WP3: First Rough Draft

Teamwork is concept I was introduced to at a young age. Whether it was picking up toys with my sisters or playing a round of kickball with the neighborhood kids, some form of teamwork was there. As time went on and I got older, I was faced with new circumstances and challenges, but teamwork was one aspect that remained the same. I was on sports teams, dance team and in different organizations. Each one of these activities required me to work with the other members of my group to reach an end goal. Now that I am in college I still have to use these skills when collaborating efforts for a group project or presentation or at my job. As I was looking at the sculpture, Arietta II, designed by Catherine Ferguson, it continuously reminded me of this idea of teamwork. As I thought about the piece of art and the rhetorical elements that it possesses, I recalled the saying, “You’re only as strong as your weakest player.” Observing this sculpture through an aesthetic point of view, the materials that provide the structure of the sculpture, the visual hierarchy in the composition of its individual parts and its location on UNL City Campus all provide evidence that support the importance of teamwork and this commonly used statement. Along with these key rhetorical elements, the name of the art object also ties in with this argument.

The material that Arietta II is comprised of is painted black steel. The steel was used to cut out individual abstract bird shapes. These birds were then welded together in an overlapping pattern. The figure is in the shape of a vase so some of the bird’s bodies or wings had to be bent in order to achieve that shape. If you examine the sculpture up close, you can see the exact places where the each bird piece was fused to the other. I think this is an important aspect in the structure of this piece. Although it looks like one unified object from a distance, up close you can still distinguish between each bird. This is a lot like a team. There are individual players, members or co-workers that make up the group, but when it comes to accomplishing tasks it is a team effort. It was windy on the last day I was out studying my art object. If you watched the sculpture closely you could see it swaying slightly from the force of the wind. The vase shape that Arietta II was molded to required that the smaller, partial birds be located at the bottom and support the rest of the pieces as they gradually expand outward towards the top. Therefore, the bottom is less structurally sound and it would be easy for the wind to move it. If the sculpture was instead flipped, becoming a pyramid, I don’t think this would be as likely to occur. This characteristic demonstrates how the sculpture, like a team or group, is only as strong as its weakest element.

The composition of Arietta II is another aspect to consider. Visual hierarchy is evident in this piece of art. Like I mentioned in the paragraph above, the sculpture is constructed in the shape of a vase. The visual hierarchy is controlled by the different sizes of birds used in the composition. The pieces at the bottom are smaller and do not represent a complete bird. It is easily observed that the birds get larger and more complete the closer their location is to the top. When observing this from a distance, it makes it seem like the birds located in the middle to top region are more important because they are more distinguishable. However, if the small partial birds at the base of the sculpture were not present, the sculpture would not have its bottom to top visual hierarchy. The vase shape that the welded birds create takes your eyes from the base to top. Although the smaller pieces may seem unimportant, they are in fact crucial to the composition even though they do not demand much attention from the viewer.

This sculpture is located just north of the Sheldon Art Museum on a small area of grass. There is a variety of buildings that surround the piece of art. The College of Business Administration is directly east of it and Hamilton, the college of arts and sciences, is to the south. Business, arts and sciences are all very different from each other. History is also incorporated into this mix because of the Sheldon Art Museum which is also another whole area of studies. If you walk around the sculpture monitoring the buildings you will notice that they are all different in structure as well. This is reflected in the figure because each bird that Arietta II is made of is different and serves its own individual purpose in the composition of the piece of art. It takes people from all professions to make the world what it is and it is the teamwork of those individuals that makes a difference. Similarly, each bird is needed to make this art object what it is. If one of the birds were missing it would change the structure dramatically leaving a hole where it once was and disrupting the aesthetic appeal.

Arietta is an Italian word that means a relatively uncomplicated aria. An aria is an elaborate song for a solo voice (thefreedictionary.com). In other words, an arietta is an uncomplicated song that is meant to be sung by one single person. This may not seem like it has much to do with teamwork, but if you consider what makes up a song it actually does. A song is comprised of different notes. Each note has its role in producing the piece of music. If a note is left out, there could be a break in the song or it could cause problems with the balance or harmony in the musical composition. Like the title suggests, this sculpture could be thought of as its own musical piece. Each bird could symbolize a note. Without one of them, the piece could not be considered whole.

Teamwork is an important aspect that is put into action every day. Whether you are a team member at the bottom of the structure mainly serving as support or a member more easily recognized by others for your efforts, each is important. Like the birds in the sculpture, when efforts are put together, what can result is often profound and pleasing to the eye.

Works Cited:

"Arietta." The Free Dictionary . 2009. Farlex Inc, Web. 7 Dec 2009. .