J.D. [Jason Dean] Sweeney: May 2025

Dinner and A Movie

Evaporating Sympathy

Digital photograph

Inspired by the movie Heathers

The photograph represents the experience of those who are trapped in the cycle of being manipulated by someone whom they were previously convinced was romantically devoted to them. The composition visually communicates ideas about deception, fear, and danger in areas where affection is expected. My intent with this photo is to make the viewer feel deceived the longer they gaze at the image, recognizing more oddities and exceptions to the assumed romantic environment. To accomplish this, I utilized traditionally romantic imagery such as flowers, chocolates, and warm colors to accentuate the passion and desire floating amongst the objects in the composition. However, amidst these objects, there are visually similar forms integrated into the space, such as syringes protruding from the flowers, rocks neighboring the chocolates, and safety pins sunken into the foggy water.

https://filmobsessive.com/film/film-analysis/shudder-classics-color-themes-and-critical-thinking-in-heathers/

https://krutikanaskar.medium.com/heathers-style-analysis-significance-semiotics-and-strata-a9ba36f94cce

Historic Architecture

Titanium Palace

Paper, ink, wood glue

13"x15"

Castillo De San Marcos, 1672

The fort was constructed in 1672 to defend the Spanish residents from a pirate attack. Queen Maria of Spain ordered the fort to be built to defend the colony and protect Spanish ships.

https://www.nps.gov/casa/index.htm#:~:text=Built%20by%20the%20Spanish%20in,450%20years%20of%20cultural%20intersections.

St. Augustine Main Post Office, 1937

The current version of the post office was constructed as a replacement for the late 19th-century building.

https://tools.usps.com/locations/details/1380277?utm_source=google-my-business-url&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=yext

For this sculpture, I utilized design elements from both historic architectures, but predominantly from the Castillo De San Marcos, or "the fort." While bricks are used in both structures, they are used predominantly decoratively for the post office, whereas the fort utilized them for defense and to uphold an integral structure. For my sculpture, I wanted to have bricks be a decorative element while still providing visual interest and the illusion of heavy structure to the model. The majority of the inspiration was drawn from Castillo De San Marcos, most prominently the cylinder shape with windows in the center to create negative space. I drew additional inspiration from the post office and the unique stair structure integrated into the lobby entrance, as displayed above.

Once Upon A Dream

Paper, balsa wood, wood glue

14"x21"

Lightner Museum, 1888

The building was constructed to house the extensive artwork collection of Otto C. Lightner. Before it was a museum, the building was the Alcazar Hotel.

https://lightnermuseum.org/history/

Casa Monica Hotel, 1888

The Casa Monica is one of the oldest hotels in the United States and is a member of the Historic Hotels of America in the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The hotel was built in 1888 by Franklin W. Smith, a Victorian Architecture enthusiast.

https://www.historichotels.org/us/hotels-resorts/casa-monica-hotel/history.php

For this sculpture, I primarily utilized design elements from the Lightner Museum with minor influences from the Casa Monica Hotel. The Lightner Museum's use of pillars and heightened structures connected by a horizontal strip in the foreground of the building was the primary influence for my sculpture. The towering pillars with thin, sharp points inspired the fantastical and regal inclusion of the flags. The Casa Monica hotel's rigid and rectangular pattern lacing the tops of the highest structures inspired the similar lace lining the tips of the rectangular and cylinder towers in my sculpture, in addition to the ladders climbing the outermost sides of the pillars in my sculpture.

Experimental Sculpture Collection

Intergalactic, Survival, Constriction

Intergalactic

Wood, hot glue, ink, wire, tracing paper

13"x10"

Survival

Wood, wood glue, ink, hot glue, thread

2"x5"x7"

*Sculpture 3 was not counted for grading.

https://foundations3ddesign.blogspot.com/search/label/Experimental%20Sculpture%20Collection%20Artists

https://foundations3ddesign.blogspot.com/search/label/Experimental%20Sculpture%20Collection%20Artists

The three sculptures visually communicate heightened emotion and an elevated state of being, whether ethereal and dream-like or desperate and existential. While exploring the materials to build the sculptures, I wanted to focus on materials that allowed me to be extremely detail-oriented because I wanted to work small enough to make it visually intricate while maintaining scale. I decided to include thread as a material in Survival to emulate feelings of delicate violence. I was originally not producing the results I wanted, so I incorporated wood to give the sculpture a more defined structure. I want to keep exploring how I can utilize wood to create visually weighted physical structures. I want to learn more about how I can create physical compositions that create a narrative story for the viewer. This piece allowed me to explore how I can use materials in an innovative fashion that breaks stereotypical expectations. The making of this work exposed new ideas, such as glue being utilized to create hard plastic and solid forms.