WP-3 Final Draft

Author's Note:

This writing assignment was unlike anything else we've done in this class.  Sure it had its similarities to the first and second writing projects in that we were required to think in a rhetorical manner, but ultimately the fact that the project had to be filtered through the medium of a letter written to our sculptures proved to be much more difficult than simply writing an essay on the devices and their purpose.  In order to give my piece some sort of flow and purpose in and of itself I chose to write my letter as a love letter.  While I may not be as madly in love with the sculpture as I may imply in the piece below, it is important to note that upon the onset of this process I found the concept boring and a trivial way to end the semester.  As our English 151H class progressed through this, the last of our trifecta of writing assignments, I began to appreciate my growth as a writer and a thinker and most importantly this project because of the difficulties it provided.  This project presented the rhetorical devices that were present in the other projects, such as lighting, but also employed new elements such as the medium of the sculpture.  The key to structuring this piece was to use the Love Letter format to move the piece along without making it gimmicky or taking away from the thesis of the arguments.  


My initial draft was actually a strong base, but was just that, basic.  My letter needed a lot of clarification and development of the points I was making in my first draft.  Specific changes I included were in the paragraph discussing the simulated movement of the object I related this to the changing perspective of natural lighting in the area.  Another smaller clarification I chose to develop further was in the transitional paragraph utilizing the TLC lyric I related the song lyric back the "Arch Falls" by adding this sentence:  "Waterfalls in Lisa’s context may seem insurmountable or beyond belief, but it is you “Arch Falls” that hopes to contradict these connotations by presenting yourself in a smaller scale version of your counterparts in nature."  A major change that I chose to add to my second attempt was to put in the last paragraph in order to form a transition between the letter and the impersonation of the sculpture.  This idea was given to me by Kelli in our peer reviews as she suggested that I do it because she felt it fit nicely into her piece and detracts from the awkwardness of posing.


A point to be made that was vastly different during the process of writing was that the peer review stage which normally consisted of having two of our classmates and our professor reading and responding initial two drafts.  For this project we only had two drafts due and only one class member read our initial attempt and also gave input as to the performance aspect of our work.  It's for this reason that there was less input given that I, as a writer, had to be careful to detach myself from my work and decide how an outsider may view my letter and what they would take away from it.


Rough Draft
Statement of Purpose

Final Draft

Dear "Arch Falls",

Since your conception (circa 1980-81) you've been sort of mystery to others and myself.  Over the past few weeks, you made the endless days in class days just fly by.  Meditating over you was a blessing that I never saw coming.  William Shakespeare once stated that "Love sought is good, given unsought, is better."  Coming into this Honors English class I never thought I'd fall in love, but "Arch", sometimes love is best when unexpected.

I've become infatuated with your every characteristic, "Falls", nearly to the point of obsession.  I realize that Bryan Hunt crafted you himself with his bare hands, but all the time and love that he poured into you pale in comparison with what I'm prepared to give you.  Still, Hunt's attention to detail is remarkable.  There are aspects of you that are very clear and explicit and then there are parts that seem to have so many different perspectives.  I love you "Arch Fall" because you speak to the carefree attitude of Mother Nature as a representational form of a cascading waterfall.

  

For a long time, "Falls", I couldn't figure out what you were all about.  The key to unraveling this mystery was concluding that your beauty lies in your solitude, away from the cliff face and river that slowly formed you.  You unabashedly offer yourself as a public spectacle.  That kind of independence is attractive these days.  

You break away from the mold of all the waterfalls that can be found in nature.  Nowhere else in nature can a waterfall be found without a stream or river providing a source or a cliff behind the falls.  There's also something ironic about your construction.  A waterfall in nature is created by water rushing over a cliff face and ends with the crashing of the water on the rocks below.  You, "Arch Falls", were molded out of plaster and formed by hand; but most importantly, you were created from the ground up in order to support the structure throughout the process.  You defy the traditional definition of a waterfall in every sense, yet that's the category into which you fit.  A rock or perhaps a branch breaching the water’s plane would, normally have formed the gap and slit you have but yet you are left with these scars with the absence of such obstructions.  Don't be ashamed of such scars; we all have some sort of past and histories, as no one is perfect.  The gaps in your cascading falls offer an atheistic value that gives you an intriguing appearance and a reflective tone.

