Glass block sculpture- final term 2nd year with Luke Blackstone

Process:

These blocks were once a wall. I took it apart, cleaned it, taped them up, sandblasted a quote on them, 

untaped them and cleaned them again, built an aluminum structure with pop-rivets and a drill and a metal cutting drill and a lot of patience and trial and error with aluminum welding, then strategically placed the blocks so they would fit in the aluminum structure and silicone glued them together so that the structure would be sturdy and long lasting.  So what may seem like a few glass blocks stacked in a reflecting pool was actually a few months of preparing and planning, and a lot of trips back and forth from the sandblaster.

Why:

 The finished result I called "cultural theory" because of the quote I chose by Louis Althusser in which he contemplates Ideology and the human consciousness of trapping ourselves within it.  The quote is: "Ideology represents the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence." I chose it because the sculpture was to be site specific in the reflecting pool by the Langara College library. I learned about Althusser in my Contemporary Cultural Theory and the Arts course and how we succumb to imaginary relationships such as language, religion, politics, structures, money etc. without a question. Knowledge is an important tool and the glass-blocks I chose to resemble books I wanted to convey a message. Since they are transparent it also represents the transparencies with our society's structure and how we need to recognize how we live and question why we do things or act a certain way.  Thank you to my professor Dr. Lynn Ruscheinsky for all her wisdom throughout the past two years and opening my eyes to reality. I recommend the course to anyone who likes philosophy!