Artist who uses a material that blows my mind: Maurizio Savini

Maurizio Savini is an Italian artist whose work is constructed mainly out of chewing gum. His work is made by combining thousands of pieces of chewed pink gum into magnificently intricate sculptures. These pieces of work are also riddled with detailed texture to heighten the complexity of the work, which take Savini years to complete. Through his work, Savini hopes to capture the wonder he experienced in his when he first tasted the pleasures of chewing gum. With the bright color and interesting designs on the sculptures, Savini adds a childlike feeling to the piece while still capturing the viewers attention through the use of the material itself. Savini is an excellent candidate for this week's blog because his unorthodox materials are the last item anyone would expect artwork to be constructed of, and yet Savini has mastered making artwork out of such an unusual material.

Overall impression:

My impression of Maurizio's work is that it is amazing not only because of his use of gum, but because of the diligence that is placed into his work. His ability to make such precise cuts and intense detail with simply gum is astounding to me. The patience required to assemble the thousand or so pieces of gum for each piece also amazes me greatly. He truly does make the audience feel wonder when looking at his work because many people would not believe that such intricate work could be done with wads of gum.

Closing Thoughts:

Maurizio Savini's use of such an unusual medium combined with the precision of his work is what makes him such an amazing artist. Although bizarre materials are becoming more popular in the art world, Savini's use of gum and his mastery of the sticky material puts him above many other artists and has intrigued many people, including me. 

Sources: 

• http://guides.wikinut.com/Magical-Maurizio-Savini/2dgu2r7u/
• http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/the-gooey-chewing-gum-sculptures-of-maurizio-savini.htm
• http://www.designswan.com/archives/innovative-sculpture-art-using-chewing-bubblegum.html