[06.) PAPERCRAFT: RESEARCH]

    To prepare for our first papercraft assignment coming up, we've been assigned the task of doing research on various well known papercraft artists. There were a few that I found especially incredible, like Vincent Tomczyk and their hyper realistic paper sculptures or Li Hongbo and their strange, flexible sculptures that defy how we traditionally think of paper. However for myself, when I think about who I want to be as an artist and what inspires me, I had to make this post about Matt Shlian.

Shlian has been asked before on his website was his artwork "means" and rejects this notion that the artwork like the ones I have posted have one singular meaning, as interpreting and reading into a piece of art is something that is meant for the viewer. Art isn't something that is made and the creator tells people what to think of it- it is up to the audience to determine whether the craft of it speaks to themselves in a particular way. I can't help but wonder though what his own interpretation is though?

I read this artwork as an artistic demonstration of the geography and tessellations created in his work he does in the sciences. In a day to day context, people tend to love dichotomy and those who don't look into it further might see the arts and sciences as being two separate entities. I think the work he creates combines both through an aesthetic experience that speaks for itself. 

The first thing that I noticed with this paper engineer was a quote that caught my attention as someone who oftentimes struggles to have a final picture of what an assignment or project will look like in the end. I've always seen it as a flaw, but it made me hopeful that somewhere my ability to make things up as I go and improvise could be useful. 

“My process is extremely varied from piece to piece. Often I start without a clear goal in mind, working within a series of limitations. For example on one piece I’ll only use curved folds, or make my lines this length or that angle, etc. Other times I begin with an idea for movement and try to achieve that shape or form somehow.”

And like that, I found some sort of way to feel connected to this artist, through this similar way of thinking. So I began doing more research and saw in his artist statement that his geometric work is often made in collaboration with scientists at the University of Michigan and felt this was such an inspiring way to use modelling- to aid in solar cell development. This intersection where science and art come together is incredible to me and I would love to to do something that pushes humanity into the future in this way. 

When talking more about his process, Shlian talks about how oftentimes during his work, he'll often encounter an issue and the issue becomes more interesting than the original idea, and he goes with that instead, which is something I never considered before. I wonder how I would do that with the last assignment we just completed, because I feel I had so many issues. What would be a Matt Shlian way of thinking about this? Would my planes that refused to lie flat and do what I wanted them to do be able to inspire me to make something?

For him, curiosity is a starting point. He mentions that he gets inspiration from all sorts of other fields not pertaining to art, things like protein misfolds, architecture and music. 

I have to make the work in order to understand it.  If I can completely visualize my final result I have no reason to make it- I need to be surprised.  

This enjoyment in process and of learning, breaking things, learning the wrong way to do them as opposed to scrutinizing the final end result is something I am trying to become more familiar with. I think a lot of times I hate my own art because it didn't amount to what I wanted in the end, but maybe the learning and what is gained inside has more merit. It reminded me that the art we make forms us just as much as we shape it, and sometimes it defies us to teach us another way.

On his website, he also mentions that if we reference him in our blogs, we should link his work. So here is a link to his website.

https://www.mattshlian.com/contact