Zabelle+Ghazarian+Sculpture+1+Fall+2014



Zabelle Ghazarian Interior Architecture & Design I don't have much experience with computer, but I've used photoshop and editor before and know the basics on how to navigate through them. I've been involved with art as a kid, but growing up I loved photography, which I do in my spare time. This is my first time taking a sculpting class so I'm looking forward in seeing how I can apply this class towards my major. An interesting fact about me is that I love to cook and I'm a huge fan of Nicolas Jaar.

Montreal based sculptor Guy Laramée transforms books into artistic landscape masterpieces. Before he became a sculpture, Laramée was involved in numerous works, such as theater writing, directing, singing, scenography, painting, literature, music composition, and musical instrument design. His artwork now reflects his life and the struggles he’s gone through. He’s particularly known for his extraordinary carved mountainous books. Laramée carves books to symbolize the degrading of human civilization. He believes in the concept of gaining knowledge through erosion, not accretion. His message is that cultures rise, become outdated, and soon enough are replaced by new cultures. Within those obsolete cultures, some people are removed as well. His intentions for his work are to make his viewers feel alive, to feel an inconceivable force that lives on after your body dies. Laramée quotes, “our birth, life and death and who we truly are-is an unknowable mystery, and that ultimate knowledge could very well be an erosion instead of an accumulation”. Through the use of books he constructs mountains, fields, hills, and rivers to indicate that new forms, species, and opportunities can and will be recreated. A mountain erodes into hills, then fields with rivers, but at the end of the day it’s returns to what it really is, a mountain. Laramée uses old books, such as encyclopedias and dictionaries because of their neutrality. He isn’t interested in the content of the book, but instead by the books color. The older the book the more beautiful, during those times people made books that would last, because knowledge was still sacred. In a way the old books he uses become sacred objects, since he transforms them into art.



Laramée really works with rhythm, variety, repetition, movement, and balance in all of his pieces. The hills, mountains, and rivers all create variety, rhythm, and movement. His uses of books are a repetition in their color, texture, and visual characteristics. All of these combined create balance, because all of the visually interesting elements are centered into one spot. Laramée is able to take a book, an object that is not appreciated as much in today’s society, and turn it into a remarkable masterpiece by using both elements and principles of design.

__**Hirshhorn Museum**__









My views on art aren't much different as they were before I started taking this class, but I do appreciate the work that goes into making art more than I did before. I view art through the eyes of the artist and how their piece might symbolize their life. I'm intrigued by how art pieces can raise questions, challenge views, and even symbolize life. I believe creating a sculpture and having it observed, encourages the view to think, question, and examine not only the piece but maybe tie it into a personal matter of their own, and the act of doing that, creating imagination within someone else is the biggest form of art itself. So in other words I believe art is much bigger than creating a piece of work, but rather it's the unseen matter of how it may affect someone. The association of art and mind, to me is the biggest form of art, and I didn't see that before. However, after making art pieces myself and viewing art from fellow classmates and artist, I've stood in both shoes and seeing the way art can affect someone in both ways was quite amazing. So in the end I would have to say yes, I do view art differently now. I look more deeply into what the piece can create, instead of how it looks. My experience with art is also different because now because I like to create pieces that have a deeper meaning, whereas before I would just try to make a piece that looked nice. I try to create a pieces that are true to my views and beliefs of what life is with art. So I guess the saying "earth without art is just eh" is very true(: