On: Ruby’s ‘SP’ Series
I quite liked the color tones in these two Sterling Ruby pieces, using pink and green tones as well as the divide in colors. I think that I’d like to create the horizon shape on my textile, because placed onto the circle will further create patterning on the body. The depth of textures is also really engaging in these pieces––the way the spray paint is applied creates different surface qualities and textures.
I really can see the connection between these textural surfaces and Serra's textural surfaces, which I hope becomes apparent in the final outcome. I would like to create a similar sort of composition digitally, working in Photoshop to collage images of the rust on Serra's sculptures. I think that printing on a cotton drill or similarly textured fabric would add another dimension to the textile, essentially building up layers of texture as Ruby does.
On: Rusting & Blackening
There is a quality to the rusting and blackening of the steel in Serra's work that I find beautiful in its nonconventional status. I like the play of scale here; you have to get very close to the surface to see the rust, yet stand far back to see the entire image of the sculpture.
It has been said of Serra's sculptures: "Physical structure creates a temporal shift. It is like being in a pyramid or a castle, separated from the everyday hubbub, alone with your daydreams. Yet this is a steel castle, a rusty cathedral, and the lost time gathered by it is the history of cities, industries, technology, modernity. Serra’s art is a monument to our age." There is something of the rusting that speaks to history and the weathering of the location it was presented at.