Author: Clea Ramos

Step 1: Choose Sculpture
Mary Magdalen from the Mourning over the dead Christ

Step 2: Writing Assignment
For Project 4, I have chosen the sculpture, Mary Magdalen from the Mourning over the dead Christ. It is a free standing terracotta statue of Mary Magdalene in the mid-run, with her clothing and fabrics flowing behind her. Her exaggerated facial expression and sprawled pose portrays immense grief and mourning as she is wailing and running towards the dead Jesus Christ. This sculpture belongs in the context of 6 other figures lamenting around the dead Jesus Christ. This sculpture is associated with traditional greek sculpture with dramatic draped fabric and clothing which adds to the intense motion of the scene. The story of the scene is a powerful and memorable moment in Christianity as Mary Magdalene was mourning over the assumption that Jesus’ body had been stolen, but instead it became a moment of faith that Jesus will rise again and the importance of having faith.
I plan to distort this sculpture by exaggerating the already expressive motions of Mary Magdalene by creating more waves and movement in the fabric of her clothing. Similar to how Wim Delvoye twisted and spun the characters in his sculpture to exaggerate their circular movements, I hope to emulate a similar effect of warping and moving the fabric to amplify the exaggerated and intense movement and grief of Mary. Moreover, I am planning to explore and illustrate the context of the statue and Mary’s realization that Christ has risen by morphing the current statue from looking down at the body, to looking up with faith, as she believes that Christ has risen. This would extend the statue’s context from displaying one moment in time to illustrating Mary’s realization and faith over time.

Step 3: Sketches

STEP 1:

Part A:

In my senior year of high school, I realized that I really loved and excelled in both the technical aspects of coding and problem solving as well as the creative aspects that I was allowed to explore in my engineering and design class. Throughout the year, we learned many fabrication techniques such as laser cutting, vinyl cutting, soldering, CAD, 3D printing, and we were able to add our own style and creativity to each individual project we made. I found the technical aspects of code and fabrication methodical and rewarding, and the stylistic aspects allowed me to express myself and experiment with the materials and techniques I could achieve. With each project, I found myself challenging myself more and more to create both a technically impressive and artistically pleasing work. And with the completion of each project, we completed the write up and added it to our own portfolio websites, which we coded in the class. This project introduced me to the basics of web design and web development which combined my interests of digital design and coding. After completing the website after months of projects and hours of aligning web tags in HTML, I had a portfolio of all my engineering and design projects, which was the beginning of my journey to develop my passions and interests in problem solving and creativity through coding, engineering, and visual arts. This class and its projects was an experience of self discovery and formation as I cultivated my passions in visual arts while also identifying my weaknesses in coding to transform them into my strengths. I have now continued these passions in college as they are core features of my identity, and I hope to pursue a career with both creative and technical aspects.

Part B: Write a list of ten keywords that could be used to sum up the event.

1. Electronics
2. Self-discovery
3. Creativity
4. Self-expression
5. Problem-solving
6. Growth
7. Website portfolio
8. Fabrication 
9. Design
10. Combination

STEP 2: 5 objects

1. Blueprint, technical diagram
2. Synthesizer with electrical components
3. Computer 
4. Pens, paintbrushes, paint
5. Code

STEP 3: Sketches

Name: Clea Ramos
Major: Computer Engineering
Interests: gardening, collecting house plants, reading, crafting, skateboarding
Activities/Involvement: Graphic Designer for Bucknell Theater and Dance, IEEE, APIDA, PSA, Garman Guides
Why are you taking this class? What are you most excited to learn about? I love exploring the intersection between technology and the arts, so I enjoy the digital arts, graphic design, and 3D modeling. This is my first sculpture class, but I have worked with 3D printers and laser cutters in an engineering context, so I am excited to use these technologies to learn new techniques within an artistic context.