VESSELS
OF LIFE AND DEATH
A Thesis
Presented to the faculty of the Department of Art
California State University, Sacramento
Submitted in partial satisfaction of
the requirements for the degree of
MASTER OF ARTS
in
Art Studio
by
Minh Dai Cao Tran
SPRING
2014
© 2014
Minh Dai Cao Tran
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
ii
VESSELS
OF LIFE AND DEATH
A Thesis
by
Minh Dai Cao Tran
Approved by:
__________________________________, Committee Chair
Andrew Connelly, M.F.A
__________________________________, Second Reader
Scott R Parady, M.F.A
____________________________
Date
iii
Student: Minh Dai Cao Tran
I certify that this student has met the requirements for format contained in the University
format manual, and that this thesis is suitable for shelving in the Library and credit is to
be awarded for the thesis.
__________________________, Graduate Coordinator
Andrew Connelly, M.F.A
Department of Art
iv
___________________
Date
Abstract
of
VESSELS
OF LIFE AND DEATH
by
Minh Dai Cao Tran
The purpose of this thesis is to share my personal experiences in the graduate
program at California State University, Sacramento.
_______________________, Graduate Coordinator
Andrew Connely, M.F.A
_______________________
Date
v
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I have so many people I would like to thank.
My parents, their unconditional love for me even with all the troubles I cause.
My Uncle Nhan, my inspiration and the other artist of the family.
My brother My, just for being him.
Professor Pattaratorn Chirapravati, you have inspired me to me so much more. Your love,
understanding, and comfort have been the strength I needed when I had little left.
Amber Hadley, Ka Yi Leung, Mieke Lisuk, and Amber Massey ; no words can express
what you have brought into my life.
Professor Scott Parady, for always letting me be me.
Professor Andrew Connelly, for pushing me.
Professor Robert Ortbal, for always asking the hard questions.
Meech Miyagi, for being alive.
Mark Daniel Blackhurst, I’m thankful our path is a shared one.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................... vi
List of Figures ........................................................................................................... viii
INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................ 1
ONE AND A HALF YEARS ....................................................................................... 2
FAILURE ...................................................................................................................... 8
SEMESTER BEFORE THE LAST ............................................................................ 16
SAṂSĀRA- VESSELS OF LIFE AND DEATH ...................................................... 19
COLLECTION OF OTHER WORKS........................................................................ 21
vii
LIST OF FIGURES
Figures
Page
1.
Obsession, 2012, mixed media, 72x24x12 inches.……………………………. 3
2.
Untitled, installation, 2012................................... .……………………………. 5
3.
My hair got long, 2012 mixed media10x4x2.4 inches. .………………………. 6
4.
Habitat, 2012, mixed media, 13.5x2x1.2 inches . .……………………………. 6
5.
It’ll Only Hurt Once, 2013, mixed media, 11x6x2 inches.……………………. 7
6.
Bundle of Joy, 2013, mixed media, 36x8x6 inches..…………………………. 10
7.
In the Company of Men, 2013, mixed media, 24x24x5.6 inches ……………. 11
8.
Just Stop, 2013, mixed media 52x12x12 inches .……………………………. 12
9.
Mighty, 2013, mixed media, 36x24x6 inches .... .……………………………. 13
10.
Only, 2014, mixed media, 50x14x7 inches ........ .……………………………. 14
11.
Bed, 2013, mixed media, 52x28x10 inches ....... .……………………………. 15
12.
Unica, 2013, installation .................................... .……………………………. 18
13.
Saṃsāra – vessels of life and death, 2014, installation...……………………. 20
14.
Struggle, 2013, mixed media 48x12x5 inches ... .……………………………. 21
15.
Water, 2013, mixed media 58x26x36 inches ..... .……………………………. 22
16.
Genealogy, 2013, mixed media 12x12 inches ... .……………………………. 23
17.
Woken, 2013, mixed media, size varies ............. .……………………………. 24
18.
Pillow Talk, 2014, mixed media 22x32x12 inches .. ………………………… 25
19.
Desserts, 2014, mixed media, size varies .......... .……………………………. 25
viii
20.
Saved, 2014, installation .................................... .……………………………. 26
21.
Saved Myself, 2014, mixed media, size varies ... .……………………………. 27
22.
School, 2014, mixed media size varies .............. .……………………………. 28
23.
