alex temple sculpture

Sketch Book round two!

2010-05-02T05:00:00.000-07:00

Finished my second sketchbook here in Rome. They are in reverse order, the last ones being from the tail end of my first sketchbook. enjoy...

Roman Sculpture

2010-05-02T03:58:00.000-07:00

So I continued to work with material from the Tibre River. I created a series of little beings...part animal, part machine. One of my favorite aspects of anthropomorphic work is gesture. With a simple bend of a "leg" or shift of a "head" you can instantly give a pile of junk limitless character. The creatures are all around a square foot.

I also made what I call a religious "painting". It is a portrait of a River God from a religion of my own making. It is accompanied by offerings of Earth, Fire and Water. The energy comes from the cross motif. The figure is about 8 feet tall just to give you an idea of scale.

It has been a while since I have done a sculptural painting. They evolve so much during the making. I hang one thing, throw a nail in it, lean something on that, remove another thing, etc. etc. What I make slowly comes into being.

Rome Paintings

2010-05-02T03:14:00.001-07:00

Getting back to my roots... illustration. These are all based of statues I drew in museums in and around Rome. Enjoy...

"Hermes"

Oil-Based Sharpie on Found Panel

3' 5.5" x 2' 5.5"

I once dressed up as Hermes in Elementary School and have always loved Mercury dimes so when I saw this statue I had to draw it.

"Mary"

Oil-Based Sharpie on Found Panel

3' 5.5" x 2' 5.5"

This was my first reversion back to my old thick lined style. I think I might try to do some wood cuts when iI get back to RISD.

"The Goddess of Earth"

Oil-based Sharpie on Found Panel

6' 7" x 2' 7"

This and all of the other 2d works came directly from my sketchbook. I really care about this drawing because it was the first time in my new sketchbook that I put a classical sculpture through my mental filter as opposed to just "taking a picture of it" with my pen.

Interesting side note: the circles in the middle of the figure are not breasts but dozens of bull testicles...who knew?

"Mechanical Bust"

Oil-Based Sharpie on Found Panel

6' 7" x 2' 7"

We visited a museum here in Rome that showed classical sculpture along side industrial era machinery. Many are extremely opposed to this curatorial decision but I thought it was a wonderful combination.

"The Mother"

Oil-Based Sharpie on Found Panel

6' 7" x 2' 7"

I love the panel this drawing is on. I feel like I am a bit tortured because I honestly believe that art is everything and everything is art. It is really just up to an "artist" to claim it as so. I see "art" everywhere. I almost didn't want to draw on this panel and just hang it as it was.

These were a lot more powerful when I got them up on pedestals. They also begged to be leaned as opposed to hung.

Sketch Book

2010-03-16T09:12:00.000-07:00

These are from my first sketchbook I've kept since freshman year. I forgot how much I loved to draw until I got to Rome. Enjoy...

Italy Art

2010-03-16T07:44:00.000-07:00

So this is the sculptural work I have been doing in my first trimester of my study abroad. My style has not changed much which is a little surprising to me. Unfortunately I have come to realize that Rome is a pretty filthy city, which I am sure shows in my work. All my material comes from the Tiber River. The critique was meant to display finished work and work in progress...Enjoy.

This is a drawing of a tuk tuk. These little guys are everywhere in Rome. The drawing looked too much like a concept drawing so I decided to distress the surface.

This one is called "Little Red Riding Wolf". It is based of an illustration from a sound poetry book I read as a child and images of transgender acts in cartoons.

This is called "My Last Sock". Its funny to some, tragic to others. For me its a little of both. What I know for sure is that it is one of my favorite pieces I've made thus far.

This is the first direct, non representational portrait I have done in 3d. It is of pioneering sound artist Christian Marclay. He works almost strictly with vinyl so I think the material choice is pretty obvious. The "head" still functions.

I call this guy "The Fertile Crescent". I simply brought an accordion case down to the river front and transferred a large chunk of sod into it. It was very enjoyable watering it daily and watching the grass grow. It looks very pulpit like on the pedestal which I find a little humorous.

