Skylee- Site Specific

Here are all slightly different versions of what I can do for the peice that would go in Prexy's Pasture. All of them have an element of interactive stress relief; some have glass or plastic you can turn, glass or plastic balls you can spin, fun textures to feel, or swings that you can also use. The other major aspect of this work is to educate the community and students about the resources available on campus and in the community, including the counseling center, DVR, DSS food resources, HDHD meetings, and more. The contact info for those resources will also be included in this piece; it would be the same as the other ideas that are under these. 

These two pieces would be located somewhere on the Prexy Pasture. I still need to find exactly where that will be. This piece is meant to relieve the stress of people by interacting with it. The other major aspect of this work is to educate the community and students about the resources available on campus and in the community, including the counseling center, DVR, DSS food resources, HDHD meetings, and more. The contact info for those resources will also be included in this piece. 

I would like for both of these pieces to be interactive in some way. One would be interactive because you feel and touch the different textures, and you can spin the pieces of glass that are in the cutouts of the piece. I have also considered the peice having globe balls(glass or plastic?) in it as well. 

Idea 1

Bernard Katz Glass

idea 2

This piece would be made of steel and glass sheets. Steel for the structure and glass for the color to make a comfortable place. This piece would be interactive because it would have swings hanging from it. 

glass or plastic sheets to have a ton of color to brighten the light and environment. A steel frame, and some of the sheets could be metal (maybe that is where the engraving is.) 

A couple of extra sketches of the same idea. The only thing that would be individualised would be the face. Name tags would be the ranks of the various employees. 

All of the following ideas are about how corporations treat people. This one would be located at T-Mobile. At many corporations, we are not treated as people but as numbers and as disposable. I have a lot of stress in my day-to-day life at work because there is a lot of pressure. Pressure to get good sales, good reviews, and just overall be at the top of the company. We are constantly judged by our performance. Currently, we have daily check-ins and weekly check-ins to see if we are doing well. I personally have an extra day off, and I'm under even more pressure to perform well with my numbers, so I am still valuable. The drawing below shows that dehumanization. This image is supposed to show my coworkers and me, but is made of our stats, specifically the sales we have, if we have been late, the reviews we have, and more. Exactly how we are valued as a person at T-Mobile. I don't think that they would have hair; however, the faces would be specific and personalized.

Idea 1

This installation explores how corporate environments reduce individuals to measurable data, and how that reduction shapes identity, self-worth, and daily lived experience. The work reflects on the ways employees are evaluated through statistics—numbers that determine performance, value, and ultimately access to stability, income, and well-being. In this system, identity becomes tied to productivity. The individual is no longer seen as a whole person, but as a set of metrics to be tracked, ranked, compared, and weighed.

The sculptures are constructed from printed performance data, including statistics such as phone line sales, protection plans, customer satisfaction scores, credit card applications, and other tracked metrics. These papers represent accumulated performance over days, weeks, months, and years. The figures are carved or formed from this material, physically embodying the idea that workers are built and defined by their numbers.

Each sculpture represents an employee within a T-Mobile retail environment. While the figures wear recognizable uniforms, their identities are altered: instead of names, they are labeled by rank within the company. The sculptures feature individualized faces, suggesting personhood and specificity, but lack other identifying features such as hair. This creates a tension between individuality and anonymity; each figure is both a person and a generalized worker. This partial personalization reflects how employees are simultaneously recognized and reduced within corporate systems: visible enough to be evaluated, but not fully seen as individuals.

The installation is intended for placement in a T-Mobile retail store, with the actual workplace serving as the exhibition site. The figures represent employees who work in that specific location, reinforcing the connection between the physical environment and the systems that operate within it. By inserting these sculptural bodies into the corporate space, the work makes visible the otherwise invisible pressures of performance tracking and evaluation.

This piece examines the dehumanization of workers within corporate systems, the role of statistics in shaping identity and self-worth, and the relationship between labor, survival, and value. It considers how performance metrics impact access to income, housing, and overall well-being. Ultimately, the work questions what it means to be seen as a number, and how living within these systems affects one’s sense of self.

Idea 2/3

The following drawing shows 2 different ideas that are similar. They would take place in a corporation, such as Walmart or some sort of franchise (maybe also could be T-Mobile) 

On the left, these objects would be spools of numbers. Those numbers would either represent the numbers that Walmart uses to track all of its workers. Numbers such as their picking numbers. Picking numbers is how fast one picks up the groceries that online shoppers order. These numbers on these giant spools would include the people who are fired. Fired for being late, not fast enough picking numbers, etc. Really, the idea is to show just how focused these corporations are with numbers. 

