Soap Carving

Janine Antoni: This is not the first time I have heard about Janine Antoni, so it was nice to have some background knowledge of her work. My opinion of her art is that it is very abstract but quite brilliant. The "umbilical cord rope" is a really interesting concept. I enjoy that she thinks outside of the artist box. The intertwining of different fabrics might not have a large meaning unless the fabrics were considered important. The fact that an old family jacket was used in this piece gave it significance. The audiences connection to the piece is probably one of the hardest things to achieve. Her work goes beyond that because she is not only inviting the audience to connect with her artwork, but she is having the audience connect with herself. She poses for nude photographs, walks a tightrope and creates molds of her body. Her ambitions is very clear in all of her work and her ideas express meaning. I enjoy seeing her art and learning the meaning behind it, and even constructing my own meaning from it.

Process Photos

Final

Documentation  of Changes
Modification 1: Subtractive

For this subtractive measure, I sprayed my soap with the garden hose and rubbed it against the concrete.

Modification 2: Subtractive 

For this subtractive measure, I graded the soap with a cheese grader.

Modification 3: Additive

In this additive measure, I dripped candle wax on top of my soap shavings.

Modification 4: Subtractive

In this subtractive measure, I baked my soap and wax mixture in the oven and then compressed the goop into a lump.

Modification 5: Subtractive

Once the lump hardened I began to carve the soap into forms.

Modification 6: Additive

I added various pins in the soap at different angles to achieve different effects and angles.

Modification 7: Additive 

By adding the string, I accented the angles and proportions of the figure.

Modification 8: Additive

The last thing that I did to this piece was to add a translucent element. 

Final piece: 

Final:

Artist Statement: 
This project was creates using a subtractive measure. It is made completely of soap. By utilizing the carving tools, I was able to create a figure. I chose to carve a dog because of my golden retriever Levi. He is something that brings me joy and happiness so incorporating him into the piece gave it meaning. The changes that were made to the piece had no specific meaning. But, surprisingly by the time the second piece was finished it had a purpose. The second piece represents a precious stone. It is mounted in a way that resembles the nature of something valuable. This project proved to be extremely difficult. I had no background experience with carving, but overall I find the technique useful for my repertoire.