Stephen+Finnegan+-+Art+Project

media type="youtube" key="q-1N1g726ak" width="425" height="350" Video: "Trash Monster" by Stephen Finnegan

For this project I pulled my inspiration from artworks like the "Steel Horse" sculpture by Lance Matlock. For his piece, Matlock built the construction from various motorcycle parts and steel cable to reflect the physical form of a horse. It was after analyzing these kinds of art that I considered the idea of reconstruction and re purposing. Specifically, in the case of the metal horse sculpture, many "dead & static" parts that alone are useless and have little value are combined together to form a conglomeration that represents not only something "living & kinetic" but also something with character. For my video I pulled together various items from the trash such as napkins, plastic utensils and paper and used them to make different facial features. From there I used "Stop Motion" animation to manipulate the parts to make it seem like it were making expressions on it's own, giving my new creation a bit of "life" and "emotion". This method of representation would be impossible in another medium since only video presentation includes a time variable. The core concept behind this video as with Matlock's horse is to provoke a different psychological response from the viewer hopefully making them, on at least a subconscious level, re associate the objects with the qualities presented in their new form such as "life & character".

Original Art: "Steel Horse" by Lance Matlock

//Trash Monster// Spring 2011 Stephen Finnegan ARTS 235

This piece explores the relationships and transitions between value, animation, emotion, purpose, solidarity and division. By using "Stop Motion" pieces of trash were combined to form a face that was capable of forming different expressions.