Hoang Tran

Crayon Carvings.

So for this blog post I'm looking into character.

Now I know these are copies of characters, you can't deny that the method of creating and sculpting them is mesmerising. Here's a short video showing you how's it done.

So I read this interview with Hoang Tran, I feel like I've discovered a lot about his work even though it's only a short interview, http://www.lostateminor.com/2014/02/27/interview-crayon-sculptor-hoang-tran/.

I found it so interesting to discover that it wasn't his idea and that he was inspired by an artist called Diem Chau. A Vietnamese artist who hasn't been around for a while. But his work is really different to Hoang Tran, it's really interesting how he uses his crayon works for commissions and as a form of visual storytelling with characters. Which might be more relevant to this module. But he hasn't actually recorded much of his crayon work he moved more into sewing on porcelain.
http://www.diemchau.com/about.html

I think it's really interesting how the crayons are on a multitude of bases, it looks like they should be families and to me it looks like it's making a statement about how families come in different shapes and sizes and they all link together. I really like how the story isn't clear but because you've been told there is one the audience is going to spend longer looking for the details of the story. I think that's a clever thing to do in a gallery and I know it's a common thing ever since the modernist movement, I just think this is a new way of challenging a gallery space, because they won't take up a lot of room in a gallery.

I also really like how creepy and normal this commission looks, I think the pop culture work Hoang Tran does work better because it's something the audience is surrounded with on a daily basis so even if there are a few details missing they are still instantly recognisable. It's like your brain fills in the gaps. I think Hoang Tran went the right way about it from a commercial and money making perspective because it's easier to sell things that are well known. I just think there's so much potential with this to run with and go into fantasy land. Can you imagine if these were animated. It's be so crazy. I personally can imagine them not being able to move properly because they are grounded to the screen like weird little puppets. I think it'd be such cool visual aesthetic to add thread to them to make them into crayon puppets. I'm onto a genius idea here. Maybe not for a feature length but definitely a short film.