There's a simple beauty in someone that's confident.  "Arch Falls", you are left out open in the elements.  You stand bold and tall, allowing anyone curious enough to approach you the rare opportunity to examine a waterfall from angles that would never normally be possible.  You're extraordinary "Arch Falls".  There's an air of surrealism to your photographic values. Waterfalls in nature are constantly flowing, yet once again you contradict your roots by standing still.  For a long time this left me a tad suspicious of you; how was it that a statue frozen in time and made of cast bronze could represent an object in nature made of cascading water?  It's in large part by the texture and ridges present all over your surface.  The handmade curvatures give the impression that the water is just that, water.  The lines are organic and flowing where as the structure of the rocks was rigid and sharp.  The illusion of movement is also in large part due to your all-natural lighting, the sun.  The sun’s rays shine down on you daily and illuminate for you your audiences every ridge, and as the day progresses your shadows shift and appear as if your water is falling ever so slightly.

It was the Grammy-award winner Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes of the all-female R&B group TLC that described the kind of constant, ever rushing love and passion I feel towards you in the band's song "Waterfalls".  The lyrics, "Don't go chasing waterfalls / Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to", speak towards not chasing our dreams that are simply unattainable and focusing on what's most important to us in our lives instead.  Well to me that's you, "Arch Falls".  Waterfalls in Lisa’s context may seem insurmountable or beyond belief, but it is you, “Arch Falls”, that hopes to contradict these connotations by presenting yourself in a smaller scale version of your counterparts in nature.  The fact that you are a mere 8 to 10 ft. tall rather than a 100 ft. rushing waterfall is your attempt to reach out to your audience and make yourself more relatable.  Your beauty as a sculpture lies in the details of your creation and what you represent.  As all-powerful and mighty as you may seem, you’re body is formed by free-flowing water and your presence is made known by the calming serenade of your falls careening into the rocks below.

"Arch Falls", you and I are perfect for each other.  You may not realize it yet but the fact of the matter is that I complete you.  I'm ready to fill the voids that Hunt left in you rendering you mysterious and largely misunderstood.  I love you "Arch Falls" and I know it may not be able to work out this summer; I mean let's be real here - you're bolted to the ground and the Sheldon would never let me take you to the south-side of town, but I'll be back in the fall and our love for each other will be that much stronger with time spent apart.

Before I leave this place and walk about twenty paces to the south over to listen to Brian's letter, I would like to give the greatest gift any admirer can give to their object of obsession. The age old quote "Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery" holds true in our lives and it holds true now as I will attempt to win you over by assimilating myself into you as a work of art.  It is for this reason that I will attempt to fill the voids left by Hunt and to make you feel whole again.  Then maybe after this we could grab lunch or something.

Your Fondest Admirer,

Blake

WP-3 Rough Draft (Letter to Archie)

Dear "Arch Falls",

Since your conception (circa 1980-81) you've been sort of mystery to myself and others.  Over the past few weeks, you made all the long class days just fly by.  Meditating over you was a blessing that I had never seen coming.  William Shakespeare once stated that "Love sought is good, given unsought, is better."  Coming into this Honors English class I never thought I'd fall in love, but "Arch", sometimes love is best when it's unexpected.


I've become infatuated with your every characteristic "Falls", nearly to the point of obsession.  I realize that Bryan Hunt crafted you himself with his bare hands, but all the time and love that he poured into you will pale in comparison with what I'm prepared to give you.  Still, Hunt's attention to detail is remarkable to me.  There are aspects of you that are very clear and explicit and then there's parts that seem to have so many different perspectives.  I love you "Arch Fall" because you speak to the care-free attitude of Mother Nature as a representational form of a cascading waterfall.


For a long time, I couldn't figure out what you were all about "Falls".  The key to unraveling this mystery was arriving at the conclusion that your beauty lies in the fact that you stand alone, away from the cliff face and river that surely created you, and offer unabashedly offer yourself for the public to see at all angles.  That kind of independence is attractive these days.  


