Pigs
Air dry clay, straight pin and Winsor & Newton inks
6.5" x 3" x 2"
The Prosperity Pool
Air dry clay and Winsor & Newton Inks
7" x 3.5" x 2.5"
My goal with each of these visual symbol sculptures was to communicate two opposite ideas that relate to each other. Inspired by capitalism and American greed, the clay sculpture entitled
Pigs is meant to represent the "rich" and money-hungry people of society, and the extreme capitalists of America. This differs from the clay sculpture entitled
The Property Pool, as this sculptures purpose is to represent success and prosperity in a positive light through the lucky cat, which originated in Japanese cultures. The pig in the
Pigs sculpture represents a greedy American, perhaps someone rich or someone who works for the government. This was my reason for incorporating the business suit. The "X" eyes represent the death of personality and personal interest lost when one becomes so obsessed with money, hence the giant dollar sign stabbing through the pigs head. In the
The Prosperity Pool sculpture, the cat symbolizes good luck, the way it is used in Japanese culture. The koi fish surrounding the cat symbolize strength, prosperity, love and courage, and they are arranged around the cat to create a feeling of being surrounded by success, or manifesting success. The cat and the koi fish are set up in a pond to emphasize the phrase "swimming in success". These pieces allowed me to explore positive and negative ideas surrounding money and success, as well as a different culture.
"According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the symbol as we now know it “first occurs in the 1770s, appearing in manuscript documents of English-Americans who had business dealings with Spanish-Americans.” It then “starts to appear in print after 1800” (though according to a plaque in Scotland it was cast in type as early as 1797)."
"Koi is a homophone for another word that means “affection” or “love” in Japanese; koi are symbols of love and friendship in Japan among many other symbols. Koi are becoming a universal symbol of peace all over the world."
The lucky cat meaning is one of good luck bestowed on its owner. This popular Japanese cat figurine, Maneki Neko, is also known as the beckoning cat.
Leon Zernitsky
Marc Soltau
Unkown Artist
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