Sam R - Materialistic

Filled Space - Wrapping up

Images

Process

The process of making this began very slowly. I drew out some sketches to ideate what my piece should look like, drawing the rooms and faces, figuring out where the cords should go on the faces and where the faces should go. Then I had to think about the materials that I could really use within this process and what would best represent the ideas that I’m trying to convey. I knew I wanted wire and electronic found items as a base, and I thought of the humanity aspect, so a human face felt like a great way of depicting humanity. Instantly, we’re putting two unlike things together in the same room, which causes viewers to immediately compare and contrast the two.

After figuring out materials, I had help obtaining wires, and then I started thinking about how I would make a face. I first thought of chicken wire to mold to my face and gauze to harden over it, but I realized the chicken wire wouldn’t be a great mold. The best option was to find already-made faces, either sculpted ones or other students’ wax molds, and layer them with gauze. After that, I was able to decorate them and make them look steel-like for the robotic look, using silver spray paint and some black acrylic dry brushing.

I fitted them with wires, which at first I would just slap on and call it a day, but then I realized I needed it to be more organized for my own personal aesthetic and for the piece itself. Thinking about the impact computers have had as something that operates to organize the human world, I wanted to reflect that. Computers have always been about organization, so I wanted to show that through the structured nature of the wires protruding from the mask. I also noticed that I needed something to hang it up with, and that through the eyes you could see the hanging device. I thought that could be solved by adding a cloth mesh around the eyes so the viewer would have a harder time seeing how it was hung.

Next, I had to fit them to the wall. This part was extremely challenging for me. I began by setting a nail where I wanted the mask to sit, then pinning each individual wire to the wall where I wanted it, making it seem like it was blending into and taking over the wall itself. That part was fine, and so was adding wires to the neck to connect it to a nearby device. However, stepping back, it looked so barren, and I felt really disappointed. Especially with how much work I had put in, it felt like there wasn’t much to show. I had to switch gears and really dig into what it means to make an installation. After talking with a few peers and Swoon, they helped me realize I was working too small and that I needed to use my entire body for the installation. I was so focused on what my hands could do that I didn’t realize I had an entire body and space to work with. It seems so obvious now, but I’m grateful to have gotten the advice when I did.

Finally able to switch gears, I began throwing things into the space and caring less about perfection, focusing more on experimentation and wabi-sabi, letting the piece develop itself as I placed things down without overthinking. This ended up working out really well. As I filled the space with random wires, I thought about incorporating the long extension cords Ashley gave me, which helped fill the space so much. I was also generously given a breaker box from Brock, which took up space nicely and fit cleanly within the aesthetic.

I really enjoyed the process of placing cords and other items down and seeing how they would interact. I would wrap wires around other wires in a very organized manner, put some into the breaker box on one side and out the other to make it look like there was something hidden going on inside. I hid items throughout like Easter eggs (pressure gauge, Apple mouse). Overall, after getting over that big hurdle of perfection, I was able to really let loose and enjoy the process. With all the materials gathered and made, it was time to place things down, step back, and move them around. This was definitely my favorite part of the installation.

Finally, I figured out the lighting and the projector as a finishing touch, covering the lights with blue gels and pointing them to emphasize certain parts of the installation. I experimented with whether the projector should sit above or below, and it had to be placed below. I found a device (an old Chromebook), hooked it up, aligned the projector to fill areas where the piece felt lacking, and found a video to project. Considering what this piece was about, I wanted something raw that matched the aesthetic, so I chose old computer source code. I found a short video on YouTube showing a constant feed of source code running in a command prompt, which felt more authentic and less corny than the green hacker numbers video I had found before. It helped present a more computer-like vibe to the installation, which ultimately made it feel more complete.

Reflection

Statement

My installation centers around the relationship between technology and humanity. The work invites the audience to ask questions about where technology belongs in our society and what place it holds in our world. Technology has fascinated me since childhood and continues to do so. It has brought me to amazing, interesting places, but it has also led me into darker ones.

The internet is treated as its own entity, and my work personifies that idea, encouraging viewers to consider how it should be understood and respected. It is an incredible tool, but it is also a double-edged sword that can easily lead to harm. The wires and scavenged PCBs evoke an element of technology, while the faces represent humanity. Placing these unlike elements side by side encourages comparison and contrast between the two.

Ultimately, the installation asks viewers to reflect on their own relationship with technology, not as something separate from themselves, but as a force that is deeply embedded in and reflective of human behavior.

 Filled Space - Continued

I've been able to rework/figure out my vision a little more clearly. I now understand that masks and wires are an essential part of what makes up my installation. Another important factor is because its digital vs organic it makes sense to make digital things more organized and organic things more organic. wires coming from digital objects will be straight and organized wires passing through and out of organic components will be more vein-like and branched, attaching to the wall. 

    the first idea I have drawn out felt a bit messy so I re worked it in the second page and makes more sense thematically, more info on pages below

My biggest concern right now is figuring out how to make the masks, what to make them out of and what color to make them. My initial thoughts led me to chicken wire and gauze to then be able to color it in some way? some other thoughts may be paper casting from masks and faces of students that have already been made?

