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| January 2010, Elizabeth working in her studio on new artwork that is inspired by the extensive collection of Native American coiled baskets from Harvard's Peabody Museum. | |||
Artist Statement
2010
On a recent trip to Paris I was visually stunned by the vast amount of graffiti throughout the city. Not only was graffiti on the metro tunnel walls and historic buildings it was also being showcased in a major exhibition at the Cartier Foundation in central Paris. I was intrigued by this art as both a vibrant form of expression and a defacement of the urban environment. I wanted to try something similar on the woven basket. Using paint I am marking and layering the basket surface with my imagery as I explore the ways graffiti can both enhance and deface the design.
As the recipient of the Massachusetts Cultural Council 2009 Fellowship for Crafts I felt an obligation to continue pushing the limits of sculptural basketry. An idea began to germinate last fall to create a body of work inspired by the large collection of Native American baskets at Harvard’s Peabody Museum in Cambridge, MA. Working from the online collection I selected baskets with a distinct woven design that I hoped to vandalize with graffiti.
Female figures take center stage with names like Betty, Jane and Debby. They wear dresses that swoosh as legs and arms are flung in motion catching a leaf, grabbing a line, dancing to a tune. Written words and glyphs flow across the woven surface entwining both painted figures and images imbedded in the coiled wall. The woven designs can be seen through the paint adding a new layer of complexity to the visual surface.