SPACESHIP (Visualizing Childlike Wonder and Creativity)
Indiana Wesleyan University held their (I think he said seventh) annual Art & Design runway show this past Tuesday, December 3rd, and I had the privilege of taking part! Out of the 44 submissions, there were awards (via a panel of judges) given for Best in Show, Most Creative Design, Most Structural Design, one other (sorry I forget), and then a People’s Choice Award voted on by the audience. Each of the medals awarded were hand-crafted by our very own Professor Daniel Hall, who did some incredible work, and had the joy of tying each one around a winner’s neck.
The show featured a (really awesome) shadow box each costumed participant stood behind before walking onto a stage. Then they did a little lap, potentially a big reveal, and then walked down a curved runway to showcase their work to the seated audience. There were emcees that introduced each artist/model and read a small excerpt each artist submitted about his or her work.
As a student of the Ideation and Interpretation foundations art class, I was required to create a wearable sculpture for it, but of course I was more than happy to comply. I believe IWU opens entries to individuals beyond students, but exterior involvement has been minimal. Still, the turnout is fantastic, and the experience of witnessing all the student work firsthand is unmatched. Gallery work is one thing, watching the artist (in most cases.. some had alternative models) wear their own work and walk in front of you, is a whole ‘nother thing.
The 2024 theme was “Transformation” and prompted several biblical metaphors of transformation in Christ. We performed brainstorming activities in class in which we chose a word, such as “order” or “peace” or “rigidity” and then found its opposite in “chaos” or “flowing” fitting to whatever the artist’s particular interests were. Then we were left to figure out how to transform the first into the second, or vice versa, through a wearable sculpture. I’m careful not to say “costume” because some entries were not fully covering the individuals–some were placed atop other garments. The criteria were pretty much just “follow the prompt and school policies”. Otherwise, we were left to decide whatever mediums would work best to execute our ideas.
My Entry
It will come to no surprise that I chose to make my wearable sculpture entirely out of cardboard.
My words for the brainstorming activity were “Ordinary” and “Wonderful” and whether subconsciously influenced by the book Wonder or the movie “Despicable Me” I knew right away that I really wanted to make a spaceship. And what better way than to follow every child’s dream and transform a large box into one?? The idea would be to visualize the creativity each child has in the head about refrigerator boxes they see, with the skills I have as a legal adult and mental child.
The main challenge arose when I had to figure out how to logistically show a plain box… and then a full-blown spaceship. Yada yada yada thinking thinking thinking: solution. I eventually decided to only add details to one side, the “inside,” of the box, start with the plain exterior facing the audience, and then fold the box open for a dramatic reveal.
I finished up the spaceship and made sure it logistically closed and opened… but then having four walls seemed like a bit much so I decided on a facade 3-wall design with a “do not press” sign on the fourth next to a launch button. It still felt like something was missing though: a helmet
So I made a helmet.
Very anticlimactic writing here, folks. I needed a helmet so I made one. Luckily, I had some prior experience with a helmet I made for my brother (I wrote an Instructable about it) So it was only a matter of time before I had a cardboard astronaut helmet before me.
Then came the acting recruitment.
A crucial part of the transformation was the audience recognizing that I was representing the average child. As a 6’2” male obviously in college, that isn’t always easy to do. But it is, after all, the creativity of the child that willed the box to become a spaceship, so it wouldn’t make any sense if I carried the box on stage. What made plenty of sense was to have my Mom do it. So she lugged the box up onto the stage with a label “Trash” and then walked off, happy to have disposed of what she deems fit for the recycle. (For the record, my Mom is very supportive of my cardboard endeavors… she just wishes I would leave some floor space free of cardboard at times). Then when she had exited and the crowd was a bit confused (I was last, and nobody had left their costume on stage yet…) I did a little wobbly hop up onto the stage from the audience, wearing my astronaut helmet. The audience was surely confused as a bumbling, lanky boy stumbled on stage, and was shocked when I folded out the unassuming box into a rocket. They must have liked it quite a bit, because I won their votes and the People’s Choice Award!
Better than the recognition though, was the opportunity to share my love of cardboard with an audience, and potentially inspire the transformation of everyday recycle, what I really believe is the most accessible sculptural art medium, into something incredible. I will never be able to make the coolest thing out of cardboard, but that’s not the goal. The goal is to make stuff just good enough to
inspire others to make things that are truly amazing.
Because I know the art department and their speed of releasing photos to the artists, I am going to post this without any paparazzi style photos (actually including me), and add them when I receive them. I was unfortunately running late and missed the individual photos, so I’m hoping there is at least one good one out there I might get eventually. There is a short clip on the @iwuartdesign Instagram that I’ll link here in the meantime (I show up at the very end for a second!) Enjoy!