Filled Space - Installation ideation / materialistic 

Following the theme inspired by Nam Jun Paik's work "TV Garden," I wanted to continue making things that speak about technology vs humanity/technology vs environment. 

There are only two movable walls. 

This time I want to explore more with the technology aspect and play with a matrix panel. it could debatably take up more time than I have to experiment with something like that which in that case it can be replaced with some other entrancing piece of technology to set in the middle of the piece. I think the main mood I want to convey is whatever the faces are attached to is something that is inherently "entrancing". to inhibit this more entrancing affect I want to incorporate the use of line to radiate emphasis. 

Materials:

Sculpey

Maroon-colored tissue paper

Maroon/ blue yarn

22 gauge electrical wire

RGB LED Matrix Panel

Big Picture

You’re onto something with:

• Technology vs humanity

• Entrancement

• Radiating line

• Wires as connective tissue

But currently this reads as a central sculptural object with decorative extensions, not an installation that consumes space.

If you’re inspired by Nam June Paik and his work TV Garden, remember: the power wasn’t in a single object — it was in the environment. The TVs were embedded in a field. The space itself became the content.

You need to shift from:

“What am I building?”

to:

“What is happening to the room?”

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1. Move From Sculpture to Spatial System

There are only two movable walls. That constraint should drive the design.

Right now:

• Sculpey heads = sculptural

• Yarn = decorative surface

• Matrix panel = central object

Instead, ask:

• What if the wires dominate?

• What if the walls become the field?

• What if the faces are absorbed into the system rather than sitting on it?

Installation is about relationship, not object.

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2. The Wire Is the Strongest Material

The 22-gauge electrical wire is conceptually perfect:

• It references circuitry

• It references nervous systems

• It can radiate, connect, invade

Push that.

Instead of yarn radiating emphasis, what if:

• Wires stretch from wall to wall?

• Wires converge at the panel?

• Wires attach to faces like neural connections?

The line becomes literal and conceptual.

If the mood is “entrancement,” then the wires should feel like:

• Pulling

• Plugging in

• Feeding

• Draining

Make the wires the protagonist.

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3. Move Away From the African Mask Reference

What you have currently drawn risks:

• Cultural appropriation

• Formal borrowing without context

• Distracting from the concept

Options:

• Photographs of real faces (taken by you)

• Screenshots of scrolling faces from social media

• Large-scale printed faces adhered directly to wall

• Faces drawn/painted directly onto the wall surface

• Chicken wire facial structures that feel incomplete or hollow

The wall can hold the faces.
The space holds the wires.
The wires connect to the technology.

That becomes installation.

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4. The Matrix Panel Question

The RGB LED matrix panel could be powerful — but only if it:

• Emits flickering light

• Displays scrolling code

• Pulses rhythmically

• Mimics algorithmic patterns

If it just “sits there,” it becomes a gadget.

If time is limited, consider something simpler but effective:

• A looping glitch video on a small monitor

• A phone mounted and endlessly scrolling

• A light source that pulses like a heartbeat

Entrancement is about repetition and glow.

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5. Rethinking “Filled Space”

Right now your materials feel surface-oriented (tissue paper, yarn).

Instead ask:

• Does the viewer walk through wires?

• Do the wires cross the room?

• Do they cast shadows?

• Does the light from the panel project wire shadows onto the wall?

Filled space means:

• Air is activated.

• Negative space matters.

• Movement through space matters.

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6. Material Notes

Sculpey

Feels heavy and craft-based unless treated very intentionally. Might flatten the conceptual strength.

Tissue paper

Could look decorative unless distressed or treated conceptually.

Yarn

Unless it’s functioning as line in space, it reads soft and textile — which may contradict the tech tension.

Wire

Keep.
Push.
Multiply.

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Right now this is leaning sculptural — individual heads attached to something central. I want you to push it further into installation. Think about the room as your material. The wires feel the most conceptually strong. What happens if they dominate? What happens if they stretch from wall to wall and the faces are absorbed into that system rather than sitting on top of it?

Also, I would move away from the African mask reference. It complicates the work unnecessarily. Consider using faces you photograph yourself, or printed faces transferred directly onto the wall. That keeps the focus on technology and entrancement rather than cultural form borrowing.

The matrix panel only works if it actively produces glow and repetition. Otherwise it’s just an object. Ask yourself: what is the viewer physically experiencing in this room?

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Where This Could Go (If Fully Pushed)

Imagine:

• Two walls with large-scale printed faces

• Hundreds of thin wires radiating from a glowing matrix panel

• Wires attaching to faces’ eyes or mouths

• Viewer walking between wire lines

• Light flickering

• Shadows multiplying the wires across the wall

Now the room becomes the nervous system.

That’s installation.