Sunday, December 11, 2022

Cabinet of Curiosity

 Cabinet of Curiosity









Artist Statement:

Phrenology was a late 19th century physiological science. The study served as a pseudo-neuroscience as the study revolved around the belief that a person's head shape and size as well as the bumps on their head were indicators of their mental capacity in the respective region of their brain. The science was later proved to be false as psychology developed further and medicine improved. However at the time the science of Phrenology was very much a black and white study as many beliefs revolved around "If, then" statements. The artifact on the top shelf depicts a wire abstraction of a brain divided into several sections representing the belief behind different regions of the brain in phrenology. The artifact on the lower shelf depicts different regions of the brain represented by clay pillars with bumps indented into them. This represents the belief of the strength of different mental capacities as observed by the bumps on a persons head.

Memento

 Memento




Artist Statement:

As a child one of my best friends used to bring his Rubik's cube to school every morning and ask me to scramble it for him. To my amazement he would solve it, usually in under a minute. Eventually I asked him to teach me and with his help I would learn how to solve it myself. From then we would race and see he could solve their cube faster. Since then I have always enjoyed puzzles of any kind and credit my friend for this.

Figurative Bust Sculptures

 Figurative Bust Sculptures







Artist Statement:

The use of performance enhancing supplements and drugs have been present in sports for decades. Unfortunately professional running is no stranger to this issue. Every year headlines of national champions and world class runners being busted for using PEDs make the news. The two busts depict two figures, one who is using PEDs to achieve success and one who is not. The figure with the syringe in their neck looks somewhat disfigured to exaggerate the use of performance enhancing drugs. From the front the syringe is hidden from the viewer and only visible with a change of perspective.

Experimental Sculpture Collection

 Experimental Sculpture Collection


Sculpture 1




Materials: Balsa wood, and tape

Sculpture 2


Materials: Balsa wood, black ink, paper, and yarn


Sculpture 3



Materials: Wood glue and black ink





Cardboard Water Fountain Replica

Cardboard Water Fountain Replica




In Process Photos











Tuesday, November 1, 2022

To Have and to Hold: An Intimate History of Collectors and Collecting

 To Have and To Hold: An Intimate History of Collectors and Collecting


Angelus Novus


Chapter Overview

  • Dr Franz Joseph Gall (1758-1830), a German Physiologist, made the discovery that different types of brain activity are located in different parts of the brain.
  • As a result, Gall believed that parts of the brain that were more developed than others impacted the growth of a person's skull.
  • Gall collected numerous human skulls as well as plaster casts, from both the living and deceased, as a way of studying the development of the brain and its impact on skull growth and shape.
  • The science of phrenology, the study of a person's skull size as a means of measuring mental capacity, became both extremely popular and controversial. As a result Austria's Catholic Emperor, Franz II, prohibited the teaching of the science anywhere.

Image 1

Napoleon Death Mask



        The Chapter mentions that Dr. Gall happened to have a collection of plaster casts. Most of the faces are molded from criminals or those deemed insane. However, Gall happened to have several belonging to some well known people of the time, Napoleon being one of them.

        There exists however, not one but two official "Death Masks" belonging to Napoleon. The actual masks themselves are a mystery due to the fact that there is very limited documentation of why they exist in the first place. To this day historians have found minimal evidence that points them in the direction of the mask's origin.


Sources

https://www.napoleon.org/en/history-of-the-two-empires/close-up/napoleons-death-mask/

https://library.unc.edu/wilson/gallery/napoleon/

https://ageofrevolution.org/200-object/death-mask-of-napoleon/


Image 2

Crown of Angelo Solimon



        Another of Gall's notable plaster casts included Angelo Solimon, a Nigerian slave sold into Austria during the 1700s. Solimon eventually befriended the Governor of Lombardy and became a soldier for the army. After many years of military campaigns Solimon found himself in Hungary with the Governor as he passed. Solimon then entered the house of Prince Wenzel von Liechtenstein and settled in Austria for good.
        In paintings of Solimon, such as the one above, he is depicted with a notable crown. The crown pictured above is comprised of red, blue, and white ostrich feathers. This object is relevant to the reading as Dr. Gall, who had a plaster cast of Angelo Solimon, may have not been aware of the object that sat upon his head.


Sources
https://thafcc.wordpress.com/2015/04/24/distinguished-africans-in-early-northern-and-central-europe-part-2/
https://germanhistory-intersections.org/en/knowledge-and-education/ghis:image-46


Image 3

Brain and Nerve Drawings by Leonardo Da Vinci

        Leonardo Da Vinci is widely known for his many accomplishments and achievements across several disciplines during the Renaissance era. However, one of Da Vinci's lesser known works is a series of drawings of the human brain and nerves. Da Vinci's fascination with the brain came in the late 1400s into the 1500s which is the time he began to create these diagrams.
        I found this piece not only extremely interesting but relevant to the reading. At the time when Gall began to study phrenology neuroscience and psychology both extremely young disciplines. However, Da Vinci, nearly 300 years before was already making discoveries about human brain physiology and neuroscience. It is even possible that Gall discoveries or theories can even be traced back to some of Leonardo Da Vinci's work or theories.

Sources

https://dana.org/article/the-hidden-neuroscience-of-leonardo-da-vinci/
https://www.rct.uk/collection/919127/the-brain
https://neurosciencenews.com/da-vinci-brain-knowledge-11070/


Tuesday, August 30, 2022

A Few of My Favorite Things

 A Few of My Favorite Things



1. Running Shoe: I've been running for as long as I can remember. Every year and every season in High School I competed and it's something that has stuck with me for as along as I can remember. After all the sport runs in my family (pun intended).

2. Rubik's Cube: I'm a huge fan of puzzles, any kind. Brain teasers are something I've always found fun and I love a challenge, especially a mental one.

3. Book: Reading is something I love to do if I can get around to it. If I find a book I enjoy then I can find myself spending all day reading it and finishing it in a few days.

4. Carabiner: Rock climbing is something that I've only started doing recently but it is one of my favorite hobbies. Every climb is like a puzzle and requires thought, sometimes more than physicality. Climbing is both a physical and mental challenge that is extremely rewarding.

5. Juosta: Or "sash" in Lithuanian. For as a long as I can remember I've gone to a Lithuanian Heritage summer camp formally as a camper and now as a counselor and it is one of the best parts of my whole year. This summer I also had the opportunity to dance in the Lithuanian Folk Dance Festival in Philadelphia that only takes place once every four years.

Cabinet of Curiosity

  Cabinet of Curiosity Artist Statement: Phrenology was a late 19th century physiological science. The study served as a pseudo-neuroscience...