Creative Work Manuscript
Slatted Parallel
Tiffany Shelton
Department of VISUAL COMMUNICATION DESIGN. Albert Laurence School of Communication Arts, Assumption University
Background or significant of the project
Minimalism or minimalist art, coined in 1965, can be seen as an extension to the abstract idea that art should have its own reality and exist in its own terms irrespective of context. It is an art of extreme visual reduction of truth to the medium without any attempt to imitate or represent an outside reality. Works of sculptures from the 60s and 70s by Carl Andre, Dan Flavin, Donald Judd and Robert Morris, some of the most important innovators to Minimalism, stress the primacy of the object itself and consider the importance of a work’s environment. By offering a highly purified form of beauty, these pared-down objects purged of all metaphor and meaning, exemplify maximum immediacy of arrangement through qualities of truth, order, simplicity and harmony. Based on the principles of truth to the medium, common stylistic features predominantly seen in Minimalist works are rectangular and cubic forms equal of parts, repetition and neutral surfaces. Materials and methods of mass production were preference in all Minimalist works of unitary geometric shapes arranged not by hierarchy of composition, but rather scale, light, color, surface, or relation to the environment. The environment frequently became the pictorial field, emphasizing the importance of the audience’s interaction with the works. By stressing aesthetics of exclusion and focusing on the primacy of the object itself in real space, the audience absorbed the art not from a single viewpoint, but rather through varies alterations that truly transformed the gallery experience.
Project Objective
1. To reveal essential visual elements of an art form and reduce its content to rigorous clarity of pure qualities of color, form, space and material 2. To redefine or reform the making of sculpture by assembling forms in an arrangement of absolute unity or wholeness and allow the space to become part of the sculptural experience 3. To extend the sensibilities of Minimalism by questioning what is minimal through the 3rd CA CREA TIVE WORK F ACULTY SHOWCASE 2017
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affinities of restraint and excess or the notion of less is more  
Concept
Slatted Parallel is a contemporary counterpoint to Minimalism of the early 1960s. Its mixture of austere and decadent fluorescent impulses yields to minimalism not so pure or even minimal at all. It focuses on the inherent qualities of industrial materials by expanding the use of a prefabricated slatted bed base into a sculptural arrangement of fluorescent red, pink, orange, yellow and green. Rather than modeling, carving or welding, the horizontal oriented piece redefines or reforms the terms for making sculpture by arranging repeated identical and interchangeable units into regular intervals. The work captures the duality of restraint and excess by questioning form and materiality in absolute symmetry. Through its abstract aesthetic, the endless tracks of lines or rectangular units are carefully arranged as a whole to cut into the gallery space and extend into infinity. The audience is invited to respond to what they see in regards to the spatial relationship between the viewer and the object. As the sculpture activates and occupies the space, the wall, floor and ceiling of the gallery are reformed to become part of the sculptural experience. The viewer is encouraged to be conscious of the space as the sensuous object and its slatted panels hug the gallery floor. Through the nature of the aesthetic experience, space and sculptural form, the audience is meant to bring in their own sense of direction and perspective while contemplating the idealism of Minimalist art.
placement of each slat in relation to one another 5. Compose the slats into a simple arrangement cantilevered from or near the wall in the gallery space
Material and techniques of art or design works
Spray paint on beech and birch veneer slats (4x70 cm each)  
Process of art or design works
1. Set and prime the slats with sand paper and flat white spray paint 2. Section off areas of the slats with masking tape and spray paint with various colors: white, fluorescent: red, pink, orange, yellow and green 3. Coat the colored slats with clear gloss finish 4. Determine the arrangement and 3
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Picture of art or design works
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Knowledge after finished produce art or design works
The process of making Slatted Parallel was less about creating a particular object and more about the attitude towards making it. While it is important to remember that art-making mediums should be used in a way that supports your ideas, there are times when experimentation and unpredictability can lead to a pleasing aesthetic discovery. Moreover, when painting on something unexpected, such as a slatted bed base from Ikea, the history of the surface brings with it colors, textures, marks and irregularities of its own. Through the mixing of austere and decadence the contemplation of minimalism vs. “maximalism” did raise question during the productive condition of making the “specific object”. What can be certain is the sculptural form is thus nothing but orderly relations of medium, form, space and aesthetic experience embodied in an impersonal and flexible arrangement of repeated elements. As the sculpture will be carefully arranged to emphasize and reveal the architecture of the gallery directly onto the floor, the manner in which visitors engage in the environment will change. Rather than being viewed passively and objectively from a distance the sculpture will be up to the viewer’s own territory and reality. Through the duality of restraint and excess, the viewer is also meant to question the form and materiality of what is known to be an ideal Minimalist artwork. Therefore, because the idea behind the piece need only be realized where intended for display, the knowledge learned after production is not yet entirely fulfilled. However, as the piece will stand-alone in real space it does not depend on a viewer for completion.
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