Doris Salcedo

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Doris Salcedo (born 1958) is a Colombian-born visual artist and sculptor. Her work is deeply rooted in her country’s political and social landscape. Influenced by her life experience. Salcedo’s sculptures and poetic installations are made of everyday objects such as furniture, clothing, concrete, grass, rose petals etc. They are charged with significance and subtle meaning while giving form to feelings of pain, trauma, loss and morning etc.

 

Workshop

Let’s take a look around our classroom and home to find everyday objects that we can rearrange into new sculptures with special meaning inspired by Doris Salcedo’s work.

  1. Write down a feeling on your piece of paper Ex: Happy, sad, tired, lonely, etc.

  2. With that feeling in mind, find an everyday object(s) that you’d like to turn into a sculpture - like a chair or pair of shoes

  3. Rearrange your object(s) in a new way to represent that feeling
    Ex: Turning the object upside down or placing it in a completely new space

  4. Title your new sculpture that feeling and write a short description about its new meaning to share with friends, family and classmates

Materials

  • Paper & Pencil

  • Everyday Objects (Ex: chair, shoe, shirt, etc.)

Follow Up

What feeling did you choose ? Why?
Do you think it’s important to express our feelings?
Did you like looking for everyday objects to become art?
How did you re-install or transform your object into a sculpture?
Was it difficult to find an object to represent your feeling?
Which part of this activity did you like the most? - Writing, sculpture or sharing your artwork? Why? How did you express your feeling through your object?

Doris Salcedo, Noviembre 6 y 7, 2002. 280 wooden chairs and rope; overall dimensions variable. Ephemeral public project at the Palace of Justice, Bogotá, 2002

Doris Salcedo, Noviembre 6 y 7, 2002. 280 wooden chairs and rope; overall dimensions variable. Ephemeral public project at the Palace of Justice, Bogotá, 2002

 

In art, everything is particular. The more particular and the more intimate you get, the more you can give in the piece."

- Doris Salcedo

 
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Emma Amos