WP3: Statement of Purpose

The third writing project of this semester requires us to analyze a sculpture in the Sheldon Art Museum Sculpture Garden. This is similar to the two previous writing assignments we have already completed. However, because the piece of art we are examining is a sculpture instead of a picture, there are significant differences that set this writing assignment apart from the others. This changes my requirements I have to fulfill as a writer. My purpose for this third writing project is to present the argument I feel Catherine Ferguson, the creator of Arietta II, intended to express when she designed and built this art object. I will do this by outlining and describing in detail the specific rhetorical elements that my sculpture possesses and how they were used to effectively present the argument.

I will be using the initial observations and inferences I have made during my first pre-write exercise. Some of these rhetorical appeals include: visual hierarchy, abstraction and symbolism. Incorporating these elements into my essay will serve as the evidence to support the argument that I will be presenting. Along with expanding off of my initial inferences, I will be using the information I found while researching for the second pre-write exercise, the portion of the project where we do a historical analysis. I will be looking at how my sculpture and the rhetorical elements it exhibits call your attention to specific parts of the art object, which in turn helps to present the argument at hand. The fact that this art object is three dimensional is another important part of this writing project that was not a factor in the previous two assignments. I will also need to incorporate how this influences and dictates the message and thoughts that my statue provokes.

In this piece of writing I will be viewing my art object through an aesthetic perspective. There are many important elements you can observe while looking at this sculpture. You can also walk around the piece and examine it from multiple angles and views. This is what sets analyzing sculptures apart from analyzing pictures. Not only is this difference important to my argument, but it is also important when considering my audience for this piece of writing. It is important that I have an obvious context where my ideas are coming from in order to establish a strong argument.

In this writing project my audience consists of anyone who reads my blog, specifically though, this mainly includes my classmates and my professor. This writing assignment is graded so I need to consider the guidelines that were posted on the blog by my professor. Although this is an academic piece of writing, it is posted on the internet, therefore anyone can read it. This is also an important aspect to consider. I need to write in a style that can be appreciated by a wide variety of readers. In order to establish ethos through my writing I will need to use a language that my audience can relate to and understand. Another thing to think about in this writing assignment is how the style of Catherine Ferguson’s sculpture can be interpreted in a wide variety of ways because the pieces she uses to construct the sculpture are abstract. This means I will have to present my argument clearly with effective evidence. I will also be able to use multimedia to help explain my argument in ways that words might not be able to communicate. In addition to covering my points in a way that is convincing I also want to leave my audience with something to think about and take away with them after they finish reading. I believe I can compose a successful piece of writing if I am able to complete all the goals I have outlined above.

WP#: Historical Research

My art piece is called Arietta II and was built in 1998. The sculpture was designed by Catherine Ferguson. She is an artist from Omaha, Nebraska. She has a wide variety of work ranging from drawings to sculptures to opera settings. Her work is featured, not only at the Sheldon Art Museum, but also at the University of Nebraska Omaha, the Museum of Nebraska Art, the Landmark Building, the Omaha Public Library and the Qwest Center in Omaha among others. Outside of these public art works she also has some private pieces. According to her biography on her website, her installations usually have a mythical and idealistic quality to them. These pieces are what she is most well known for. In addition to her work as an artist she also serves as a board member for Bemis Center for Contemporary’s Arts and held a board member position for six years on the Nebraska Arts Council (catherineferguson.com).

I looked through pictures of some of her other pieces of art work which can be found on her website. Her drawings were all in black and white and the medium of choice was ink on paper. These drawings consisted of crosshatched lines that depicted one single object or a group of two or three similar objects. The titles of these drawings were simple whatever the name of the object was followed by a number if there was more than one representation of that particular object. Al-Khemia is the title of an installation that is located inside of Sheldon Art Museum.

There was a variety of different sculptures that she featured. Her sculpture was made of painted cast bronze or steel. These sculptures were all what I would classify as abstract. Most of them had some sort of connection with nature and she incorporated stick or twig-like shapes into many of them. All of the public sculptures I viewed incorporated some sort of animal or element from nature. There was also a similar sculpture to Arietta II in the private collection section that was titled Bird Bowl. It appeared to have the same concept, a unified composition of black painted steel birds. I found a quote from the documentary Is It Art? By Joel Geyer from Catherine Ferguson regarding her use of animals in her work that helps to explain why she likes to incorporate them: "By putting the animals in there, I am trying to add an archetypal element to it -- Carl Jung's idea of animals being part of our deepest selves in our dreams, the part that we maybe know the least. Well, as westerners we have a real separation and we have a conflict with nature and are always wanting to be superior to nature and dominate it. I'm more comfortable with a balance with it, but I think it's something we all just have to continue to examine. Way back I think I decided that the farther we get away from nature the more psychotic we're going to be. (netnebraska.org)" I think this quote will help me to see her sculpture Arietta II more in the way she intended when she designed it and I believe this will be important when it comes to writing my third writing project.

Works Cited:

Ferguson, Catherine. "Bio." Catherine Ferguson. 2007. Web. 30 Nov 2009.


Geyer, Joel. "Catherine Ferguson-Installation Artist." State Wide Interactive. 30 Aug 1993. Web. 30 Nov 2009. .

WP#: Third Pre-Write

On Thursday during class I experienced a new form of music composed by Wayne Coyne which he calls Zaireeka. I found it to be extremely interesting and unlike anything I have ever been a part of. It enabled me to see music as more than just what it is and changed my perception of it as well. It introduced me to a whole new way of thinking, one that I feel like I still cannot quite completely grasp on to. The thought of taking one element and joining it with other elements of its kind the way Wayne Coyne did with his 4 individual CD’s is a task that seems a rather mind boggling to me. You would not have thought that the bizarre and diverse sounds, lyrics and melodies that were coming from the four different sets of speakers would blend together to make a single song that is actually pleasing to listen to. However, when the tracks were in unison or at least playing somewhat in the manor they were intended to, the musical composition that resulted was amazing and intriguing. It was almost something that I can’t even put into words. This concept of taking something and considering it for more than what it is can be applied to my sculpture for the third writing assignment.

An initial response towards Arietta II by any random person who passes by might just simply be an attitude of recognition and appreciation for the piece of art. This would be what I would consider to be taking the object for what it is, nothing more, nothing less. This person could identify that the sculpture is indeed made up of individual steel cut-outs of birds welded together to make the shape of a vase. If this were the case, this person could still take a deeper look at the sculpture to realize there is more to it than that. Listening to and experiencing Zaireeka has given me a greater understanding of how to tap into the idea of conceptualizing a sculpture for more than just a sculpture.

I think my sculpture, as an art object, adds to its natural environment that surrounds it in an important way. The sculpture is located outside of Sheldon Art Museum. It is in the center of a pad of grass that is surrounded by a few trees and some bushes. Although a steel sculpture is not something I would normally consider natural, I feel like its location and the fact that it is made up of birds helps the object become part of its natural surroundings. Birds are commonly seen outside and obviously they live in trees. The birds that make up this sculpture are larger than what would normally be seen on city campus. I think this is something interesting to consider and also an intensification of the natural environment that surrounds Arietta II. Without the sculpture there would be nothing that really sets this specific area on campus apart from other areas. The art object creates interest. The shadow of the sculpture is an art object in itself which brings interest into the surrounding environment. It creates movement because of the individual placement of each bird. It provokes thought and question and inspires imagination. I don’t feel like this area would posses these things if the sculpture wasn’t there.