Rae Baitx

20”x16”

ink, water, acrylic on canvas

2017

In my time next to and near “Untitled” (Steam Work For Bellingham) I found myself at ease. The simplicity if its design and the meditative quality of the effortlessly rising vapor, created a calm within me. With just enough movement to keep your eyes awake and mind clear, you realize that you’re body is calm. This trance-like state is what gave me the idea for this painting response. I wanted my response to evoke the same kind of calm and meditative sensations that I experienced while interacting with Morris’ sculpture. In my researching the curiosities around the sculpture, I learned that Untitled was more than just a piece of land art. It is an important functioning part of a steam heating system for the entire University. In my time experiencing the piece and learning more about its purpose, I felt the sculpture come to life in some ways. I imagined the underground steam pipelines and boilers working together to heat us all on cold days, like a combination of the human respiratory and circulatory systems. In this painting I created an abstract representation of the active sculpture with he intention of evoking the spirit of meditation. The steam as a personified exhalation, hopefully leads you into mindfulness and back to your own your breath.

Leksi Miller

Contemplation (Robert Morris)

9”x12”

Acrylic painting on Canvas

2017

 

A very apparent theme in Robert Morris art pieces and artwork is contemplation. When you contemplate you don’t just see something then understand instead it right away, you really have to ponder to understand it fully. A lot of his artwork was performance based or would use movement in some sort of way. In my art response I wanted to portray how Robert Morris “Untitled” (Steam Work for Bellingham) goes unnoticed and to understand his piece you have to catch it at the right time of the day and really ponder.  On the right side I wanted to show the piece during the times of day where there isn’t steam coming out of the art piece and how it goes unnoticed. No one really noticed it when there wasn’t anything coming out of it, everyone would just keep on walking by. On the left side I wanted it to be abstract with contrasting colors with the steam rising out of the piece. Showing people actually noticing it and appreciating the art piece that it is. When just walking around during the times of day where there isn’t steam rising out of the piece it just looks like an ordinary piece of rocks but during 8-9am, noon and again in the afternoon the art piece comes to life. This is a great metaphor for relationships and people. Only during certain times of the day do people truly come to life. Some people act different during 8am and 8pm. Just like how the art piece comes to life at 8 am and is silent at 8pm.

 

John Weir

Change [Robert Morris]

Ink on Paper

2017

When deciding how to create my art response, I thought about my reaction to the sculpture when I first viewed it. Robert Morris is the artist behind “Untitled [Steamwork for Bellingham].” The sculpture itself is considered “process art,” so rather than reacting to the physical rocks and steam, my reaction was a chain of deep thinking related to what the rocks and steam could represent. My art piece is a response to the way I felt when I saw the steam rise from the rocks . I depicted certain rocks as locks. Being still and unchanging, I thought that the locks could represent the different things in our lives that bring us a sense of security and comfort. These are things like family, friends, home, and all the things in life that we cling to for support. I thought of the steam as personal growth – stepping out and rising above these comfort zones and expanding outwards, and the new senses of maturity and independence that come with it. Upon reflecting about my experience at the Steamwork, I realized it was a big picture reflection about change and growth, and how these are very attainable things in College. I now see how process art is all about the experience you have while viewing it.