the shape of a thought ...
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 Anatomy of Thought on André Sousa, 2010 Dear Andrea and Valeria, I am very thankful for your invitation for which I made 5 works entitled Anatomy of Thought as a result of my enthusiasm for this project. I congratulate you for the great work you’re doing and which I believe will conclude in a great success. Congratulations to my colleagues, with my special thanks to Dani and Francisca with whom I had the pleasure to exchange some messages. To José Springer and to my partner Miguel with whom I’ve enjoyed sharing some thoughts. In the image you can see one brooch from the series. This is the first image of my finished work I post in the blog and is dedicated to all of you. With love, Leonor  Anatomy of thought on Martin Kullik, 2010 Hi Leonor, I was moved yesterday by something unexpected, it wasn’t a pleasant experience to be sure, but it allowed me to connect in a compassionate way with a creature that I had overlooked and perhaps been ambivalent towards previously. On my way home from the studio, I saw an injured bird struggling to fly from the street. I was confused at first as to what I was seeing as a tormenting onlooker was cheering for the bird to be hit by passing cars… really sick. I will spare you the details, but will say that the bird did lift off and fly before the next car passed. It was an injured pigeon… It made me reflect on the cruelty of some, the lack of compassion and sensitivity towards other living creatures… and especially the common disregard for pigeons specifically, which are considered somewhat of a public nuisance to many in the city. Whatever people’s feelings about pigeons, I have no tolerance for cruelty to any animals.. and I began reflecting on these creatures and their significance in the world – which unexpectedly re-connected me to our project.. Homing pigeons as messenger birds were among the earliest forms of long distance communication, carrying messages thousands of years ago (before blogging) as far back as the Egyptian period… they have an internal map and compass that allows them to be incredible and intuitive navigators. They’ve carried messages back and forth in different lands and cultures for millennia… they were the first system of post/mail even. As we pass images, ideas and notes back and forth over this blog, it made me reflect on this bird as a symbol, as a carrier of messages that travel and migrate… Below are a few images of early carrier pigeons. These birds were even fitted with cameras by a German apothecary who sent medicines and prescriptions back and forth 100 years ago…  Homing pigeons fitted with cameras, c.1903  Aerial views from their wingtips... Here is an old engraving of Messenger Pigeons… notice the note tied around the ankle  Messenger Pigeons (Harper's Engraving)  Detail of a note, a message So I want to play with this idea, of the note or a message, tied to the wrist or to the ankle like a bracelet or adornment perhaps. I’m also interested in engaging ideas of flight, communication, distance and migration.. am experimenting in the studio with found objects, and other materials.. send me a post : ) -Miguel It is really nice to see your images work-in-progress. The forms and process of our works really do have something in common… In what way do you see this parallelism influencing your work for the gray area? I am getting my first pieces ready but I still didn’t have time to document them. They have something in common with Fragments and Human Patterns, with the same materials as well – resins, plexiglass, metal (silver) and rubber. Here I am attaching an image of the series Human Patterns for you to get an idea of a similar facet in my work for WGA.  