In this project, I wanted to explore the sense of touch through the decontextualization of different textures made from every-day items. I used cardboard, yarn, q-tips, bubble wrap, thread, hot glue, and newspaper to create different mats of varying textures. I then placed these textures to the underside of the desks in the classroom. My goal was to get different reactions from each person feeling the textures without being able to see what they were touching. I decided on using the classroom for this installation because classrooms are usually seen as tools to create art rather than spaces to find art, and I wanted to show that the room itself could become an artistic space.
Something that I think went well was having everyone participate in feeling around for the different textures. It was interesting to see everyone react differently to feeling different unexplained things. I think I was successful in getting my purpose across because some people were able to relate the experience to feeling gum underneath a table, which was one of the things that lead me to this project. Another thing that I think was successful was having no one using their eyes to look for the textures; this really conveyed my concept of finding the art. Something that I would do differently if I did this project again would be making the texture mats bigger so that they cover a bigger surface area. I think it would also be interesting to put the textures on different surfaces within the room like on the ceiling or doors so that there’s more chance for individual interaction. Overall, I think that this project went well because I was able to see what kind of art I could create without a visual sense.
Mae's 4D Art Blog 