Here are are some little collected objects. White and Rusty...

These are tile fragments I have been collecting. Not really sure what will come of them...
This is an example of a strange little exercise I plan to continue working on. I chose to only collect blue trash from the river front one day. I am still figuring out want I want to do with the collection.

These are just a couple shots of my critique set up.

Plunderphonic

2010-01-12T13:46:00.000-08:00

Plunder

A relaxing little diddy I made a ways back. Enjoy.

Railroad Bill

2010-01-12T13:15:00.000-08:00

Two Young Robots Sing Railroad Bill

For my Brown music class. Simple and sweet. Listen and be merry.

Jessica's Ride to School

2010-01-11T15:02:00.001-08:00

A while back our class had an assignment to, in one night, make a small work for everyone else in the class. One of classmates made a little creature for me that I loved. I asked her if I could recreate it and she was all for it. This is the result. I tried to stay as true to the original as possible. The body is a mossy railroad tier. The legs and neck are steel. The ball is a chicken wire sphere covered in white insulation foam. I then flocked it with seeds. The ball bobbled very pleasantly in the wind, disbursing seeds with every gust.

Form

2010-01-11T14:48:00.000-08:00

Not to sure what to call/ or label this as. It was mostly an exercise in mimicking my drawing style. Lately when I sketch I add and subtract forms, sculpting really, until the drawing is "done". I wanted to translate this action into the 3d realm. A few things that it reminds of are camels, reverted transportation, war machines, and resident evil.

Materials: Steel, foam, palette wrap, burlap, wood glue, dirt, paint, and plasti-dip.

Grandpa's First Humping Machine

2010-01-11T14:26:00.001-08:00

So this is my kinetics final. Kinetics are great but an absolute pain. Not only am I concerned with generating visual interest with my kinetic work...but also with simply making the thing work. With that said I might have to label this sculpture as one of my must frustrating pieces made to date.

When the pillow is pushed inward it turns off the light switch. Simultaneously a series of hinged arms bend the duck's head downward. When the head bows, it pulls fishing line connected to the ends of the wings. This causes the wings to flap. The whole piece is tensioned with springs which returns everything to its original position.

Materials are found wooden duck, box, palettes, burlap, charcoal powder, paint, lamp arm, plastic, light, springs, steel and a pillow

Inflatable

2009-11-04T16:14:00.000-08:00

This is an inflatable penis woman I made for my kinetics class. Its made of palette wrap , a hair dryer, and a pack of marbs. The feet are flocked with acrylic fur. Its titled Who You Call'n a Dick, Dick?

Flag (Untitled)

2009-10-20T18:10:00.001-07:00

This was more of drawing then a sculpture. I experimented with the plasma cutter, oxyacetylene soot and various chemicals in spray bottles to achieve various textures and colors. I have been very interested in patriotic and/or nationalistic imagery as of late. This work is clearly a product of my new interest.

Video

2009-10-20T17:28:00.000-07:00

This is my second experience with film in the realm of art. It started simply to demonstrate the kinetic aspects of one of my recent works but evolved into quite a performance. I designed and constructed a costume for the clip. I did a bit of editing and then mounted it in a dirty port window on the ground at the head of my piece. I apparently hid it too well because very few knew it was actually there. The film was for a piece call O' Sweet Amelia, Where Has the Time Gone...? in the show "Contagious". In will be up for a few weeks at Hillel Gallery on Angel and Brown. I apologize for the low quality...

Rock 'N' Roll

2009-10-20T16:58:00.000-07:00

These are works for a show titled "This is a Show About Rock and Roll". The work is an ensemble of music devices called "Ode to a Deaf Inventor". It is up for a few more days in the Gelman Gallery of the Chace Center. I basically just started assembling junk and scraps with the word 'Instrumentation" in my head, and this is what happened.

Stick

2009-07-02T08:27:00.000-07:00

I took these years ago and thought they were lost forever. Found them the other day. Enjoy.