You break away from the mold of all the waterfalls that can be found in nature.  Nowhere else in nature can a waterfall be found without a stream or river providing a source or a cliff behind the falls.  There's also something ironic about your construction.  A waterfall in nature is created by water rushing over a cliff face and ends with the crashing of the water on the rocks below.  You, "Arch Falls", were molded out of plaster and formed by hand, but most importantly you were created from the ground up in order to support the structure throughout the process.  You defy the traditional definition of a water fall in every sense, yet that's the category in which you fall under.  The gap and slit you have, would normally have been formed by a rock or perhaps a branch breaching the water's plane, but yet you are left with these scars with the absence of such obstructions.  Don't be ashamed of such scars, we all have some sort of past and histories as no one is perfect.  The gaps in your cascading falls offer an atheistic value that give you an intriguing appearance and a reflective tone.


There's a simple beauty in someone that's confident.  "Arch Falls", you are left out open in the elements.  You stand bold and tall, allowing anyone curious enough to approach you the rare opportunity to examine a waterfall from angles that would never normally be possible.  You're extraordinary "Arch Falls".  There's an air of surrealism to your photographic values. Waterfalls in nature are constantly flowing, yet once again you contradict your roots by standing still.  For a long time this left me a tad suspicious of you, how was it that a statue frozen in time and made of cast bronze could represent an object in nature made of cascading water?  It's in large part by the texture and ridges present all over your surface.  The handmade curvatures give the impression that the water is just that, water.  The lines are organic and flowing where as the structure of the rocks was rigid and sharp.


It was the Grammy-award winner Lisa "Left-Eye" Lopes of the all-female R&B group TLC that described the kind of constant, ever rushing love and passion I feel towards you in the band's song "Waterfalls".  The lyrics, "Don't go chasing waterfalls / Please stick to the rivers and the lakes that you're used to", speak towards not chasing our dreams that are simply unattainable and focusing on what's most important to us in our lives.  Well to me that's you "Arch Falls".


"Arch Falls", you and I are perfect for each other.  You may not realize it yet but the fact of the matter is that I complete you.  I'm ready to fill the voids that Hunt left you with rendering you mysterious and largely misunderstood.  I love you "Arch Falls" and I know it may not be able to work out this summer, I mean let's be real here you're bolted to the ground and Sheldon would never let me take you to the south-side of town, but I'll be back in the fall and our love for each other will be that much stronger with time spent apart.


Your Fondest Admirer,
Blake

WP-3 Statement of Purpose

People often times limit themselves as to what they choose to analyze critically.  The idea of rhetoric is that everything in society can be placed under a microscope and that everything makes an argument.  Previously, we've looked at the various elements at play in photographs and comic strips, but sadly there was never any mention of art objects.  In this, my last blogpost Statement of purpose, I will rhetorically consider my sculpture, Bryan Hunt's "Arch Falls", with deliberate attention paid to my audience and the mode of which I will be presenting this to the audience.


The interesting factor about this project is that rather than my grade being based off a blogpost online for possibly my classmates to see but with reasonably only my teacher as my primary audience, now I will be presenting a letter written to my statue in front of the whole English 151H class and my professor, Josh.  When taking this into account, it is obvious that my classmates and professor are all well versed in the terms and concepts of rhetorical analysis this late in the semester and that all parties are aware of the assignment at hand.  The fact that they themselves will have been and/or are completing the exact same assignment as myself makes their perception as audience members that much more critical because they themselves will have meditated and reflected on their works as I have.  It is for this reason that my reading and imitation will require a creative presentation that illustrates a deep, reflective understanding of my sculpture.  In addition, the drafts of my letter will be typed and placed within this blog bringing about another set of audience members.  The secondary audience for the letter will include both UNL students that take this class in the future and look back on my blogposts as examples and the rest of the internet crowd that may come across my post through a random search engine compilation.  This secondary audience requires that I explicitly state the effects of the various rhetorical devices, thus nullifying the basis of knowledge of my primary audience.  For this reason, the letter must be explicit and concise in both it's presentation and analysis of the sculpture.


