Recently seen on the Bald Spot: This art installation by Signe Swenson '07, who created it for an Advanced Sculpture course.
"Professor Stephen Mohring assigned the task of finding a space that doesn't exist but make it exist without touching it or describing it," Swenson said. "I started thinking about personal space, and how it really only exists when it is being violated. We don't notice how close someone is until they are too close for comfort."
Swenson was then drawn to the different sizes of personal space. "In Western cultures, the standard of personal space is
approximately 26 inches," she said. "The Eastern standard is about 16 inches, which is actually the Western standard for intimate space. I wanted to allow the viewer to experience both standards and reflect on their own comfort zone."
To bring this concept into three dimensions, Swenson made six 5'9" stick figures out of wood (pine) and spray painted them black to mimic the simple forms usually drawn on paper. The figures were arranged in two circles so the viewer could enter into the circles and be surrounded by the piece. She also placed the circles near one another so one could see the drastic difference mere inches can make.
Do you have creative work to share? Email shout@carleton.edu and we'll make some noise about it.
