Week Four
This week I’ve been experimenting more with clay, this time building a solid bust of the character Delores Haze from “Lolita” (1998) using a mixture of online references and movie stills
This is the first bust I’ve ever done and I’m so chuffed with the result. All of my research on how to sculpt the form came from online including the image above (Poole, 2021) On it’s own there’s very little of conceptual significance but I hope to add colours which will imply her youth and then combine it with other works to highlight the themes of child molestation and grooming from the book but perhaps I could make a classic plinth that’s engraved with her name to signify her importance (whether for better or worse?)
When I do glaze her I’m thinking of using a pale paran with perhaps a brush on glaze for the lips/cheeks to match the movie still below (Lolita, 1998). I’m finding the learning process slow and experimental but I’m determined to work more with clay and see how far I can go with it!
Thematically, making Lolita is making me realise the significance of the novel even more. As I’m reading it alongside making the bust, having to stare into the victims eyes is horrifying. But I’ve learned to appreciate the care that goes into sculpting, carving features, holding a face. it’s soothing but horrifically painful.
Guerrilla girls on women in the art industry (Guerrilla Girls, 1989) but this isn’t just art! Women and children are being used and sexualised (even groomed through exposure to sexualisation) in every aspect of life.
I’d also like to speak more with Mate McLeod as she has such a knack for capturing the human essence in clay
Not Listening (Mcleod, 2017)
Reference List
Lolita (1998) Directed by A. Lynne [Feature film]. United States: The Samuel Goldwyn Company
McLeod, K. (2017) Not Listening [Sculpture] Available at: https://sculptors.org.uk/artists/kate-mcleod#pid=1 (Accessed: 01 December 2022)
Guerrilla Girls (1989) Do Women Have To Be Naked To Get Into the Met. Museum? [Screenprint on Paper]. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/guerrilla-girls-do-women-have-to-be-naked-to-get-into-the-met-museum-p78793 (Accessed: 1 December 2022)
Poole, K. (2021) Sculpting Hair. Available at: https://www.muddycolors.com/2021/10/sculpting-hair/ (Accessed: 04 December 2022).