WP3: Statement of Purpose

For my third and final writing project, I will be crafting a letter directed to the sculpture, Serenity, while discussing its rhetorical appeals as focused through the parallels of its imagery of protection and mutilation. This letter will then be posted on my blog, as well as read and dramatically performed for the structure in front of the class and any other passer-by. All of these aspects present an interesting and new dilemma for the final work.
First and foremost, this project is not the rhetorical analysis of WP1, nor is it truly the creative piece that WP2 became. This will fall somewhere in the center. While there will be scholarly aspects to the letter, from the rhetorical appeals, understanding of the art form, and knowledge of the historical significance of the structure and its artist, the fact that it will be aimed at an inanimate object asks for some level of creativity. The very essence of a letter demands that it has some reader to whom it is directed and who will (hopefully) read it; but these are things a sculpture cannot do. A sculpture has no direct personality or thought process, so this makes empathizing with it by means of written communication more complex than other subjects to which said letter could be directed. Therefore, it is my job to give Serenity a life of its own, in a sense, so that I may better address it.
The next step in the process is to read the paper aloud, directly speaking to the sculpture while indirectly entertaining my instructor and classmates. This asks much the same as the writing of the letter, as, again, Serenity will not truly be listening to my words. Instead, this reading will be more for those around me, including my peers both within the class and without, i.e. any other student or faculty member who may happen to wander through Sheldon's Sculpture Garden at said time. My letter will still be focused upon the sculpture as if it were listening and if it were a real person, but the phrasing may be chosen to be more entertaining to those listening, in order to keep them involved with the presentation of my work.
In this letter, I will address Serenity as a fellow human being, addressing it and commenting upon its structure, mainly about the ideas of its protective stance and mutilated form. Seeing both its pose, by how its back is turned, the position of the legs, and the grasping motion the right arm seems to make, and its disfigurement, meaning the sculpture's lack of head or full limbs, the structure asks much of its viewers, as analyzed earlier, while also taking its title into account. These will be applied throughout the letter, but not for the purpose of full analyzation, but merely as a means for "conversation" with Serenity. These topics will be used to further the discussion about the piece, giving my secondary audience some insight and background while I address the sculpture directly, and work to explore these themes "with it."