Daniel Westhoff: capstone
Date
2017
Authors
Westhoff, Daniel, artist
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Journal ISSN
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Abstract
The artist's statement: My artwork poses metaphysical questions that analyze what constitutes the human mind, with the intention of better understanding our ends and motives as a society and a species. My process is an introspective one, enhanced by the slow and contemplative nature of metalwork. In creating an object, I learn more about myself, using each piece as a visual model for the issue I think upon. Through the content of my work, I invite viewers to engage in a similar mental process. My recent work is an exploration of the mind, and its inner workings. Each aspect, or faculty, provides a unique function in overall sentience. Our intuition supplies us with a foundation through which we can understand the world. Our perception is what manifests our experiences, and each vantage renders no experience the same as another. Through our reason, we can solve problems and determine the best course of action. Through our will, we enact our agenda and forge our destinies. My aim is to understand how each of these faculties operate and relate to one another, and turn the inquiry into physical objects. I portray these mental faculties as keys because of the way in which each of them, when used properly, grants access to new places and new states of mind. The process involved in making these pieces is as important as the final product. The choice of metal, and the techniques and elements used in each key, relate to the specific faculty represented. In this way, each key is imbued both materially and conceptually with the essence of my inquiry.
Description
Colorado State University Art and Art History Department capstone project.
Capstone contains the artist's statement, a list of works, and images of works.
Capstone contains the artist's statement, a list of works, and images of works.
Rights Access
Subject
metalwork
capstone
metalsmithing
art