WP3: Statement of Purpose

In these modern times, art can be just about whatever we want it to be. Many people see abstract art as pieces of garbage that a five year old could do, while others see abstract art as exquisite works that can never be outdone. Art is primarily in the eye of the beholder. Sculptures are no different. Some people could pass a sculpture and think that it’s just this large circular object that isn’t quite a perfect circle, while another person could see it and try to analyze the deeper meaning beyond the exterior appearance of the work of art.

As I analyze Daimaru XV by Michael Todd, I need to be direct and efficient with my writing. I need to convey my message in the clearest way possible. Because this project is unlike the previous two projects I have done, I need to find a way to convey all the ideas and meanings that my sculpture represents. By accomplishing this mission, I hope to give people a better understanding of Daimaru XV and of art in general. I want to demonstrate to my audience the argument created within the sculpture Daimaru XV. The argument this sculpture portrays is demonstrated through aesthetic and rhetorical elements that appeal to both pathos and logos, through the title of the sculpture and through the elements in which the sculpture was placed. I want to enlighten my audience on how the sculpture is demonstrating the various ideas the sculptor intended it to demonstrate.

My audience will primarily be my teacher and my classmates, but also various people walking by as they see us perform our readings. I know my main audience fairly well and am aware that they will also be doing projects similar to mine, so they will be expecting certain things from my presentation. My primary audience has the same knowledge and terminology that I do, therefore this will contribute to how they criticize my performance and overall reading.

I will also have a secondary audience of various internet bloggers and searchers who happen to come across my blog either by blogging or through a random search engine. This audience won’t have the background knowledge that I have, therefore I need to take this into mind and create an essay that will appeal to this audience as well. I need to appeal to this audience and also inform them of the ideas that my sculpture is trying to portray.

Art is a major part of the world around us. It communicates to us in ways that verbal communication cannot satisfy. The major goal of my essay/letter is to help others better understand the message being relayed by the sculpture Daimaru XV. If I am not successful in demonstrating this argument, the audience will not be able to fully understand and appreciate Michael Todd’s sculpture. The audience will have the ultimate decision in whether I am successful or not, however. If I am successful, then the audience will leave my performance or essay with a better understanding of the underlying meaning within Daimaru XV and other art in general. If I am not successful, then the audience will leave without gaining the knowledge and understanding I had hoped they’d gain.