Thinking About Monsters

[laurieopal]

I'm thinking about monsters, something I’ve never done as a jeweler/sculptor before. It’s clearly the times, the pandemic and the politics. But I don’t want to make conventional monsters. I have no interest in Cthulhu or zombies or vampires.  What I’m probably thinking out, is the times as personified by monsters. Definitely not conventional monsters. And dragons are not monsters.

All I know at the moment is that they would be carved in detail, small, bronze, and I would make them in small numbers.

If I google “monsters” I get uninteresting conventional monsters and “cute” monsters. I know that there are some historical images that would be inspiring and I’m clearly going to need some serious homework. I’m hoping to find something written that contexts them in deep historical times, with good images that are unfamiliar. It seems that in most cultures and times, monsters personify what we fear. There is a lot to think about.

And this is definitely in process in my head. All of my work processes first on an unconscious level and then I know where its going.  But I still have to wait until I creatively get there.

So right now I’m thinking about monsters.

Comments

[laurieopal]

I think we are afraid of things and behaviors that are truly monstrous. For me it's going to be a visual exemplification of that. And I'm expecting that historical examples of the visualizations of people's fears will be helpful.