I believe 3-D art is all about perspective. Looking at the same piece from different angles really shows you the content and values which make the piece worth looking at. I went through a few different artist’s work to find one that really popped to me. BillElis who hails from the UK is by far my favorite 3-D artist that I have been able to find so far. The way he uses his materials, mostly metal, brings out the darkness of his pieces which are Gothic in style. Although the idea is dark and the setting of the piece is too, you can see so much contrast due to the content that his work is portraying. He has been approached by the video game market because of his illustrative work. His work on Wick is great! Death and Darkness, is what I see when I look at his work and this really intrigues me to look at the shadows for inspiration. 

Billeils has produced some of the best art of the top athletes, musicians for ad companies and magazines in the world. He inspires me because it seems that he dabbles in everything and is a master of creations that not only should intrigue but give you inspiration too. He can engrave, carve hard stone, make an anime in a virtual world which he can blend and create his own beautiful dark style of art. All the different techniques he uses not only takes desire but dedication and will power to complete his ideas in a provocative manner. His contrasts bring darkness to a new light. 

Dale Chihuly was born in Tacoma, Washington in 1941, and while the first time he’d blow glass would be in 1965, he’d truly discover his passion for the craft in 1968 following a trip to Venice where he’d learn its secrets and intricacies. Chihuly is one of, if not the most well known glass artist of the modern era, creating hypnotic pieces heavily inspired by aspects of the natural world, such as plants and ocean life. Over the course of his over forty year career, he’s created dozens upon dozens of pieces and exhibitions that have been seen in museums, galleries, and other organizations all over the world and 32 states, including Cheekwood and the Frist Museum. Though losing sight in his left eye and an injury in his right arm caused by various accidents throughout his career prevents him from taking a more hands on approach in the creative process nowadays, he still remains an active part of his team as “more choreographer than dancer, more supervisor than participant, more director than actor” in his own words. 

Chihuly is a pioneer to the art form of glass blowing, emphasising the force and power of heat, gravity, and centrifugal force in otherworldly pieces that seem to almost defy the laws of physics at points.

Works cited:

https://fristartmuseum.org/calendar/detail/chihuly-at-the-frist

https://www.chihuly.com/

Maya Lin is an artist with a passion to make her work mean something. She was born in Athens, Ohio, 1959. Both of her parents were immigrants from China with creative backgrounds and they worked at the Ohio University. With such an upbringing it is no wonder why Maya grew to be a prestigious artist who has an eye for design and the want to make a difference.

Maya is most widely known for her Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. which commemorates those who fought and died for our country. She designed it while she was a student at Yale University which may be why it doesn’t look like a conventional memorial or monument. She brought a modern and honest design that may seem stark but that is what makes it so breathtaking.

Maya is also a strong environmental activist who is using her work as a way to talk about important topics such as climate change. Pieces like this she has done specifically focus on bodies of water and their importance. Also another interesting concept Lin introduces through this exhibition’s title is that rivers themselves can actually be classified as drawings which is an interesting line of thought considering what is classified as a drawing. A river is really just the remnant of how water has eroded soil and left a mark on the landscape which can be effectively classified as a line made with mark making. This piece she made was created with many recycled glass marbles that come together to form the Hudson River running all throughout the space.

As previously stated Maya likes to focus on climate change in her work. She likes to focus on water and is fascinated with its ever-changing state and the role it plays in history. With pieces like this she compares the original sizes of glaciers and their current shrunk form. Its like bringing geological topography maps to the fluid state of water. When she makes pieces like this the plan is usually put into a computer program and then printed by a 3-D printer. This method is how she is blending technical architectural practices with that of the art world to end up creating something that is beautiful with a strong message.

This piece entitled “Flow” is Lin’s interesting depiction of water’s fluid movement crafted from a rigid medium of wooded blocks. The result is a beautiful composition that draws the eye to slide over its lines of movement. With the wave’s tilted angles it makes viewers feel like a chunk of the ocean has been frozen in time and stowed away.

Overall, Maya Lin is one of our nation’s most inspirational and important artists. She has a mission and purpose behind her art. Not only that, she also is innovating the art world and how we look at how nature and its honest life can fuel beautiful works of art that say something. Lin is starting a conversation in a unique way through the use of art that may open people’s minds that previous ways haven’t before. Either way her work inspires, from her great stone memorial to her fragile glass marble river her work will forever be in people’s minds and maybe even leave a lasting impression on how they view the world.

Works Cited

• https://www.hrm.org/exhibitions/maya-lin/
• https://art21.org/artist/maya-lin/
• https://www.artmuseumgr.org/2018/08/20/maya-lin-flow/