Unequal, 2014, mixed media, size varies .......... .……………………………. 29
ix
1
INTRODUCTION
To me art is like love, one might have an idea of what it is. However, no one can
explain to you the singular meaning or describe the actual thing that will occur; it will
never be the same. Art like love requires understanding, patience, and compromise. My
thesis will try to explain the relationship I had at CSUS during my time as a Graduate Art
Studio student. I do not expect that my experiences were exactly like the experience of
my peers who share the last couple of years with me. Nor was my experience the same as
those before or those to come.
2
ONE AND A HALF YEARS
During the undergraduate years, the work had theories and ideas before the
objects became physically created. That could have reason why the majority of previous
critiques had a common theme; that I lacked intimacy with the chosen materials.
In the Fall of 2012, I created a body of work to explore the use of a material that
captivated me. Paraffin and crystalline wax had romanced me away from clay, showing
there ease, creating form without needing the high standards of clay. This change
provided a medium with which to create larger works – a medium where I felt free to
push boundaries in future pieces. For instance, a deep obsession with a 72”x24”x12” box
(fig.1), which took over both studio space and time.
3
Figure 1 Obsession, 2012, mixed media, 72x24x12 inches.
4
Looking back, I can see that I was making my own coffin. The whole process
was tiresome- obsessing in the studio for days, then months. This only left time to go to
scheduled classes and feed my cats. When I first met a professor, each of them voiced
their concern and disappointment. As a result, I proceeded to lock myself in the studio
and block all faculty visits. I stubbornly started to make objects that I thought would
work to heighten the value of the box. The hope being that the other pieces created a
sense of community, where a relationship would develop between each of the objects.
(fig.2). Review time came, and I suffered so much for my obsession and my shutout of
the faculty. Broken down from one of the worst critiques, which I found would be many
to come. In the end, I threw away all but two of the pieces (fig.3 and fig.4).
I cannot say that by second semester review time, things got any better. Looking
back, I can see that I was reeling from the backlash of the first review. I became an
immature child who lashed out, and rejected the studio in favor of spending time on my
personal life. The outcome of these decisions was I only kept one piece from my second
semester first year reviews (fig.5). Everything else was thrown once again.
5
Figure 2 Untitled, installation, 2012.
6
Figure 3 My hair got long, 2012 mixed media,
Figure 4 Habitat, 2012, mixed media,
10x4x2.4 inches.
13.5x2x1.2 inches.
7
Figure 5 It’ll Only Hurt Once, 2013, mixed media, 11x6x2 inches.
8
FAILURE
Everyone wants a piece of you, but no one wants the ugly pieces. What about the
broken pieces, those many failed attempts late at night? Those failures that no one wants
to look at or wonder about how you could make something like that.
“Why would you do that?”
“The form is just elementary.”
“This is just non-sequitur.”
What do you do with such an absurd past? I would say, it’s hard. It’s hard to look back.
It’s hard because there are problems. These moments of ‘I am a failure, I am not good
enough, how did I fail my parents, my race, my family.’ I am not a confident person. I
cover and I hide, but doesn’t everyone? The program has never been easy, if it was I
would not be here. Maybe a part of me likes the abuse.
The struggle.
Like being in an unhealthy relationship one has with someone not good for him or her.
They still stay, thinking to themselves that they are good, that they love this person. By
staying, it will prove to this person how good they are. However, in the end it is not the
other person, it is I. I have put myself into this situation; I can move myself out of it. I
can learn to be stronger with the work or fall constantly back into that pattern of abuse. It
should not be the responsibility of the work to accept me. However, it should be my own
ability to make my work and stand by it.
9
There is failure, always.
I am always going to fail, more so than I would like. With the piece Obsession,
everything was great at the start, like the honeymoon period. That love affair was toxic, a
failed pink sludge that tormented me. The failure continued throughout many more
pieces.(fig.6-11) Nevertheless, failure taught me to look at the space I was working with
as well as the objects own relationship within itself. The lessons I learned from these
struggles combined to make Unica what it became.
10
Figure 6 Bundle of Joy, 2013, mixed media, 36x8x6 inches.
11
Figure 7 In the Company of Men, 2013, mixed media, 24x24x5.6 inches.
12
Figure 8 Just Stop, 2013, mixed media 52x12x12 inches.
