I can hardly believe a month of Open Studio’s has already passed! My exchanges with the visitors have been wonderful and among the many notable characters I have met, I recently spoke with two opera singers, a student of electrical engineering and travelers from Qatar, Israel and France. I regularly speak with visitors about my works relationship to the natural world. It often functions as an access point, allowing viewers to relate to the abstract forms. My hope is that this current work extends beyond the ’subjectification’ of nature and I would like to expand briefly on some additional facets in my thought process.
I will be exhibiting new work in an exhibition in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.
Please join me for the upcoming opening of : The World We Live In, The Worlds We Create @ Like the Spice Gallery
Opening Reception: Friday, March 12th, 6:30pm – 10:00pm
Is it art or design? In graduate school we read extensively within this topic. People like to categorize things into one or the other, black or white. For me, working within the theme of shoes, intention and process help define what it is and hopefully my form conveys it. Before graduate school at Cranbrook I would have said definitely yes I am an artist, not a designer. Studying design and design issues for 2 years definitely changed how I view my work, and I position myself as working within both art and design fields. Fashion allows this fluidity. Just look at some of the work of the late Alexander McQueen or Jean Charles de Castelbajac. Some of the current footwear design is so out there and creative amazing. I try to not compare myself to these big fish.
Untitled_ 2010, porcelain, chinapaint, decal, 12"x 5.25"x 4"
I wanted to take this opportunity to acknowledge a trend that has been occurring when individuals refer to my work. People often use the term ”doll” when addressing it. I find the doll comments revealing as they enable me to reflect on my intent and how the work is functioning to the viewer.
Although this might be a conversation more rooted in semantics I think one aspect resides around intention. Intentionality plays a large part in how we view and distinguish between commonplace and fine art objects. The intention of a work of art utilizing the language of “dolls” is very different than actually being a doll. By doll I mean something that a child / adult would collect for its beauty, nostalgic value, or historical significance.
I am interested in the dualism of referencing the innocence of a ceramic doll while simultaneously dismantling and subverting it. As with any work of art, utilizing appropriated images or styles can limit a work and serve as the primary signifier rather than reveal the artist’s intention.
In thinking of other artists who reference ceramic figurines I can’t help but notice the proximity of Viola Frey’s work to this discussion. The exhibition “Viola Frey: Bigger, Better, More,” includes her common place objects of affinity and thus their presence creates interesting insight and dialogue with her monolithic works. Frey calls to mind these collective images and under her skilled hand the commonplace becomes the compelling.
In my work I am interested in doing the same, although the initial female figure references a ceramic doll, an investigation of established ideas of constructed femininity, adornment, and martyred saints transcends the traditional function of a doll. I use the inviting scale as a tool to lure the viewer while revealing something more subversive than the porcelain objects displayed in grandma’s cabinet. Bordering between delight and disgust my current work intermingles imagined and historical narratives to breathe new life into the realm of the ceramic figure.
Come visit the open studio on Wednesday and we can discuss!
March 2nd, 2010
jessica stoller
My topic you will notice has a slight change. Instead of Form & Tradition, I believe it is The Form of Tradition. This change allows a blending of two categories as one, instead of treating them as separate entities. My appeal is for “pluralism” in the study of Tradition and to allow for a diversity of inclusion.
I just completed my second Saturday as an Open Studio Artist, and am invigorated and ready for next week!
My favorite question so far was a man asking me, “Why shoes?” To which I replied, “why not?” It’s difficult to describe a passion and compulsion to create. Shoes are familiar, common, objects, but for me they are my art. I aim to transform the shoes identity, so art becomes part of the function of the shoe. Shoes are structural objects which stand alone, unlike garments, though they are transformed by the addition of the body and movement.
I’ve been very enamored by the ceramics coming out of England built on the Leach and Cardew tradition. Some of the top potters there are doing some great work. But what I see there (as opposed to here in the States) is an unparalleled pride or charge of excitement for functional work, which I think is a very compelling aspect of their tradition.
I spent my first day in the open studio on Wednesday . It proved to be a very productive and enjoyable day! A diverse group of interesting and engaging visitors help create great dialogue despite the atrocious weather.
Destruction was the theme of this year’s valentines day; at least it was for this Studio Sunday where artist Sonya Blesofsky brought meaning to the term “You must destroy to create”. The focus was mainly on selected pieces from the exhibition Slash: Paper under the knife. Composed of mainly adults with the occasional five-year-old toddlers straddling their parent’s leg, the group made unique observations and held in-depth discussions about the works of art.
I’m kicking back after my first full day as an artist in the open studio and feeling pretty certain that if I could do this everyday for the rest of my life I would have it absolutely made! It’s incredibly refreshing to escape the confines of my own modest studio and to work in such a dynamic public space. I met a wonderful assortment of characters including a delightful group of inquisitive first-graders, an eccentric French artist and an introspective student of architecture. There were many visitors who frequent the Museum and several people discovering it for the first time. Hearing their range of responses was both insightful and invigorating – I’m psyched to be back in the studio next Tuesday!
February 10th, 2010
Jackie Brown
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