Virtual Artist Statement
Hesper Wolfe
ARTE 543: Technology and Art Education
In my Virtual Art project, I focused on two sources of inspiration, realistic abstract sculptures
created by well known artists and the four elements of nature. I looked to abstract sculpture artists,
such as Trevor J. Askin, William Hunter, and the team of Donna Dodson and Andy Moerlein for insight
into the world of realistic sculpture design. Each artist creates organic sculptures with direct
connections to the four elements of nature. Trevor has a unique style which he has called ‘curvilinear’ as
his works are flowing with only curves, no real hard lines. Each piece is a unique, organic art piece that
has no master mould. Askin enjoys creating art that is uplifting to the spirit through his one-of-a-kind
organic abstract sculptures. William Hunter is an abstract artist who creates beautiful , organic
sculptures through manipulation of wood, commonly referred to as woodturning. His current art vessels
have evolved to abstract interlocking forms. Lastly, the team of Dodson and Moerlein have developed
artistic sculptures with the usage of fire and metal. In their well known art piece, Rosebud of a
Reflection Nebula, a connection is created between chemistry, color, energy, and flame, revealing an
inner most connection to the four natural elements. Hoping to create an art piece based in reality, yet
taking it one step further in virtual reality, I created my virtual art piece that was organic in form,
revealing its close connection to the elements of the world. However, pushing the limits of interactivity,
I made my virtual art piece move and change the way it could not in the natural world.
Throughout history and around the world, the traditional four elements of Earth, Water, Air,
and Fire are believed to represent the essentials to living. Hindus believe that all of creation, including
humans, are made up of these essential elements. Upon death, the body along with all other life forms,
are dissolved back into the four basic elements and return to balance the cycles of our natural world,
flowing downward through the earth. Water is often seen as a symbol for life, offering fluidity,
calmness, strength, and health. In my virtual art piece, I included an organic shape that flowed like
water, rotating around all the other sculptural pieces and other elemental ingredients. Fire, with its
close connection to the sun, is believed to have powers of change and purification. In contrast to water,
fire moves upward, revealing the rise of energy, assertiveness, and passion. Next in my virtual art piece,
I included an organic shape that burned like fire, rotating around all the other sculptural pieces, in
contrast to the element of water. Earth is an element that symbolizes the manifestation of matter,
connected to one’s physical sensation, sustenance, and stability. In opposition to fire, its qualities are
cold in opposition to the blazing heat, always steady, solid, and unmoving. I imported and uploaded this
imagery after participating in tutorial from the blackboard. Within my virtual art piece, I created earth
with a texture found in Second Life, slightly changing the coloration to make it more rich and alive.
Lastly, the element of air is the most pure substance, commonly thought to hold the most universal
power. The Native Americans of North America considered air and the wind to be a living force in and of
itself. It is also rotating around all the other organic, elemental representative shapes. As a metaphor
for nature and life, it is interpreted to symbolize unity, freedom, eternity, and balance. For my virtual
art piece, I included a transparent layer to symbolize air and it power within our world.
Utilizing the traditional four elements of nature gave me a starting point for my virtual art piece;
however, to advance it towards contemporary times, I included additional elements like oil, steel, and
even consumerism. I first included oil because our globalized economy is so dependent on this
resource. It has been used as a positive and negative force within our nation, creating transportation
and electricity while causing natural disasters and wars. I imported and uploaded this imagery to show it
spilling, moving, and overtaking our environment. I also created the additional steel organic shape to
symbolize the modern day steel structures that envelope our landscape throughout the nation. Lastly, I
created a consumer driven organic shaped wrapped in advertising logos. Within our visual cultural, mass
media obsessed world, we see 1000s of advertisements every single day. They affect how we think and
act in our everyday lives. Therefore, I included them as an essential element within our society. With the
upload of this image and creating a movement script within it, I hoped to make it look like the
information highway, with ads and consumeristic imagery flying past us at the speed of light. Through
this virtual art piece, I hope to create a sculpture that was reminiscent of something we could see in the
real world, yet take it to a whole new level, revealing more about the inner and outer workings of our
contemporary universe.
Elements of the Environment Virtual Art Piece
ABSTRACT ARTIST EXAMPLES
Trevor J. Askin
William Hunter
Donna Dodson & Andy Moerlein