemplate on your abstract shapes.  By definition you should be submerged in water, cleansing yourself.  However you resemble nothing of the sort and the only bathing you are doing is that in the sun, day after day, while keeping your pose in front of the museum. 

I many a time in these last few weeks wondered if your father, Jaques Lipchitz, knew what he was doing when he created you.  Were you perhaps a mistake in his first attempts at lost-wax molding?  Every this ran through my mind my logic got the best of me.  I know he must have had a plan and a vision when he created you.  I sat in that grass and sketched you from all angles; the front, the back, and even both sides.  I orbited you around and around and yet even after all of that I just do not see it.  To better understand you I broke you down into elements I could perceive. 

I started at the top.  I saw a showerhead protruding through the top of your mass.  Followed by your one-eyed face with it’s angular bronze locks cascading down the back of your head.  From there your shapes are but a mystery to me.  I wracked my brain for hours upon hours to decode your abstract and cubist nature.  I thought about things that may be in the area you bathe.  I saw a towel around your waist, covering parts of your midsection.  And again I was stuck so I moved to your other features.  Your legs are quite curious.  You seem as if you are posing.  Why would one pose during such a private act as bathing?  You have confused yet again old friend. 

As much as I have stared at your shape I have yet to know whether to call you ma’am or sir.  You have qualities of both, of which I am sure was intended.  Yet I felt compelled to try and prove you one way or the other.  You have voluptuous curves that flow throughout your silhouette yet an odd masculinity about you.  Perhaps it is those bronze arms of braun.  Yet in the end I know that your gender is a mute point as it speaks to your universality and ability to reach more people. 

What does this all mean?  You were created for some purpose were you not?  I know you were intended to be viewed and analyzed for years and years to come as you were cast out of a strong and resilient metal compound.  You are impervious to whatever mother nature may throw at you.  However, your bronze coloring brings an artistic flair that is something to be desired.  You evoke emotions through your abstract nature.  Personally I find you frustrating.  Yet we can appreciate the elements that make you you.  When you were created the art world was transitioning to more abstract methods as realism was nearly mute.  The camera and photography ruled that dominion with near perfection.  Your father created you through a different eye in which only he knows your purpose. 

As our time comes to an end dear friend, I am not so much saddened by our departure.  I am left feeling unsatisfied that I do not fully understand you.  Have no fear as I will surely see you again and each time I do, I will always remember the time we have spent together. 

Your sincerest friend,

James

WP 3: Statement of Purpose

The purpose of Writing Project 3 is to write a letter to my sculpture, Bather, describing its physical attributes and then analyzing those characteristics and attributes.  This will also require setting up some sort of context with background information and some history.  I will also have to read aloud the letter I have written to the sculpture. The final step for completion in Writing Project 3 is to imitate Bather for 5 minutes as best and motionless I can.

The audience for Writing Project 3 is very unique.  It is as aforementioned, my sculpture, Bather.  That will in fact be my primary audience.  The secondary audience is in turn much different as well.  This sub group now includes my professor and classmates.  As is the norm for this English class, a version of the letter will be posted on my blog.  This, again, broadens the secondary audience exponentially.  Any number of students and others looking for analysis or letters to statues could find themselves reading my letter to Bather.  In order to be successful, I must accurately describe and reflect upon the statue.  I have to incorporate the language given to us in Compose, Design, Advocate to ensure that there is a universality to what I am discussing in the letter.

The best possible outcome for Writing Project 3 would be to successfully address my statue and not fall on my face in imitating it for 5 minutes.  I must filter all of the description and observations through a rhetorical analysis in order to do this.  One main concern I have is just that.  I have to balance all of these things out and keep in mind just who my primary audience is.

As I move on with Writing Project 3, I will continue to develop that lens that I must carefully look at the description and reflections through.  This will be the toughest aspect of the project.  I must also provide especially thorough and detailed feedback to my classmates in the peer review session as there will only be one for time's sake in this final project.

WP 3: Pre-Writing Assignment 4

Art in the 1920's had taken a modern turn.  Many artists had begun painting in abstract forms years before then.  However, sculptors were now visiting the rule breaking field of abstract art.  Jaques Lipchitz was a sculptor born in Lithuania.  His interest was not in art at first as his father had chosen the path of architectural engineering for him.  It was not until he was 18 that he was introduced to art by his mother in Paris.  From there he went on to become one of the premier cubist sculptors of his time.  Bather is one of his experiments in what he called "transparent sculptures."  He made these using the lost-wax technique, a way of making bronze sculptures.

As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, art had taken a "modern" turn in the 1920's.  This means that artists were no longer following the long standing rules of the trade.  This was in part thanks to the development of the camera.  It's creation essentially perfected the "realism" of art.  It could perfectly capture a scene of moment better than any painter or sculptor.  This, however, gave artists more time to actually think more deeply about their art.  The could break down objects and evoke more emotion and thought from their audiences by abstracting even the most common objects and activities.  Art would never be the same as this movement created a whole new set of rules and standards.

WP 3: Pre-Writing Assignment 3

Continuing the analysis of Bather from pre-write 2, there are a few things I did not get to.  Following the prompt from the English 151 blog, I decided to look deeper into the material Bather is made of.  That material is bronze.  This metal of choice is actually an alloy.  The modern bronze composition is ninety percent copper and ten percent tin.  Older compounds varied only slightly from this bronze recipe. Bronze sculptures and statues are very common.  Bronze is chosen because it is a very strong material.  Another unique character of bronze that makes it a formidable material for statues and sculptures is its ability to expand just be for it cools.  This character allows the material to fill molds perfectly.  All of these characteristics allow bronze sculptures to last longer than any other medium for sculptures and statues.  We do not see as many older and more famous works in some parts of the world because of ancient wars.  When countries would be in a time of war, most of the bronze would be melted down to make armor, weapons, and other things that were needed.

Knowing some background information on bronze allowed me to look at why that particular material was used.  The artist wanted this to last.  It was known that bronze could weather anything mother nature could throw at it.  Not only that, but it would be able to withstand what ever mankind could throw at it, barring any wars that needed bronze.  The sculptor wanted this piece to be seen for a long time.

Another item that I touched on in the first analysis was the abstract properties of the sculpture.  This does not look like a bather that we would see in real life.  The rules of realism are broken to get to a deeper meaning in the art.  It can allow people to slow down and actually think about the sculpture.  It would not be hard to analyze a sculpture that looked exactly like someone bathing.  It would not make people stop and really think about what they are seeing.  This puts the sculpture in a position to appeal to more emotions of the audience members.

The only part that I have yet to really look at is the color.  It will take some extra thought and analysis to see if there is a great meaning to the color of the bronze and how there really is no control for color as with other methods and styles of art.