Poetry Response

For this assignment, I created two small sculptures using only paper, ink and thread. These sculptures were created in response to the poem Gatsby, Again by Laney Burrell.

For my first solution, I wanted to evoke the sense of emptiness that was present in the poem. I also took inspiration from Art Deco architecture, which has geometric lines and shapes. The "green light turning red" mentioned within the poem is represented by the cylindrical form hanging from the lid of the box. The cylinder was created by coating strips of Rives paper with gel medium and wrapping the strips around a wooden dowel. 

My second solution was inspired by the Hollywood sign and hills mentioned in the poem. I cut vaguely letter-like shapes using an exacto knife and strung them together using contrasting thread.