I. Artist Statement
I create as a way to connect further to my experiences, both adventurous and mundane. Traveling is a passion of mine, but the experiences I have had across the globe seem to be in stark contrast with my everyday mid- Missouri life, creating almost separate worlds. When I draw inspiration from my travels it brings the two worlds together, allowing me to recall the adventure. Relationship is also very important to me, with more and more of the imagery I use coming from experiences with loved ones.
I am drawn to work in fibers because it is a media which encompasses so many processes and materials. I enjoy working with different kinds of materials and have been especially drawn to sheer fabrics such as organza and organdy. Textures also inspire me. I love using materials of different weights and textures, and sewing to further emphasize this. I always encourage others to touch my work to feel the textures created by fabric and thread.
I am simple in my approach to concept in art. I do not wish to make lofty statements on politics or the world, but simply to look for inspiration in the experiences I have and create art which has personal meaning and will hopefully resonate with viewers.
II. Introduction
1. Introduction (to Statement of Problem)
When my best friend Haley passed away in September, 2010, there was a time during her funeral when people stood up and told favorite memories of her. Some showed her humor, others her strength, and others her faith. The telling of these stories did not end at the service; they have continued to be told since her death, just as they were told before. Each of them shows a facet of her and the telling of these stories not only help us to remember her, but can also help those who never met her understand who she was and why she is important to each of us.
Stories are not only told of the deceased, however. We tell stories of our experiences, especially with those who are most important to us. In my life, this is witnessed most with the close friends who do not live near me. Haley has passed, and my oldest friend, Abby, lives across the state. Two others, Sabrina and Becca, became very important to me during the four months we studied abroad in Australia but live in other parts of the country. Though distance, or death, separates us I am able to feel close to them by telling stories of our experiences together to others, including those who have never met them. Telling these stories forms the individual in our minds and the minds of those hearing them, and the pieces we take away from each contributes to how we picture the person
Oral tradition, however, is not the only means by which we keep these memories alive. Photographs are taken and displayed for all to see and many keep journals of their experiences. With this collection of portraits, I hope to merge these forms of memory- keeping, piecing written narratives to literally create each individual’s visual representation.
2. Goals/ Objectives
A. Conceptual
1. To honor memories of close friends by creating classic bust portraits. By presenting the individuals realistically I hope to show that the stories show their true self, not a skewed sense of who they are or were.
2. To display the joy in each girl by depicting each of them smiling.
3. To convey a sense of community by including stories by myself and others who know each person. This enables more memories to be shared and shows the experiences distinct for each person as well as the links connecting them.
4. To stress the importance of storytelling in keeping memories alive by using the act of writing the stories to take them out of the head and make them concrete. Being written on fabric makes them tangible, unable to be lost in the clutter of the mind.
5. To highlight the personal nature of memories as well as the contribution of stories from multiple parties by having text handwritten by multiple contributors.
6. To show layers of knowledge through showing only parts of stories and that the stories are yet unfinished through unfilled spaces.
B. Materials and Processes
1. To create five realistic portraits, about 24” x 36”, using hand-dyed mercerized cotton, netting, handwritten text, and free-motion sewing.
2. To use non- local color to show facets of each friend’s personality, as shown in the stories written about each.
3. To create each girl’s likeness by using fiber fusion, cutting and piecing the fabric onto backing, covering it with netting, and sewing to hold the pieces down as well as add texture and further definition.
4. To handwrite text using ultra- fine Sharpie markers, in a mixture of print and cursive, to highlight the personal nature of memories.
5. To display the pieces in a traditional manner; finishing them by mounting each on a frame like canvas and hanging them on a wall. With this I wish to highlight the aspect of portraiture and use the frame to give a small amount of literal depth to pieces that would otherwise be flat against the wall.
III. Review of Literature
- Influences of Other Artists and Types of Art
Portraiture has long been a common subject in art, starting with the more traditional medias of paint and sculpture, and moving into more contemporary medias, such as photography and fibers. It has been used as a narrative and to show those in all walks of life, from royalty to migrant workers. Classical portraiture meant to depict the person as realistically as possible and many used items in the portraits to show their importance.
In more contemporary art, artists such as Alice Beasley have portrayed individuals in less realistic ways, in her case by using non-local color or pattern. This can be seen in Figure 1, Global Warning, by Beasley. This quilted piece shows the face of a man but uses fabric which has patterns on it, and while the colors used are close to realistic skin tones, there are blues and greens included. The patterned fabric used by Beasley adds interest in the piece and makes it somewhat abstract in the representation. Traditional quilts did not depict representational imagery, but textile portraiture has come to the forefront in art quilts such as this. Using pieced fabric and sewing adds texture and depth to the portraits in ways paint cannot.
Portraiture has also become more contemporary through the melding of portraits with other images or textures. This is demonstrated in Figure 2, Lace 1, by Marilyn Rea- Menzies. In this tapestry, Rea- Menzies melded the image of a woman with that of tree branches, forming the portrait out of the shadows of the trees. This image shows large areas of color in the portrait, but the areas which are from the trees create the depth and shadows of the face. This interaction of images is relatable to my work because I will be using the interaction of text in portraiture.
Artist Nancy Murty also uses text along with figurative imagery in her piece, Love, Honor, and Cherish, shown in Figure 3. This piece not only brings text into a piece, but the letters printed into the background create a narrative and expose memories of the past. In this piece, she is narrating the event of her grandfather losing her grandmother to cancer, from getting the news of her illness to coming to terms with her subsequent death.
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