13
Figure 9 Mighty, 2013, mixed media, 36x24x6 inches.
14
Figure 10 Only, 2014, mixed media, 50x14x7 inches.
15
Figure 11 Bed, 2013, mixed media, 52x28x10 inches.
16
SEMESTER BEFORE THE LAST
My second year also started slowly. However, this time with the constant support
of friends and Professor Andrew Connelly who required/enforced studio meetings every
week on Thursday, even if it was just to talk. This provided me with a bit of structure and
confidence. Although, I did not make work immediately- nothing came into place. I was
fearful. Bad reviews followed along with thoughts of giving up. Nevertheless, the
installation to follow was one of the best works I had ever made.
Unica was a response to my artistic growth, not just in the program, but overall. I
wanted to dedicate it to Unica Zurn as a tribute to her work which lives on in my own
experience after her passing. The installation reflects an ongoing obsession I have had
with ideas connected to sex: sex as an organ, as an identity, and as a reproductive life
sustaining process in our lives (fig. 12). It defines us. I have also been obsessed with the
tear shape form that is in many past works. The objects might have different
characteristics, but if you pull away the superficial layers, they always hold a very similar
tear shape droplet. The objects have become my children, like a fetus held in the safe
cradles of my palms.
In Unica, when a person entered the gallery they had a choice; either become part
of the space by entering the left side of the room (choosing to walk among the
prophylactic mammillary), or become a viewer by entering the right side of the room
(separated from the pieces). The prophylactic breasts were created by something made to
17
prevent life, but also used to maintain a healthy life. These co-existing opposites, held
together by a single form, are a key factor in the work. The objects are imprints of each
other. For the white plaster forms are made from the filling the black condoms up with
plaster and removing the condoms. They build into a unity in the center almost touching,
forming a circle in which all sides could meet. There is a tendency to make a theater of
the installation that mimics the need to control everything around us.
The piece itself continues its dialogue with the people who brought a piece home
with them when the show itself ended. The process of making for myself was always
about this cycle of creating and giving. I do not make with the idea of monetary outcome.
The profit was the community aspect, the conversations with peers, and the ability to
bring together a range of experiences into a single space. These connections captured my
interest more than the objects.
18
Figure 12 Unica, 2013, installation.
19
SAṂSĀRA- VESSELS OF LIFE AND DEATH
The work has always been about growth, life experiences, and death. It is
something that is always present (fig.13). The wax cocoons are a basic form. In a sense, it
gives the space the act of movement, with its illuminated internals giving sense of time.
All of this connects with the viewer, who becomes a part of the space itself. Sharing a
space with the cocoons, the perceptions of the viewer’s eyes adjusting to the space, as
they become physically away of the cocoons that either emit a very low light or no light
at all. There is also a relationship between the cocoons, the cluster to the side becomes
either coming or going from the cluster. The cocoons relate not just to the building up of
the pile; but to the walls of the space, to each other, as well to the people within the
space. It is a paradox; questions arise about the space and the objects that reside within.
The process of creating and giving will continue with this piece. The installation
will be open for viewing at the Witt Gallery for eighteen days. During those days, I will
remain in the gallery for an hour each day, continuing to make but also carrying on
conversations with those that stay within the space, as well as giving the pieces slowly
over the eighteen days. The idea is that the dialogue that was created in the space
continues in conversation as well as with the parting of the cocoons. This to me, becomes
a sort of continuing reincarnation known as saṃsāra. All these things move from one idea
to another, the forms re-represented again and again.
20
Figure 13 Saṃsāra – vessels of life and death, 2014, installation.
21
COLLECTION OF OTHER WORKS
Figure 14 Struggle, 2013, mixed media 48x12x5 inches
22
Figure 15 Water, 2013, mixed media 58x26x36 inches
23
Figure 16 Genealogy, 2013, mixed media 12x12 inches.
24
.
Figure 17 Woken, 2013, mixed media, size varies.
25
Figure 18 Pillow Talk, 2014, mixed media 22x32x12 inches.
Figure 19 Desserts, 2014, mixed media, size varies.
26
Figure 20 Saved, 2014, installation.
27
Figure 21 Saved Myself, 2014, mixed media, size varies.
28
Figure 22 School, 2014, mixed media, size varies.
29
Figure 23 Unequal, 2014, mixed media, size varies.