The Venus of Willendorf (or Woman of Willendorf as she is now known) is one of the first pieces of art I can remember being aware of. The first time I saw a photo of this tiny sculpture I felt a deep connection. Throughout my making life I have returned again and again to this piece for inspiration. After writing a paper on sculpture of the Gravettian last semester and doing a series of paintings this past summer featuring figurines from the same period I knew I wanted to include the Willendorf figurine in this body of work. Initially I thought I would have another couple, living in the attic, and that the fairy godmother figure would come from outside the house. As the script evolved however and I got real about the extreme limits of space in the top floor I arrived at a reworked concept to change the roll of this figurine within the story. She was sculpted from a solid block of clay using many images of the original for reference. Like Bob, this object is something that people know. I wanted it to be instantly recognizable so I would not have to involve explanation in the dialog of the video. Of course some modification was necessary as the original can not stand on her own and this one has to not only stand but “walk” within her space. Her surface is a fired wash using red iron oxide, traces of which still cling to the nearly 26,000 year old original.
With this piece the objects for the film are complete, though I may remake the magic box holders to allow more room inside the apartments. The next step then in video production is to construct the set and determine the lighting. It is our intent to continue with this concept for at least 3 more films, so all our decisions are being made deliberately so that the filming can grow as the world does.
Foxy-Wolff 