GRASS AS A SCULPTURE MEDIUM

GRASS AS A SCULPTURE MEDIUM

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Nature has endowed humans with so much gifts. One of such endowments is the gift of vegetation. The earth vegetation portrays such an awesome beauty that makes the universe a delightful splendour to behold. Life also depends on plants for oxygen needed for human’s continuous existence on earth. The significance of plants to humans is such that they have been able to develop a body of knowledge around it. For example, botanists, nutritionists, agriculturists and the creative artists among others have been enthusiastic about the study of plants; consequently, plants represent different things to different professionals. To an artist, for instance, plants and their beautiful forms can be materials for living sculptures where he concerns himself with the aesthetics and symbolism of the physical structure of the plants. In the light of the above, therefore, this project focuses on the study of grass and its uses as a sculpture medium.

All grasses are plants but all plants are not grasses. According to Kilpatrick (n.d.),   “Plants are divided into two major classes, thus, monocotyledon and dicotyledon. Grasses are a group within the monocotyledon classification.” Grass comprises three families – Gramineae, sedges and rushes (Brand, 1997). Grass is the common name for the Gramineae family of plants, and it is found in almost every territory of the earth. Some of the basic distinguishing characteristics of grass from plants include fibrous or threadlike roots, grass stems grow up from the base of the plant and are generally hollow and rigid, its narrow leaves grow from the stems above each other in alternate direction. However, grass, like plants, undergoes photosynthesis. (Harris, n.d.). Photosynthesis is a process by which green plants produce food, using light energy trapped by chlorophyll (the green-colouring pigment in grass.)

A wide variety of products, such as brooms, paper, cardboard, pressboard, cloth, hats, and garments are made from grasses. The bamboos [a member of the grass family] ,  are particularly important in southeastern Asia, where they are used as building material, in furniture, for water pipes, and for such utensils as bottles, cups, and pans. Grass is used for thatching roofs in some primitive areas. Citronella, a fragrant grass found in southeastern Asia, is the source of citronella oil, used in soaps, medicines, and perfumes. Holy grass, a sweet-scented grass native to Europe and North America, is often strewn in front of churches in northern Europe on saints’ days. (“Grass”, n.d.)

Different uses that grass are put to, have made it a recurring item in our society. For example, grass is a source of food globally. Rice, corn, oats, wheat and sugarcane, are all grasses. Livestock animals feed primarily on grass. Grass gives our lawns aesthetic value and protects our environment by curbing erosion. Grass also has some medicinal value. In addition,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Over the years, humans have relentlessly engaged themselves with the enterprise of creativity. In a bid to sustain this creative aptitude, they have deployed many media, techniques and styles. The most exciting aspect of this creative adventure is that humans are in a perpetual search for a new medium owing to the ease with which they easily lose interest in the long use of any available material. Hence, they continue to evolve new medium, techniques and styles so as to sustain their endless creative search for meaning in their environment. As a result, in visual art, media like charcoal, pencil, mud, cement, metal, marble, stone and water, have been deployed by humans to express themselves. Therefore, grass as a sculpture medium, the subject of this research, undoubtedly, is a response to this unending search for new materials and styles of expression.

Though grass in its unique feature is sometimes overlooked and rejected, I found grass an interesting material because it is a commonplace plant that is overwhelmingly significant in our routine life. So, grass has been chosen as the focus of this research in order to further reveal the aesthetic appeals and its significance as a material for art. Creative possibilities of grass, therefore, have been explored conceptually and aesthetically, to express historical and contemporary issues. Hence, using a functional perspective, I interrogated grass from three angles. They include the adaptation of local use, application of grass and its connotations and essence as a creative resource. “Use of grass” as a creative resource explored the sculptural manifestations inherent in Oma (a local grass-woven material that is primarily used as a fence) (Plate 1). “Connotations of grass” was centred on the study of a heap of Ize that suggested a heap of hair attachments (hair extension) used by women to make their hair appear long and straight (Plate 5). While “essence of grass” as a creative resource engaged the idea of tying wheat into sheaves during harvest (Plate 9).

 

1.2 Statements of the Problem

According to available literature, grass as an artistic medium has been engaged by both nature and humans. An interesting example of natural intervention in grass can be seen in what is now recognized as crop art, a collection of beautiful and mysterious flattened crop circles and rings scattered in the fields of farmlands across Britain (Delgado and Andrews, 1989). From the human angle, Agnes Denes is an environmental artist that is known for planting, growing and making artistic statements with grass fields (Denes, n.d.). Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey are British artists that are skilled in using grass, aided by photosynthesis to create striking images like portrait (HSBC, 2008). Olivia Kaufman-Rovira uses plastic bottle and wheat grass that she grows herself to make grass sculptures (TrashMan, 2014); while Mathilde Roussel, in one of her grass sculptures creates human forms by growing wheat over a metal amature that is filled with wheat grass seeds (DIY Submissions, 2013). Claude Monet, Édouard Manet and Van Gogh, on the other hand, were renowned painters who were inspired by grass, and so, painted what could be described as grass scape (theartstory.com, n.d.; “Haystacks at Giverny”, n.d.; wikiart.com, n.d.). Nevertheless, in Nigeria, there is no documented evidence of the use of grass as a sculpture material by anybody yet.