The second idea is just another version of the same topic. It would be a series of people with all their stats. what their picking numbers are, hours they work, or how many times they were late or called in sick. (At Walmart, someone can only be sick or call in 5 times. You get 5 Tally Marts. Being late or leaving early counts as half a tally mark. It takes 6 months for that tally mark to disappear, and if you hit five, you are automatically fired.) On the left is another idea, people would be represented by mannequins made of meat. This work is kinda inspired by performance artist Zhang Huan, with his meat suit. The other option for the one on the right is that the mannequins represent real people, but they would have their numbers around their necks. Maybe a list or another sort of attachment to the statues. They could also be a stack of their stats, like from their idea above.  

Amelia Marlatt - Small World

04/13/2026

Here are the photos I took of my finished small world installation on the inside. I still need to take some photos of the outside but have been thinking on the best place to do it. I will also try to get a little person and take some more photos of the inside with that for scale. I will try to get photos of that on Tuesday hopefully or if not by Sunday (since I am unsure of having time toward the end of the week with the workshop).

In the future I think I will take more photos again as well because I would like to go and try to fix the inside crack a little bit better and paint the chipboard I used to fill the gap.

03/22/26

I'll be honest when I say I didn't get that much work done on my miniature world. Last Thursday I used the laser to cut out some templates to make stairs, which I then painted (after realizing I should have painted the chip board BEFORE cutting out the templates oops). I then used some super glue to glue them together and I am really happy with how they turned out.

I also finished painting the inside of the wardrobe case. I wanted to have it look similar to concrete walls and feel I was successful in that. I used dry brushing on both the stairs and inside of the wardrobe and then used a damp paper towel to rub it around, which I found a good technique.

I also tried to create some structures from chip board and plaster gauze. These were to be covered in felt and flocking. However, my dog ended up accidently getting ahold of two of them so I ended up remaking them out of some styrofoam I had left over from a package I had.

I have also started working on the felted parts that will cover the foam/chip board shapes, and am going to continue on that.

rip ^

glued one eye open and one eye shut

03/08/26

I have taken apart the baby and after placing it inside found I will most likely only be useing the head and one arm and leg taking into account the space. There is a wooden piece on the bottom of the baby head that I would like to move in some way so I can fill the inside of the head.

I also painted the inside of the wardrobe case white. I am now trying to decide if I keep the inside white or paint it more a grayish color to resemble more of a concrete interior. Either way I don't want the inside walls to be any sort of focal point within this piece.

I have also create some vector outlines so I can use to laser cutter to make the stairs. I made two different kinds of stairs and am going to put both together and decide which I like best then.

 03/01/26

Artist Inspo:

Gohar Dashti

I first saw Dashti’s photography in a museum as was immediately drawn to it. After researching her I found her body work titled Home. I loved the way she captured the feeling of absence (in relation to hu an life) alongside this duality of growth (from the plant life). These photographs very much capture the feeling I would like to create within this project. 

Ideas: 

For my small world I have chosen the doll wardrobe that Ashley had from a previous installation course. At first i thought it was a tool box but after learning it was a doll wardrobe, I wanted to continue with the environmental route I have been taking.  Found a baby doll I would like to take apart and place within the wardrobe. I want this piece to comment on the idea that Lon after we are gone nature will reclaim everything around us. I plan on using mainly flocking and doing some needle felting. I am also thinking about using some of the crochet forms I have used in my past works. I don’t want this piece to necessarily make the viewer think negatively or positively about the environment or our impact, but rather just be an art work people can sit with and come to their own conclusion. This is very much opposite of my THIS gallery installation, but for this project I would rather focus on the materials of the piece rather than the message behind it. 

I didn’t draw the baby parts inside the box because I was unsure exactly where I would want to place them and didn’t want to make the decision until I could physically move them around within the box.

Amelia,

Thank you for the update. I appreciate your honesty about where you are in the process — that’s important. Hopefully you got some rest and a break.

There are some strong material decisions happening here. The stairs seem successful, and your approach to surface (dry brushing, rubbing back with a damp towel) is working well conceptually with the concrete feel. That kind of attention to finish will matter in a piece like this.

The direction of nature reclaiming the space is also compelling. The connection you’re making to Gohar Dashti’s work — particularly the sense of absence paired with growth — is a strong conceptual anchor. Stay with that.

That said, I want to push you on a few things:

First, time and progress. You noted that you didn’t get much done, and we’re at a point where that needs to shift. This project relies on accumulation — the more you build, the more convincing the environment becomes. You need to increase production this week.

