I desired to have an original approach for my work and wanted to create something out of the ordinary. I knew that I wanted to create an assemblage because personally, three-dimensional works are extremely interesting. When I first saw the instructions mention using a box for this assignment, I spent a week thinking “outside of the box” to ensure that my work would capture a story that had significance and originality. For the background, I used a 27x47 cm George Foreman grill that was black in color. I placed representational silver and gold items on the background, which enhanced the contrast of the elements. The items I included were: two watches, two earrings, two rings, two cross-pendants, two necklaces, a one hundred dollar bill, and thirty quarters. My goal as an artist was to create visual harmony, which I achieved by using variety to unify. Even though all of the items I used were different in shape and color from one another (besides the quarters), I was able to use many different shapes in the work hold together as a unified whole. This was also accomplished by using symmetrical balance to make the assemblage feel more natural to the viewer so that they are able to make natural connections my piece.
Emphasis and focal point are the principles of art that were my primary concerns so that I would draw attention to a specific location in my work. I used directional line, implied line and enhanced contrast to draw the viewer to the focal point, which are similar techniques to that of Judith Decapitating Holofernes by Artemisia Gentileschi. The enhanced light value of the lower portion of the quarters that form a cross figure create a strong directional line towards the one hundred dollar bill, where Benjamin Franklin can be seen “covering” his eyes. The reflection of light against the faces of both watches were meant to make an implied line through the cross pendants and the earrings to direct attention towards the bill as well. I designed my assemblage to have several underlying meanings. A contextual analysis from the viewer is required to understand the religious, historical, and economic context that the artwork itself represents. The theme for my assemblage was to show materialistic items being “melted” away just to produce money, which happens much to often by many humans in our society. Jewelry, even heirlooms and religious items of mine were placed on the grill to symbolize that some people will do anything if it makes money, even if it means sacrificing things of great value or significance to that person. The one hundred dollar bill was placed to represent the end product of melting items in greed and I covered Benjamin Franklin’s eyes to symbolize the shame one should feel after making a tragic mistake simply for the sake of money. I noticed that by covering his eyes, his face seemed to frown as if he were actually ashamed, unlike the slight smirk you may notice when looking at his uncovered face on the bill regularly.
The thirty quarters also tie to this theme in a historical and religious context. The Bible tells in the New Testament that prior to the Last Supper, Judas went to the chief priests and willingly handed over Jesus Christ in exchange for the thirty silver coins. The thirty quarters in my assemblage symbolize these thirty silver coins, which Judas later returned as he became filled with remorse. The point I was trying to get across is that one may feel ashamed of “dirty money” they have received and later try to return it, but the act that they have committed is usually not one that is reversible. Thus, the greed for money is the reasoning for my selection of the title of my assemblage, Money Hungry. This seemed like a clever and an appropriate title to symbolize greed because it embraces my metaphor of the melting of jewelry on a grill to produce money, which is normally used to cook food when you are hungry. My work can be described as representational because it is art that depicts figures and objects so that the viewer can recognize what is being represented. I genuinely enjoyed this project more and more throughout the process of creating my assemblage. I was not excited at first due to my lack of artistic skill, but once I was able to use my creativity I realized that I was capable of creating art. One of the most enjoyable parts of this project was being able to show and tell about my artwork to my roommates and friends, then hearing their feedback and different meanings that they interpreted from my assemblage.