10eastern

2009-06-15T09:24:00.000-07:00

This is a link to a website I used to draw on. Check out my and everyone else's galleries.

GALLERY

Street Modification

2009-05-06T18:45:00.001-07:00

This is a piece I did last semester. I simply drilled a circuit breaker to a tree. I placed an LED light string in the box that gave the illusion that there was some sort of function. I replaced the lights after they burnt out once and then after that quickly lost interest. The box (shown above in the winter) lasted quite some time without lights. Just the other day I had noticed it was removed. In retaliation I took apart a typewriter and screwed a piece of it where the box had once been. This new modification stands out even more so I am curious as to how long it will last.

Simple Machine

2009-05-06T15:19:00.000-07:00

Steel, Concrete, Plastic, Springs, Chain, Heater, Bikes, Toaster Oven, Fan Motor, Debris

This piece was originally based of one of my favorite grindcore songs so I entitled it:
Innocent Bystanders Watched in Horror as Peter Jennings Drew his Murder Weapon.

Shoes

2009-05-06T15:07:00.000-07:00

This was my 3-D Final second semester last year. The assignment was to make a shoe. I took apart my Nike All Courts, made patterns, and saved the soles. I used a second hand shop leather coat and a Burberry scarf for the exterior of the shoe. The interior is acrylic fur. I spray painted the soles gold, added some gold eyelets, reassembled the shoe and that was that. I've worn them once or twice but now they are shelved.

New Pic

2009-04-28T22:37:00.000-07:00

Here is a shot of my old installation changing with the seasons.

update

2009-04-23T13:52:00.000-07:00

Updated intensely today. I am going to get some higher quality images for a few of the projects from friends and re-shoots.

Bronze Piece

2009-04-23T13:02:00.000-07:00

This is my first experience with bronze casting. I used the lost wax technique. The three forms are separate and must be delicately balanced to stand. This was my first shot at patina work on bronze as well. I'm a big fan of cupric nitrate. About forty coats of that gave me that classic sea foam green. The bottom hole originally had a little creature but the wax shattered in the early stages. Now I use it as a pencil holder.

War Memorial of Hill 404

2009-04-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

I'm still not too sure what this one is about. I call it an uninformed war memorial from a time that doesn't exist. The original version had some intense grandma's living room under lighting and a few more elements. I love playing with symbolism to the point where it seems almost like mindless propaganda. This piece is currently decorating my kitchen wall which is why the lighting in these shots is a bit lacking. The American flag has placed on it a mine detector. Opposite that is the Soviet ray gun with extend able butt and extra clip. The middle item is stained wood with found elements. The main object is actually the bottom of a computer chair. These,with the clock, create the illusion of function. The clock used to read 4:04...but i dropped it and the arms moved. The title stuck.

Throw Back Kinetic Creature

2009-04-23T11:26:00.000-07:00

I decided to post a couple pictures of one my pieces from earlier in the year because it was so related to the symbiotic work I just finished. This guy had what I believe was some kind of industrial punching machine's motor which I mounted inside a custom steel frame. The punching machine triggered a drill motor that spun a log at the front interior of the creature. The modified machine made the whole piece scoot around. I built it with only two legs so it was in a constant struggle to walk. The motion could be compared to that of a dying frog. I made a little log foot peddle that controlled the hopping. In my opinion the best part of this work was the cracking and snapping noises produced with each hop and the slight trail of debris it left behind as it moved around the space.

Portrait

2009-04-23T11:22:00.000-07:00

Here is portrait of me my friend Mando is working on right now. It is, long story short, about me raping a little girl.... Thanks Mondong. Check out this and all his other work at mandoveve.blogspot.com

Menorah

2009-04-23T11:08:00.000-07:00

Here is a Menorah I've been making in my "spare time". Ironically it is my mum's christmas present for last year. It is forged and blackened steel and bronze. Finally done, Merry Christmas mum.

