Miles Spadone '12
Personally, my greatest challenge while at MECA was trying clarify how to best express my ideas.
Describe a body of work that you have made. I am interested in the essence of a form through a process of reduction. Void of decoration, the surface of my work is expressed like skin over ribs, where rigid meets languid. My work strives to suspend an emerging moment of transformation, the moment when impression and inflation clash. Like the instant before an object rips through taut plastic, water sheds off your hand, or bone protrudes through elastic skin, my work captures a tactile image of materials moving in opposition. Left-right, in-out, soft-hard, are simple but poignant moments in transformation. This work expresses the conflicting space in between.
What made you chose to go into your current field of art? I grew up in a woodshop but started working with clay in high school. At MECA&D, I was able to bridge the gap by working in the woodshop to prototype models for casting in clay. I now work in a clay studio above my fathers woodshop where Icontinue to utilize wood working techniques to guide my process.
How has your education at MECA&D shaped you as an artist? MECA&D acted and continues to act as a springboard for ideas and opportunities. As a student, MECA&D and the faculty worked to guide and focus my ideas and process. Personally, my greatest challenge while at MECA&D was trying clarify how to best express my ideas. My teachers worked diligently with me to help refine my scattered concepts and ambitions. By enacting method I was able to find a voice that more clearly expressed ideas through form and material.
What inspires you? I'm inspired by a lot— although I'm not sure my inspirations are what carry my practice. I try to put blinders on once I have a goal. Otherwise, I lose focus on the project in front of me.
What kind of career are you pursuing after your graduation? Right now I am working closely with a product designer. We work with companies looking to design a new product, innovate a process, or conduct an initial study on product viability in a market.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received? Less advice and more leading/living by example. So many people have showed the value of community. If you continue to nurture those you love and live with/around, your life will be exponentially enriched. Invest in community and the return is immeasurable.