Human Patterns, LH 2008 Hi Leonor! I love your work from the Fragments series and after talking with you more about your materials and process, I realized that we have some commonalities in our work here.. This image of yours below particularly signaled parallels in both form and materials, reminding me of the undulating forms I engaged when creating a fiberglass speaker enclosure for my Piragua cart-bicycle sculpture. Although the final objects are quite different, they share similar sculptural paths…  From the Fragments series - Leonor Hipólito, 2008 Here are some in-process images of the Piragua cart-bicycle I mentioned. The title of the project is Pimp my Piragua – a mobile public art project that commemorates the innovations of Latino street vendors, transforming a traditional pushcart for selling shaved ice (Piraguas) into a hyper-modified pushcart-tricycle with a hi-fi sound and video system. The cart started with a wood and mdf frame:  wood, mdf frame for pushcart, ML 2008 Next, the wood frame is stretched over with polyester fleece…  fleece-covered speaker enclosure, ML 2008 The fleece is then covered with resin to harden the structure, and reinforced with fiberglass…  fiberglass reinforced structure, ML 2008 The entire structure was then covered in automotive resin putty and sanded meticulously for weeks…  sanding and smoothing the surface, ML 2008 Next, the structure is sprayed with an automotive primer paint, then sanded again before final painting…  spraying primer, ML 2008 The final paint is a metalic orange automotive paint with a few coats of clear….  final paint, ML 2008 Finally, the speakers, stereo, and video monitors are installed and the cart is mounted on the tricycle frame…  Pimp my Piragua, ML 2008 The project becomes interactive and performative as I take it into the community, playing music, video and selling Piraguas (shaved ice)…  Pimp my Piragua, Brooklyn, NY. Photo: J.Irani, 2009  Pimp my Piragua, Brooklyn, NY. Photo: J.Irani, 2009  Pimp my Piragua, Brooklyn, NY. Photo: J.Irani, 2009 Hi Miguel as we spoke last Sunday via skype and being both staring to grip some shapes I am sending you some pics of the process. My work, gaining now some consistence, it will be based on resins, metal and rubber, by using similar techniques as in Fragments, the ones you’ve just saw in my site http://www.leonorhipolito.com I find your sculpy a very nice medium as well and it can make you discover really great forms. Its tactility permits you to imprint the sensuality you were referring to, perhaps not in the most precise way but expressively. Good work!
preparation to mix the resin and pour it into a recipient
raw fragments of casted resin
paper studies
plasticine studies  photo, LH 2009  illustration, LH 2009 Hi Miguel great photo the golden apparatus. Very beautiful and the fact the body is absent it seems to enhance its power. Few weeks ago I saw a documentary about the Inca and the interesting thing was that in the documentary they actually talked about a previous empire in which people were the masters in working gold. Lambayeque Empire it seemed to be previous to the Inca and an inspiration in many sources. Golden masks after the image of Nyamlap (their God) were a cult for those who could afford emulate him. I found this mask which is very much after his image.  gold_mask_lima These masks within the idea of an identity projected to the generality fascinates me. It’s not very far from the street wear you were focused on. In both there is somehow the desire to match, to belong somewhere and somehow, to be accepted, integrated and adored. To be one and all.  museo de oro, colombia Hi Leonor, This was from el Museo de Oro in Bogotá this past August. A lot of hardware… and the presence/absence of the figure articulated in the display. Hi Miguel it was nice to skype with you yesterday. Here I am sending you an image of the spoken cap!!! Not Swarovski crystals though… Keeping in touch, Leonor  me and my cap, 08.12.09  cosmo lineas Hi Lenor, Catching up with posts, have been traveling some. When I travel, I am in my head, especially in the downtime outside of my routine.. it’s sometimes a welcome and quiet time away… the actual time spent traveling. Time traveling, and time-traveling are actually things that interest me. Have been thinking for sometime about ideas of time and space, and of the cosmos as a metaphoric space that opens up new possibilities or reconsiderations of our realities. From the Cosmo-vision of the Mayas and other ancient civilizations to the kitsch world of science-fiction and the wonder of space and time today, I am interested in the visual and metaphysical exploration of these ideas.
