Carl Andre’s use of material, specifically materials that are almost raw, in that they have been manipulated by man into manageable shapes, is something that I intend to focus on within my own use of material. I love using materials halfway between resource and material, an object that has just enough refinement and human interaction to warrant it a material, while still being as close to a ‘raw’ material as possible.
Andre’s arrangement of materials or the shaping of a material in this way is something that I find really interesting. An example of this material manipulation can be seen in his ‘Last Ladder’, carving out organic shapes from a length of salvaged wood. The carved out sections were intended to show the raw qualities of the wood, and the carving also fulfils my personal desire to combine raw material with human interaction.
