Graduate Sculpture

	I make objects from plain materials which in turn make images. This imagery reflects and distorts either the objects that create the images in the first place, or their constituent materials. The viewer’s prior knowledge and experience with these materials are part of the narrative that unfolds. Their general familiarity with say the weight and density of a brick or the mental exactness of a square is manipulated to uncover what one doesn’t know or perhaps has overlooked. It is really a perspective shift, an encouraged doubling-back and recounting of one’s expectations. Perhaps through this process it is possible to discover that there is wiggle room between what were once airtight building blocks of deduction - free space for something new and different. Mike Womack, MFA 2005
	I am examining human exertion and the extent of material consumption and waste that occurs as a result of human industry. Layer upon layer, our civilization will shed its existence to the ground, coating the earth’s surface with a human trail of consumption.  Sawdust is direct, physical evidence of this human consumption, the opposing result of the intended product. Collected daily from the woodworking studios of over 30 woodworkers in New York City, each layer represents a particular time and place where both an act of labor and waste occurred. Though it was created from the waste of artistic practice, this compacted wall of sawdust with its undulating, richly colored layers mimics a cross-section of the earth that was deposited over decades or even centuries.  It appears as if it has been pulled directly from the ground, simulating a geographic narrative that will allow the viewer to interpret time in an immediate way, reminding the viewer of our precarious occupation of the planet.Rainey Lehrman, MFA 2008
	Most recently, I have explored my own psyche to uncover my emotional vulnerability. As a consequence, I have created a series of “emotion-protection” devices out of bubble-wrap. Although these devices cannot physically protect me, they act as a metaphor for the longing for protection, and are, in a sense, empowering, and therefore protective. Cheo Park, MFA 2007
For my MFA thesis show at Pratt, I entered into the 2007 NASA Astronaut Glove Challenge. The Glove Challenge is a division of the X prizes, intended to develop and improve the dexterity and functionality of spacesuit gloves.  My sculpture work at Pratt was all based around the hand and technology, so the NASA competition was the perfect fit for me.   I created several machines to develop and test spacesuit gloves, including a rotational casting machine and a vacuum chamber glove box.  I ended up with about two dozen prototype gloves which, along with the machines, made up the majority of my sculpture show.  My work often straddles the line between science and art, and I was glad that I had the freedom to explore my interests without labels at Pratt.  Pictured here is a prototype glove inside the vacuum chamber. Theodore Southern, MFA 2007