identity=sameness? Hi Dani it is interesting that you connect the reflexion of yourself in the glass to a ghost. This approaches the way we define things that are vague to us, suspendend in the line of uncertainty, falling off the realm of materiality. A person in his individuality never lacks identity. Identity fades when disintegration of the unit occurs. How to precise the very moment a person becomes a ghost?  my shadow, LH 2007  fingerprint graffiti, LH 2009 When we make a graffiti we are defining a territory at the same time are trespassing the borders of establishments. I’ve been thinking a lot in this project and sketching what I am up to make. This reflective process it as been very profiting to me but I regret I didn’t get you more participative on my posts. I wonder what your plans of work for this project are . Looking forward to hearing from you soon.  view on "Segredos e Reliquias" from Teresa Pavão, LH 2009 Today a group of students from the jewelry department of Ar.Co got a guiding tour by the ceramicist and textile artist Teresa Pavão to her exhibition “Segredos e Reliquias” present at the Museum Ricardo Espirito Santo in Lisbon. Interesting definitions I found: Fire = Liveliness of imagination; Intellectual and moral enthusiasm; Brilliancy; luster; hence, a star; To inflame; to irritate, as the passions; as, to fire the soul with anger, pride, or revenge. To animate; to give life or spirit to; To illuminate; Cause to go off; Call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses); “arouse pity”; “raise a smile”; “evoke sympathy” ; I am glad about that Dani! Any gesture, any thought, any impression you share inspires me too! And that’s all about isn’t it? Here I am quoting an extract of Kertu Tuberg text for ‘Chroma/Monochroma’. Nomad Jewellery Contemporary jewellery carries the philosophy of travelling in itself. The one who makes jewellery is travelling, the one who wears it is travelling, and the one who notices it is travelling. Paths are different and travellers are differents, but at some point they all have recognised their resting place or their home in jewellery. They have discovered something that accords with their nature.  Traces, LH 2009  Traces, LH 2009  Traces, LH 2009
paper ball  Traits, LH 2009  Traces, LH 2009  Drawing, LH 2009 I am working my way through direction the subject “thoughts”. A key question raised up: How is one’s state of mind when travelling? How is your state of mind when travelling, walking or wandering? Can you sketch a picture for me? Hi Miguel I’ve been away for sometime. Busy with other things for the moment… but I’ve kept thinking in the WGA project and I think am getting closer to a concrete idea. Time is flying and I realise I feel the urge to start organising my thoughts direction a plan of work.  Traits, LH 2009 Hi Leonor, I like the traces, am here in the studio working on paintings mostly at the moment.. will post pics soon. Apart from this, have been thinking a bit about how my environment / locale may reflect in this new collaborative work. I’m currently surrounded by vending machines and kiddie-rides in the studio..  "Cuando las Gallinas Mean", Coin-operated vending machine  experiments, LH 2009 Hi Miguel I’ve been making some experiments focused on traces. I am doing as well a couple of photographic studies which I hope will be able to post you soon. Till now I feel like these are a bit random explorations but by reflecting upon them I think I am getting closer to a more concrete idea. How are you doing? Greetings  Praline, LH 2005 Hi again, consumerism was a subject I’ve stirred in some works as well but more obvious in the series entitled Praline. In this particular case the dichotomy of precious-waste and image-content, emphasizes the subjectivity of people’s notion of value within their social context. As in your work Praline questions the material desires to project them as signs of psychological stereotypes. Where to begin? That’s THE question that as been surrounding me for a couple of weeks… In former posts I’ve mention the comunication as an important issue for me in this project, the crossing of ideas and the diffusion of mental boundaries. But I also came across the analogy macro-micro which I see as a very interesting subject when we come to discuss our way to sense the world: home, territory, property or the feeling of being a corn in the vast field. In this project some key issues were lain on the table: another interesting point questioned and perhaps close to the way we might direct this collaboration is: Does cultural exchange lead to broadening artistic borders or to uniformity?
Hi Lenor, Thanks for the reply, I’m enjoying reading about your work and ideas. My interest in jewelry is a good question… While I have a tremendous appreciation for jewelry makers and am amazed by the work of the jewelry makers/artists in this group, it’s an area I have modestly explored. I’m generally enamored with the making, crafting and conceptualization of objects. However in my own work, jewelry has been referenced mostly as a commodity, appropriated and manipulated to engage questions of materialism and decadence. A lot of my work explores consumerism and the influence of popular and consumer culture in our lives. In the Pure Plantainum works for example, the empowerment of the symbol is problematized by the dichotomy of the exterior versus interior materials, a platinum jewel on the surface, a deteriorating plátano within. It’s a layered symbol, embedded with various contradictions that at once celebrate culture while questioning our material desires. Having said this, I’m interested in how this gray area project might open new ideas. I enjoy seeing peoples’ conceptual approaches to making jewelry, particularly when using unconventional or unexpected materials. I’m still thinking about how to engage our project here and intrigued by the possibilities of collaboration over such distance… where to begin? PS – is there anyway to get an email notification when someone responds or comments on the blog? I’m sure i’d respond better if I could figure this out. let me know if you have any suggestions.. thanks! Miguel
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