Rebecca Strzelec: Both Arms Brooch

 
  • ©,

Artist(s):


Title:


    Both Arms Brooch

Exhibition:


Creation Year:


    2003

Medium:


    Fused Deposition Modeled ABS Plastic and Medical Adhesive

Size:


    2.5 in x 3 in x 1.5 in

Category:


Keywords:


Artist Statement:


    My recent work is a continuing investigation of the ways in which wearable objects interact with the surface of the body. It consists of a series of brooches, pieces of jewelry that are worn on or around the chest. Using a variety of medical adhesives and wound-treatment devices, I create brooches that adhere directly to the skin. The adhesives provide an armature that accepts and supports the objects I create via CAD and rapid prototyping. My involvement with the computer as a medium has allowed me the freedom to design objects that I could not create by traditional means. Every aspect of each piece is created and conceptualized within the virtual building environment of a CAD application. I also re-create the medical devices, to scale, within this environment so I can build directly onto them. This virtual “fit test” allows me to create unique, fluid transitions from the adhesive to the brooch. When the brooch has been completed within the CAD application, it is realized tangibly through the use of rapid-prototyping technologies. My recent self-adhering brooch series is built using fused-deposition modeling, an additive process that builds ABS plastic layer by layer.

    The relationship between my brooches and the body is one of an echo. Through form-language and material choice, I reiterate the shape and surface of bone, muscle, and ligament. I wish to communicate a growth or appendage that has developed from beneath the skin. While drawing inspiration from the female body, it is my intention to create hybrid organic forms that resist direct identification. Eliminating the traditional need of clothing as the attaching surface, I ask the viewer/wearer to see the brooch in the context of the naked female form. When worn, a dramatic tension is created as brooches are placed intimately on the skin, adhering and adapting to the surfaces of the body.

Affiliation Where Artwork Was Created:


    Pennsylvania State University