 |
 |
 |
| 2011 work, from left to right: Listen To Me, Lookout, Sit Down Now! | ||
Artist Statement
2011
LOOKOUT, LISTEN TO ME and SIT DOWN NOW! - These are three titles in my recently completed Anna series. The words on the basket confront the viewer as they interact with paper figures painted with marks, dots, lines and graffiti-like imagery. Each coiled basket is informed and inspired by my travels in addition to the experiences of everyday life.
Recent travels have taken me to Japan, continuing my education in other cultures and their art. Japan is a country that I have visited several times and each time it continues to inspire. The variety of finely made rice papers is providing me with a new source of material to add to the complex surface design important in my current work. From the solitude of an ancient temple to the bustling noisy crowds in Shibuya Station, Japan’s culture is one of extremes. I find both ends of the spectrum stimulating.
Travel destinations inform my work but I find that everyday experiences provide inspiration as well. I can best describe my recent series by beginning with the story of Anna’s Dilemma. The tale is written on a dress in each of the baskets in this series and refers to an experience I had in the fall of 2010. I attended visiting artist, Anna Schuleit’s open studio at the University of Massachusetts where the topic of discussion initiated by Anna turned to how to combine one’s artistic pursuits and motherhood. Many attending women artists spoke about the difficulty in their own lives juggling studio time and children. Later, in reflection I posed the question to myself about who comes first? This experience was the catalyst for the words and imagery I use in this series.
Each basket in the Anna series is defined by the bubble bottom; an oval coiled base ballooning out before it turns in and up. Repeated around the bottom is what appears to be a classic Persian design, but is actually the tracing of a discarded piece of intricately cut veneer. Embedded into the coiling is a female figure visible inside the basket as well as out. The many layers of paint, rice paper cutouts and gel medium envelop the basket’s raffia and pine needle construction. Stenciled artists names follow the coiled rows up the side. Women in contemporary dress and hair-style, dance, walk, and stand their ground on the undulating surface. The female cutouts are created using fine paper, which is then adhered to the basket surface. Some are cut from old Vogue dress patterns with printed directions while others are from handmade papers from India, Japan and Thailand. Layers of paint and paper create a complex interaction between figure and ground.
For many years I have been interested in petroglyphs of the American Southwest. Considered one of the earliest forms of graffiti are the drawings on stone that survive today on canyon walls. I find myself also being intrigued by contemporary graffiti where artists leave their mark on buildings, bridges, and walls throughout the urban landscape. When I use graffiti, I want the words and images to confront the narrative on the basket surface. LOOKOUT, LISTEN TO ME and SIT DOWN NOW! Are the words and declarations calling out to the viewer to react, and perhaps respond?
 |
|
