More Than Material Art Show Virtual Tour

"Abandoning Good For Rotting Wood" by Noelle Hackenmueller
Mixed media

Artist Statement

Hey there! My name is Noelle Hackenmueller, and I am a junior at Apollo High School. My mentor was the incredible Shane himself, along with pointers from Angie Chilson and Matt Hebert. My piece is made up of many, many layers of foam and mat board. I used exacto knives and straight edges to get all the pieces accurately proportioned, and then used this cool little contraption Shane made with a wire and some electricity to create the more abstract shapes. I used primer and then acrylic paint to give the foam details, and I strung it all together with hot glue.

It’s funny, because this piece actually helped me fix the problem that inspired it. The broken house is referenced off of a church camp building that we would stop at on the first night on the way to Adventure Camp. The background and cacti are from when I got to visit Arizona this last March. The idea behind this piece is that it’s a magnificent house in a beautiful location, but the house has been used and abused for its properties, but not maintained for its architecture. It’s how I had been feeling in most of my relationships this past year. Many times I felt like I was being used for my characteristics as a friend, but no one truly cared much past that. Those who did care didn’t get the attention or appreciation that they deserved because I was so busy worrying about the relationships that had been falling apart. I felt like a terrible friend because a) I blamed myself for the relationships that weren’t working and b) I was overlooking the people who truly cared about me.. This feeling had been going on for about a year, up until about a week or so ago. Now, so many relationships that had been weighing me down have been fixed or are on the mend. Obviously not all of them are perfect, but some things aren’t meant to be fixed. But I guess what is symbolic about my piece is that just like a broken down house, it can always be refurbished and made even better than it was before. It can be a mess along the way, but in the end you still retain your beginnings, as well as all your “new upgrades”.

I learned so much from this session. I think this was the first session I really pushed myself to go big, and I had to work on a ton of this piece at home. With Shane’s guidance, I learned how to shape and work the foam to my advantage, as well as use different techniques to add texture. I also learned a lot with my relationship with God as well. Life just takes time, but he’s right there alongside me the whole time. I would like to thank YFC for having me in the program, because this is most likely my last session ever :(. All the mentors were super helpful and willing to work with my crazy schedule to allow me to come. The PV space has grown so much since I first started, and it’s incredible. I would also like to thank Shane specifically, because that man has more patience than anyone I know. You see, a bunch of kids with power tools and loads of creativity are really hard to handle. We appreciate you Shane. I’d also like to thank Angie for being super helpful with the art process and communicating with me, and also for letting me turn in this artist statement a week late.