The Ends Of Trash: Week 7: Plastic Project

Group Critique of Project Two: Plastic Collage

Gabe Amrhein, The Inculcation of Ego

Avigail Najjar

Lillian Burke

Kiersten Savage

Forrest Humphrey

For this project I decided to take a new approach. Instead of starting with a concept in mind I wanted to create a piece based totally on function rather than a conceptual choice. I decided to create a “functional” suit of armor based at least partly on traditional Samurai armor from the Sengoku Jidai or, Age of Battles period in Japan. My piece consists of a fused plastic, vinyl, and hard plastic cuirass known as a Do, a single hard plastic arm plate called a Kote, a Sode shoulder plate, a hard plastic Kobuto helmet, and a pair of Kusazuri leg plates also made from hard plastic. I have also included a long flowing plastic cape with a pattern of Target bags on the back. I have no intention of assigning conceptual meaning to this piece beyond its function. I am interested to see if the aesthetic choices and use of this piece can spark an interesting conversation. In general I tend to be skeptical of art that does not have something to say so I want to experience making a piece purely for its formal and functional qualities.