Symbiotic Being

2009-04-23T10:50:00.000-07:00

This is my newest piece. I had been calling it a tree being, but during transit to the crit room it collapsed. From its new position it seemed to me, more a nest form. It was built around a basic steel frame. I then wove branches and filled the void with vines and leaves. Inside (which I unfortunately did not shoot before I destroyed the piece) is creature made of a 62 pound hunk of steel, plaster, hot glue, latex and acrylic fur. The sac at the bottom is vacuum, then hand formed plastic. I then coated it in hot glue, latex and saw dust. I filled it with water and lit it with three bulbs from the interior. After the collapse I added another layer of translucent leaves. I put a lot of time and effort into this one. This piece is techniquely a failure because it did not meet the assignment requirements, but I'll gladly take the F. Sorry teach.

Skeletal Study Cont.

2009-04-12T19:19:00.000-07:00

So here are the study and drawing. The drawing came first. It was a really quick doodle that I just cut out of my sketch book and mounted on carboard, added pastels, add beat up with sandpaper. The picture isn't washed out, it is intentionally faded. I tried some different things with the study. I settled on steal as the medium. Its forged and plasma cut. I think I might make the hands whiter and then weld some Mickey Mouse ears on it

Portraits

2009-04-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

This is portrait of my casting teacher. It is hot glue, latex, saw dust and cloth. I'm told that a big Hollywood secret in special effects is hot glue. Its really simple but gives a nasty look to anything.

This guy I did a few years ago and forgot about until about a week ago. Its painted clay. I think it may be one of the goofiest looking things I've ever made.

Updates

2009-04-07T09:18:00.000-07:00

I have been doing a lot of updating of past posts, mostly more in depth descriptions of the work.

Stick

2009-04-05T17:23:00.000-07:00

This is a digital photograph I took of my friend's "neighborhood kid." He is one of the most entertaining people I have ever met. His name is Rick "Stick" Thetonia.

Skeletal Studies

2009-04-05T16:50:00.001-07:00

I was assigned to do skeletal studies, make a drawing and then a small three dimensional model. I went to nature lab and grabbed various limbs, branches, skulls, and what have you. I then haphazardly constructed figures and shot them. I will post the drawing and model soon.

Kinetic Works

2009-03-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

Steel, Mahogany, Fan motors

These were fun and interestingly difficult to create. I constructed the two works in an improvisational manner, with nothing but a couple basic sketches to go by.Wood is a very unforgiving material when working under quick intuition. Metal, on the other hand, is endlessly workable. The top piece is a faux-generator. The working exercise bike "charges" the fan motor. The kinetics are achieved manually. The smaller piece vibrates do to a counterweight welded to the fan motor. It gently drifts as the bent laminated mahogany antlers buzz and hum.

Site Construction III

2009-03-26T09:59:00.000-07:00

42 Degrees 7 Minutes 53.51 Seconds N and 70 Degrees 59 minutes 3.78 Seconds W

This piece was inspired by its environment; desolate sand pits interwoven by dirt/mountain bike and trails. The debris by these high tension wires was very diverse. I felt obliged to use tires in this work for some reason and that's how it started and ended. The final product looks, to me, like some kind of dune buggy. Some elements include a propane tank and car battery, light, fridge, pool ladder, wood and stone.

42 Degrees 7 Minutes 17.85 Seconds N and 70 Degrees 59 Minutes 24.24 Seconds W

This piece is tucked into a little nook off of some mountain bike trails. It is constructed of rotting car parts. I built a connecting unit to a nearby stump. The form has nice lines from various angles, unfortunately the shots do not really capture this.

These are located in a state park in my home town. They are covered in shotgun wounds. I am sure they will continue to be used as targets.

Site Construction II

2009-03-26T09:23:00.000-07:00

This a new site I am currently working at. Do to trespassing issues I may have to wait a while until this series is worked upon further.

Toys

2009-03-26T09:05:00.000-07:00

These were all hand sculpted then made into a mold. This series is cast in plastic and hand painted in acrylic. More to come...

Hell Cat

2009-03-23T08:47:00.000-07:00

Steel and Stone. A one hour collaboration with Ryan Conn.

Site Construction

2009-03-03T14:38:00.000-08:00