Michelle Smith

BFA Sculpture

ARTIST STATEMENT: The art installation, so aptly named, Potential, is a natural culmination to the recent series of sculptures created by Michelle A. Smith. It investigates the overarching idea of the seed and its many layers of meaning. A seed that contains within it a yet untapped– awaiting potential. In this instance, the sculpture Potential takes the idea, motive and purpose of a seed and flips it back onto the viewer, as the artist feels there is a direct correlation between both seeds and humans. She believes that humans, like seeds, contain a latent possibility with a dual capacity of both creative and destructive qualities.

As the viewer steps up to this twisting natural surround which was pulled straight from nature itself, they find themselves enveloped by a semicircular canopy of vines in various shades of brown and cream. These vines visually extend beyond the physical barriers of the institutional windows and walls – reaching back into nature from whence they came. Littered throughout this organic structure are ceramic teardrop shaped seed pods that were finished in a deep silver, mirror-like glaze. At the center hangs a larger version of this seed which seems to float at eye level to the viewer – silently asking them to take a closer look. The reflective surface is meant to draw the audience in and hold the them captive for at least a moment, in an effort to make a small but important connection between the internal and external self as the viewer acknowledges themselves seeing themselves.