Behind The Scenes With Dwyer Kilcollin, USC Grad Student

When we were contacted by Dwyer Kilcollin, inquiring about whether we could help her bring an art concept to life with a donation of Precision Board Plus HDU, we were only too happy to help. Especially when she told us about the complex project she had planned.

As part of the thesis for her MFA, Dwyer wanted to explore the role of volume and mass in sculpture. To bring this idea to reality, she decided to build a thesis exhibition titled “Stein is Sein”, which is German for “Rock Is Being.”

Part of the exhibition consists of a cornerstone piece named “Winter”, which was made from Precison Board Plus. The first thing she did was design a 3-d model in RhinoCAM using a combination of algorithms and built-up shapes. Dwyer then had the Precision Board PBLT-15 CNC milled to the CAD file.

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The unique pattern was created by using a projector to map the contours onto the Precision Board Plus with a pencil. After that, Dwyer used the pencil lines as a guide to apply the urethane/sand mixture to specific areas to come up with the pattern. Next, she coated the milled piece with Johnson paste wax, which also doubled as a mold release, and used it as a mold to cast a mix of urethane resin and silica sand.

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“I am interested in understanding how our physical relationship to objects is affected by the language of images and the increasing accessibility of virtual space. The title of my show, Stein is Sein, posits the philosophical assertion that material (stone, or stein), is the root of existence (sein). In the work, I attempt to restructure the role of mass, surface and pigment in both physical and virtual sculptures so that they might build a new relationship to these objects.” -Dwyer Kilcollin

Be sure to take a look at Dwyer’s website, http://www.dwyerkilcollin.com to see more amazing art!

Winter

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