So far, artistic engagements of grass have been concentrated on living grass (living sculpture) only with emphasis on wheat. The grass (wheat) is planted and nurtured until it assumed a sculptural outlook. Incidentally, there was no mention of the attempt by humans to use grass as a sculpture material in dry state. There was also no citing of any effort at working on an existing grass field. In a bid to fill the gap, this research explored grass both in dry and living states. It used dry Ize, a local grass within Nsukka environment as the principal medium. This is supported by a field studies of grass in its natural environment, that is, the exploration of grass as a living or transient sculpture.

 

1.3 Research Questions

Collection and analysis of data will be geared towards addressing the following questions:

1. What are the possible ways of making an artistic statement with a dry grass and living grass field that are ordinarily regarded as undesirable elements in our environment?
2. Ize is basically used as a roofing material in Nsukka environment. Therefore, what are the ways that this functional value can be adapted sculpturally to address the societal shelter need?

• Does grass in any form suggest anything? If yes, how can the connotational qualities of grass be utilized in the creation of sculptural pieces?

1. Grass is used in the making of many utilitarian items. So, what are the possibilities of manipulating the sculptural manifestations or qualities of these items into sculptural works?
2. What are the environmental impacts of using dry grass as an art material vis-à-vis climate change?

 

• Objectives of the Study

The general objective of this research is to study the potentials of dry and living grass (that is usually used as hay, as a source of fuel or undesirable weed), as a material for art. The specific objectives are:

1. To understand the likely ways of turning ordinary grass material into meaningful aesthetic objects.
2. To explore the possibility of using the roofing function of Ize in solving the housing need of the people.

• To exploit the suggestive characteristics of grass in the production of sculpture.

1. To examine the likelihood of engaging the sculptural appearances of the utilitarian grass products in the creation of sculptural works.
2. To analyze the effects of deploying dry grass as an art material in relation to climate change.

1.5 Significance of the Study

From the point of departure of this research, this study invariably opens up new ways through which grass will henceforth be appreciated in our environment. The point of difference of this research is predicated on the functional viewpoint that employed the uses, connotations and essences of grass in the exploration of dry Ize (grass), my principal medium and existing grass field. This is a deviation from the existing literature that explores the innate characteristics of living grass only with emphasis on wheat that is usually grown by the artists.

The implication is that grass will no longer be treated as ordinary material that constitutes a nuisance, rather, a new awareness and interest in grass as a sculpture material will be evoked. Furthermore, beyond biology where grass is grown, this study draws us closer to the examination of how grass is used not as a living material but a dead and dry material for art. Environmental impact assessment of dry grass as an art material is studied in relation to climate change. All these undoubtedly open up grass for more researches that will result in the further shifting of the frontiers of art.

 

1.6 Scope of the Study

Going by the available species of grass, this topic can be said to be a broad one. With over  9,000 species (Harris, n.d.), it will be practically impossible to engage all the grass species within one’s artistic career. So, I decided to narrow down my focus on dry Ize, a local grass that is abundant within Nsukka environment. The abundance of Ize makes it cheap and very much affordable. The allusion is that this material will afford me enough freedom of expression that will ultimately translate into creating many works that can be big and even monumental. This position is further corroborated by Onyishi (2006, p.9) quoting EL Anatsui Gawu, thus, “…I believe that artists are better off working with whatever their environment throws up.” Furthermore, a few studies of grass in their natural environment was also considered, that is working on grass as a living sculpture; using the processes of tying, weeding and cutting. The project also highlights the processes involved in the creation of some of the works in order to ensure, probably, a comprehensive appreciation of the works.

 

1.7 Limitations

Ize is a seasonal grass that is harvested only during the dry season. Like all grasses, dry Ize is a transient material that is highly perishable. Finally, the rubber that is used in the tying of the grass has a relatively short lifespan because after exposing the work for a given period of time (between 6 – 12 months), the rubber begins to cut.

As a seasonal grass that is harvested only during the dry season, all the quantity of Ize that I needed was bought during the dry season. It was properly stored under an airy roof cover to prevent decay as a result of rainfall or extreme weather conditions. However, on the issue of tying rubber, I have not conducted any research yet on the possibility of discovering a durable material in place of the less effective tying rubber.

 

GRASS AS A SCULPTURE MEDIUM

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