With that in mind, the analysis of "Arch Falls" must effectively describe as many of the rhetorical elements as the piece presents.  Obviously, our understanding of art is every growing with time and each piece has countless aspects and values that can be addressed.  Factors that attribute to the piece's argument may not have even been the original intent of the sculptor himself but anyone of my audience members may view the statue in another light.  For this reason, it's important to present all of the perspectives and concepts that I can come up with in hopes of addressing all the different view points.  An important thing to consider when hoping to appeal to such a broad outlook, is that the ideas must be concise or else I will risk hurting the credibility and ethos of my presentation.


In this modern age, art surrounds us in society and has become a major method of communication within our culture.  A perfect example of this is "Arch Falls" (Bryan Hunt).  After hearing my presentation of my analysis the audience will hopefully walk away with a deeper understanding of both what arguments are portrayed in this work, but also how art works rhetorically towards us all.

WP-3 Precursory Assignment 4

In this the fourth pre-writing assignment for Writing Project 3, the historical and cultural context of the sculpture "Arch Falls", created by Bryan Hunt, will be analyzed.  Hunt is known as a modernist sculptor and focuses many of his works on interpreting nature.  "Arch Falls" is a "gestural" perspective of a waterfall, as if the cascading water and falls were removed from the cliff and river above that create such a natural phenomena.  Aesthetically, the sculpture is made of cast bronze and is a representational form of the falls.

Art objects, and art in general, are devices whose argument speaks differently to each person who views it. As soon as a sculpture is created, it offers itself to the opinions and judgement of the critics.  Furthermore, representational art by definition, needs only characteristics and aspects that would render the piece recognizable.  "Arch Falls" may have the general shape of a waterfall and the textures of of water and rocks, but the fact that the falls stand alone clearly defines that this could never be takes as a photograph.

Art has various meanings dependent upon the culture and the type of art present.  One possible argument or purpose that may be pertinent is that art is a recording or to capture a moment in time.  Art such as "Arch Falls" gives its audience the chance to see the backside of a waterfall, something that would normally never be possible.  The fundamental definition of art is something that causes controversy or discussion due to the complexity of its nature.  From this definition, we can derive that art, especially a representational art object such as this one, has multiple meanings and whose meaning would be impossible for anyone to predict (even the creator).  It is for this reason that Bryan Hunt's "Arch Falls" may have been created for simply an interpretation of a waterfall, but by now has evolved into something much more.  Namely, a chance to view freedom and escape in nature itself.

WP-3 Precursory Assignment 3

In my previous Precursory Writing Assignments on "Arch Falls" by Bryan Hunt, I've been focusing on the structural appeals and the more specifically the subject matter of the piece.  Yet, there still lies a multitude of rhetorical elements that have yet to be touched on within all art objects that we have yet to discuss.  Our ultimate goal, comprehension of the sculpture's argument, can only be achieved by analyzing all aspects of a work of art such as this.

One of the finer elements I have yet to key on in my previous post that is one of the more subtle characteristics of this piece is the texture of the falls themselves.  The stern, rigid values of the rocks and the free-flowing, organic nature of the water offer an intriguing representation for the audience.  Though the sculpture stands still and doesn't move at all, the texture of the piece gives us the perception that the falls are doing just that, falling.  This sense of motion that is derived from the textural values of the piece appeal connects the audiences further and allows them a chance to see the structural aspects of a waterfall.  The cultural contexts of waterfalls and offer an appeal to the audience's pathos.  The emotions of water in nature bring about emotions such as freedom and an escape from the stresses of everyday life.

Furthermore, the statue is made of cast bronze, a metal element found in nature.  The bronze was undoubtably chosen because Hunt was aware that this piece would be displayed outdoors and therefore would have to stand up to the harsh realities of Mother nature.  Metals by nature, rust and are corroded by water, yet in this sense the bronze is what makes up the cascading water.  The bronze waterfall offers a still frame of what in nature can never normally be frozen or stopped.  It's for these reasons that "Arch Falls" creates a paradox of the bronze, which is normally destroyed by water, now representing a never-ceasing flow of water, which offers for the audience a chance to bear witness to perspectives of a waterfall that could never normally be seen.