I came into my
first residency with what I thought was a clear idea of what kind of art I
wanted to make, as well as the ideas
that would drive it. By the end of the residency the picture was not so clear
anymore. While at first disorienting, the critique process has given me some
new tools to really examine the purpose and direction of my work.
It was rare in my
undergraduate studies to get a critique about much more than the formal
elements of my work. In my independent studies, I have thought deeply about
contemporary art practices and worked to understand “idea” as art and not
necessarily “object” as art. Two books that have been very influential to my
understanding are: Conceptual Art by
Tony Godfrey, and Art and Today by
Eleanor Heartney. As I delved into post-modern art and other related “isms”, I
began to understand conceptual art in a way that was not accessible to me when
I was in my 20’s. This study combined with the seminars, lectures, critiques,
and graduate presentations of the residency, revealed to me the importance of
cultural context to art making. I had an abstract understanding of context and
how it defines art, but now I understand that it is the defining arena for all art
making. I am beginning to discover how to situate my work in contemporary art
and culture.
The most
consistent feedback I got from the residency critiques related to first, the
formal elements, and second, a need to personalize my work.
In the first
there was an appreciation my technical skills and that in general my work is
“engaging”. My comfort with exploring
and working with a variety of materials is good since it indicates flexibility
and a willingness to experiment. Some
feedback related to craftsmanship details that were either present or lacking.
The other consistent comment concerned the relevance of assemblage. How can I
make it current, or how can I transcend its history?
In the second
area it was suggested that I dig deeper into the general ideas that interest me
and connect them more personally with my experience. This is the area where I found
the most helpful feedback for my work.
Though I have
attempted in my work to express deep personal feeling, I now see how I project
them externally on the objects I create. This has distanced me from my work making
it about ideas “out there”, instead of concerns that are the source of my art
making. I need to understand various “representational strategies” and
understand how I can develop my own and use them to create meaning. I need to
discover my own consistent voice in this process.
The work that
seemed to most engage viewers are the fabric and stitched pieces, the wood and
wire box, and a piece with text: Do You Know?. The critiques helped me
see that I cannot avoid the idea that fabric and thread carry a built in
dialogue between “Art”, women’s work, craft, and feminist issues. This is an
area I have skirted around with my work, but I must plunge into. This also
relates to my thoughts about assumptions we make about others which I will explore
as assumptions others make about me, and my experience. These thoughts are
coalescing around issues of feminism today, marginalization of the older female
in our youth oriented culture, and “fabric” as idea such as labor, touch, and
process. I am also intrigued by how to use language/ text with these ideas.
In my studio practice I am working on fabric lined frames
with stitching and silhouettes. Two new ideas I am playing with include a piece
with layers of translucent fabric that will be torn, stitched and imbedded, and
a colored fabric piece. I am also thinking about a video piece that includes
fabric curtains.
In the
area of assemblage, I want to continue to explore using boxes, found objects
and discarded packaging. I will study assemblage based on past iterations of
this kind of work. I am considering ideas about assemblage or still life as
portrait.
Collaboration in art is very interesting to
me. Fia Backstrom’s seminar and Aaron Lish’s project introduced me to a new way
of looking at the collaborative process. Since I have an established group of
women quilters who I worked with in 2012, there is the possibility of a new
project based on the ideas already described.
My research is
divided into three areas: marginalization and feminism in the 21st
century, how language/text is used to suggest meanings and relationships, and
“value” as it is perceived in our culture.
These are the artists I am researching:
Jenny Holzer Barbara Kruger Anna Mediota
Eleanor
Antin Mark Bradford Doris Salcedo
Sarah Sze Sarah Charlesworth Ken Lum
Glen Ligon, Gregg Bordowitz Miriam Shapiro
I am currently reading or have read:
Gouma-Peterson, Thalia, Miriam Schapiro: Shaping
the Fragments of Art and Life
Shapiro,
Miriam, Miriam Shapiro’s Art Journey
Storey, John. An
Introductory Guide to Cultural Theory and Popular Culture
Chicago, Judy. Beyond the Flower: The Autobiography of a
Feminist Artist
Herrera,
Hayden. Frida Kahlo: The Paintings
Butler,
Susan Bulkeley and Keefe, Bob. Women
Count A Guide to Changing the World
Broude, Norma and
Garrard, Mary D., ed. The Power of
Feminist Art The American Movement of the 1970’s, History and Impact
Findlen,
Barbara, ed. Listen Up: Voices From the
Next Feminist Generation
Hooks,
Bell. Feminism is for EVERYBODY
Passionate Politics
WHACK! Art and the Feminist Revolution
Living as Form:
Socially Engaged Art from 1991-2011 by Nato Thompson
“Taking the Matter Into Common
Hands” ed. Joanne Billings
“Collaboration Handbook” Michael
Barry Winer
Julie Ault “Show and Tell”
Claire Bishop: Relational
Antagonism “Artificial Hells”
Grant Kester: “Conversation
Pieces”
Ferguson,
Russell, et al. Out There: Marginalization and Contemporary Cultures
Recently viewed video:
!W.A.R. !Women Art Revolution. Dir. Lynn Hershman Leeson. 2011. DVD
Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision.
Dir. Freida Lee Mock. 1995. DVD
DVD.
Wasteland. Vic Muniz.
Dir. Lucy Walker. 2010. DVD
Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present. Ulay. Dir. Matthew Akers. 2012. DVD
