UNIT 6 Analysis of Caro's "Child's Tower"

I think Caro choose to use varnished Japanese Oak because Japanese Oak wood has easier workability and produces good results with both machine and hand tools. Also, Caro would have varnished it to help reserve his work and provide a layer of protection as children were allowed to play on it. Allowing children to play on it makes sense as I believe this piece probably started as a child’s climbing frame at first but the shapes and other aspects would have continued to be developed over time. When developing his sculpture I believe Caro’s ideas were based off the playfulness of children and their wild imaginations, Caro could have been thinking from a child’s point of view when creating this work to capture that sense of playfulness and crazy imagination. Besides seeing a climbing frame when looking at this piece I could also see this sculpture being a rocket ship, children often showcase the ability to envision something as something different therefore Caro’s abstract design allows an adult to possess that ability also because of the many different interpretations you could make. Seeing a piece of artwork in an exhibition rather than on the internet also allows you to create different interpretations as you can look at the piece at different angles.  

 



I really like this sculpture as the artwork makes me feel reminiscent of my childhood when I would build dens out of cardboard boxes and whatever else I could find with my friends, unleashing my creative imagination. I believe Caro was trying to imply the importance of play with his piece by bringing a fun and interactive element into a somewhat serious environment by allowing children to play on the sculpture at exhibitions, as play allows us to dust off the childish segment of our imagination to refresh our creativity. If I were to change something about this sculpture I might possibly add some colourful elements to reflect the childish theme of this piece however that may take away from the simple and neutral materials Caro used which allows us to explore with our imaginations instead.