WP3: First Draft

To Serenity, my dear friend,

It's been many weeks now that we've spent together, truly working to get to know one another. So I must tell you all of the things I have learned about you, all that you have inspired, in this time.

Serenity, the first days I saw you, I was merely walking past, on my way to do any number of errands about the grounds in which you reside. You caught my eye, then, with your hunched figure holding desperately to that wall. I dared not come closer, lest I disturb you, but I knew somehow we must meet.

Thus, I sprung at the chance to join you, dive into your soul and find what you and Saul had to offer about the world. Your dark, rough-hewn metal, protective stance, and mangled body told me, first, a tale of woe and sadness. All I could see was a beaten figure, retracting from the world to shelter it's very soul. Your head, now lost from your body, would have driven itself through these stones, if only to escape, if only to find...

Serenity.

As I traced your form, I noticed its rough exterior. Your skin is almost abrasive, and I see the wear of the world in it. All about you, here, is dust and grime. The skin has turned green, here, oxidized by the wind and the rain. Your naturally dull color has only muted further through these layers of dirt.

And what do I find here? Cracks in your tempered copper form! How long have you had these, Serenity? Who put these in your body? Were you made with them, or did they arrive later? Were they intentional, or just a creation from the world? They give you character, no doubt, but still they make me worry about your state even more.

And yet, through our time, you taught me more. Here now I see not the brown and rough copper, but its hidden red hues, bright as the very summer days you were crafted. I see that you are not removing yourself from our very Earth, but instead holding something, cradling something: you are a protector, Serenity, I see that now.

But curse these walls! That I may not see what it is you embrace! Your left arm is gone, exposing your back to the world, and this should make the rest all quite clear. Yet still I see not what you hold!

Perhaps that is not your purpose, though, Serenity. Perhaps, in the spirit of your very creators, you are protecting us all. You cradle nothing of less worth than the very souls and hearts of Men!

That is why, dear sculpture, I must tell you today the very wonders I behold! You and I are of the same kind, though I be flesh and you are stone. We are brothers, Serenity, children, creations, comrades! And thus I join you now, to offer myself, as well, to be the bearer of my brethren's fate.

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."

WP3: Pre-Write 4

How do I know when a piece is finished? When it has taken away from me everything I have to give. When it has become stronger than myself. I become the empty one, and it becomes the full one. When I am weak and it is strong, the work is finished. -Saul Baizerman

This quote from the Serenity sculptor speaks not only of his own creative process, but also lends itself to the world in which Baizerman lived. As a Russian emigrant in the early 1900s, Saul had been part of the Bolshevik Revolution, dethroning the Czar and working to instill true Communism in his home country. Only a few years later, he would leave their country for America, after serving jail time for robbing a bank to bolster Communist funds.
This life of personal struggle and selfless dedication lends itself to his work. After spending more time with the piece, it became more obvious that Serenity may be cradling something, whether it is just itself or perhaps some other body. This supportive and shielding aspect hearkens back to the ideals of Socialism, each man serving the rest for the greater gain. The fact that he works by hammering copper also reflects the work and struggles of the common man, as metallurgy, especially with elements such as copper, are an ancient and expansive art. The body's mutilation in Serenity, though, suggests that perhaps after all these years (Baizerman fled around 1907, the sculpture began in 1932) the artist had begun to feel let down by his former countrymen, perhaps even harmed by them.

On a larger world scale, it was at this time that several large movements began. Hitler was taking power in Germany, famine swept the USSR, and Roosevelt was enacting the second phase of his New Deal to the American people. By the time the sculpture would be complete, World War 2 would be just on the horizon, with Germany and the USSR joining into their Non-Aggression Pact.

This greater turmoil lends itself to ideas held earlier. Serenity holds itself in a way that evokes some sense of fear about the viewer, but also seems to have a calming undertone, as we notice the protective pose. Each of these nations acted much in the same way, at once protecting their own, while often acting out of fear of other outside powers. America was struggling to escape depression, the USSR wanted stability and did not want to fear the growing German forces, whilst Hitler's Third Reich threw its weight around, hiding the fears that Germany may never regain power and status without this warlord.