bystander

Self-Directed Manifesto: Final

Reynier Leyva Novo

Book from the sky, 1988

This work was an experiment of how certain materials respond to each other. constructed of scrap wood from past projects i assembled the structure intuitively, only thinking about each decision fir a few seconds before deciding. Though abstracted and more organic I still show my connection to architecture. The structure was then coated in a plater mix I brushed on. Once the plaster was dry I painted on a mixture of clay slip and latex paint. the plaster and clay do not bond to each other resulting in a curling peeling of the clay paint mix, exposing the plaster beneath. The process was documented on the drop cloth. 

"W-1 Sculpture Department" is a collection of material samples collected from the sculpture studio I have been producing work in the past 2 years. When appropriate samples were collected using a surgical scalpel. Loose material samples were swept up in a 1-sqft section. This piece is a representation of the often overlooked or unrecognizable parts of the studio that has nourished my creation. I encouraged viewers to pick up the jars and see if they were able to identify the samples they were looking at without seeing the reference list.

"90 minutes" is a work a created to represent the exhaustion I had been experiencing lately. To document the exhaustion I poured self made charcoal powder in to a pile on the 5 (15 foot) drop cloths that were stitched together by hand. I then walked back and forth, end to end, for 90 minutes. The 90 minute mark was the point where i was too exhausted to continue walking. The shape of the drop cloth displayed shows the weight of exhaustion dragging me down.

12. Radical Theory and Practice - Self-Directed Practice: Final

I referred to this video and other video works of Tom Sachs for inspiration for the videos style

Donald Judd works

Room collective

walead beshty

This work is an exploration of materials and how simple materials can be used in unconventional ways. I often produce work using materials associated with labor, which relates to my families background. Not only are these familiar materials to me but are also very recognizable to everyone who has worked with wood, installed a light, painted a wall, or simply taken out the trash. By taking these recognizable materials I am able to create work that displays an abstract history of the processes associated with the materials.

This avoidance of a small task even when the reward improves our quality of life is something I see often day to day in many aspects of life. Fixing a squeaky chair is a simple task, yet we do not the small amount of time to do it. Instead we complain about the squeaks. And together we all find community in the complaining. Chair hospital is a video installation made to parody a serious training video style. To help show what we build such a simple task up to in our heads instead of doing the damn thing. The prolonged explanation and expansive preparation of the materials needed to do something that that only takes about 30 seconds is a way of high lighting out absurdity.

21. Self-Directed Manifesto: Final