Second, composition. Right now, it sounds like you are still making parts without fully resolving how they exist together. The placement of the baby elements is critical. This cannot feel random. Think carefully about:

• Where the head sits

• How the body fragments relate to the space

• Whether they feel abandoned, integrated, or overtaken

The decision to only use parts of the body is a good one — but it needs to feel intentional, not just spatially convenient.

Third, the interior color. You said you don’t want the walls to be a focal point, which is good. In that case, choose the option that best supports the atmosphere. A slightly gray, concrete-like tone will likely reinforce the sense of abandonment more than bright white. White risks flattening the space.

Fourth, materials. Be mindful that styrofoam, felt, flocking, and crochet can easily start to compete with each other. Make sure they are all serving the same environment. Right now, ask yourself: does everything feel like it belongs in the same world?

Finally, push the environment further. Right now, you have:

• Stairs

• Walls

• Forms

• Baby fragments

What will make this feel alive (or overtaken)? Is it density? Is it creeping growth? Is it subtle detail? The success of this piece will depend on how fully you commit to that transformation.

You have a strong concept and some good material instincts. Now you need to bring it together with more urgency and clearer decisions.

Let’s look at layout in person next class so we can lock in composition.

Amelia Marlatt - Site Specific

 04/13/26

For this project I had decided to focus more on a piece that fits within my environmental body of work. Ashley suggested I look at Richard M. Brown's work titled The Other Side of the Earth. After looking at this piece as well as some of his other pieces I was drawn to multiple things. Firstly I was drawn to the way he uses geometric and hard lines. This contrasts greatly against the natural element as these works are slowly overgrown throughout time. I also am really interested in the usage of passage of time in his work, especially within the work titled Dirt Clock.

Idea:

For this idea I am continuing to push the concepts in both my BFA work and the other two installations I have made this semester. I would like this work to focus on the long lasting materials found within items we often over consume (clothes, toys, wrappers, blind boxes, makeup, memorabilia, etc.). Within this work I would like to create a large packed cube of dirt representing sediment layers throughout time. The layers first start of seemingly normal but over time as we get to the top of the cube, the layers are filled with now-garabage. I want to have recognizable items like baby dolls, small toys, blind box items, clothing with tags from places like SHIEN and Zara, etc. 

For my location I wanted to choose an outdoor shopping mall. Outdoor shopping centers are used much more in the US now than indoor malls. I also did some research into which outdoor malls get the best foot traffic. I came down to three choices but ended up choosing The Grove in LA. This is an incredibly popular shopping area for not only the average person, but also for tourists visiting as well as influencers and celebrities. I think the group of influencers is one of the main reasons that makes this an important site as in todays day and age, many brands grow through the internet and especially by doing brand deals with influencers. I would also like to place it in this grassy seating area. This is a place where people are able to also sit down with the piece and reflect on what it means and what they are choosing to purchase.

I also had a similar idea with the same surrounding concept and location, but rather than a large compact cube of sedimentary layers, there was a grass covered mound. Part of this mound would be lifted up and back (almost like a layer of skin) and underneath it would be revealed to be filled with "trash" aka more of the items that I listed would be integrated within the sediment layers. I am working on sketching this one but wanted to get the idea up now.

04/05/26

Artist Inspo:

Tracey Emin

This work by Tracey Emin titled My Bed, is a very raw work that I feel creates similar feelings to what I hope to evoke with my site specific. Not only am I drawn to the concept behind this work, but also the use of simple every day materials to recreate such a vulnerable space.

Carolee Schneemann

I discovered the second image first and was immediately drawn to it. After trying to figure out the artists I found that it must be the recreation of a performance piece done by Carolee Schneemann (as seen in the first image). I first had this artist for an idea I had revolving around the materialistic project. 

Project Ideas:

My original idea was to transform the inside of my bedroom into the inside of my head. I want to create a work that represents my overwhelming thoughts and show it in a more physical sense. Before knowing the site specific project was going to be more of a proposal I had planned for this work to be in my bedroom. I am not sure if that would still fall within the project guidelines so instead I thought maybe this was a work where I 'rebuilt' my bedroom elsewhere, similar to the work My Bed. 

I want this work to be simple in materials, using only paper and string. The paper will be covering the walls and objects within the bedroom with strings strung through out them in between walls and objects. This would make it difficult to move 100% freely within the space but it would be able to be seen from the doorway, or from the surroundings of the bedroom objects if this were to placed in a different building. The notes would be covered in writing simply of my thoughts and what I call my 'anxiety spirals'. 

So if I were to consider this idea in another room besides my own bedroom, I would consider having a bed, nightstand, dresser, possibly a false wall or two, in order to recreate the feeling of being inside a bedroom.