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Academic Level at Time of Creation
Senior
Date of Creation
Spring 4-12-2019
Artist Statement
My work is driven by an emotional conflict between a need for unrestricted freedom of expression and my own desire for control. This deeply personal yet universal dichotomy is represented through the competing elements of gesture and Suprematism. By superimposing intuitive and meditated designs, I establish complete control and personal autonomy – constantly defining boundaries in order to break them.
In both analog and digital design, I use technical conventions as guidelines which I then bend or break to challenge the confines of artistic tradition and to manipulate the message received by the viewer. The coherency of the design proves to the viewer that each broken convention is intentional and reaffirms the validity of my own artistic license. I intend to connect to my audience’s own desire for art to be intuitive, original, and expressive while also being recognizable and explicable. I opt not to include recognizable subjects, forcing my viewers to participate as they attempt to apply their own explanations and engage in their own desire to control what they observe.
Through the layering of lines, ink, wax, and opaque vinyl shapes, I create a visible history of mark making, depth, and form. The design develops like a living interaction between the lines and shapes, each fighting for its right to control the other within the bounds I have determined. These competing layers increase in scale from background to foreground to bring the theme of tension and conflict to the surface of each piece.
I experiment with typography intuitively, abstracting designs through unconventional arrangements of type, used as both legible text and abstract form. By placing colored type on sheets of transparent velum, I create separate planes of text and shape that interact with the subsequent layers.
I am inspired by Julie Mehretu’s use of layered line and shapes with architectural undertones to communicate a complex and dynamic sense of used space. I relate to designer David Carson’s emphasis on the distinguishing of communication from legibility. Like Carson, I am much more interested in communicating visually and abstractly rather than through obvious renderings of subject matters.
Advisor/Mentor
Jim Bryant, Todd Herzberg, Danielle Muzina, Mike Martin
Description
Exhibition Narrative
The 7 works exhibited in my BFA senior exhibition are driven by an emotional conflict between a need for unrestricted freedom of expression and my own desire for control. By superimposing intuitive and meditated designs, I establish complete control and personal autonomy – constantly defining boundaries in order to break them. In both the analog and digital designs, I use technical conventions as guidelines which I then bend or break to challenge the confines of artistic tradition and to manipulate the message received by the viewer. The coherency of the design proves to the viewer that each broken convention is intentional and reaffirms the validity of my own artistic license. I intend to connect to my audience’s own desire for art to be intuitive, original, and expressive while also being recognizable and explicable. I opt not to include recognizable subjects, forcing my viewers to participate as they attempt to apply their own explanations and engage in their own desire to control what they observe.
Through the layering of lines, ink, wax, and opaque vinyl shapes, I create a visible history of mark making, depth, and form. The design develops like a living interaction between the lines and shapes, each fighting for its right to control the other within the bounds I have determined. These competing layers increase in scale from background to foreground to bring the theme of tension and conflict to the surface of each piece.
Title: My Religion
Medium: mixed media
Dimensions: 160 in. x 60 in.
2019
Title: Taking Risks
Medium: mixed media
Dimensions: 60 in. x 160 in.
2019
Title: Which to Break
Medium: mixed media
Dimensions: 40 in. x 30 in.
2018
Title: The Times I Say I Love You
Medium: mixed media
Dimensions: 40 in. x 30 in.
2018
Title: The Places I Go
Medium: mixed media
Dimensions: 40 in. x 30 in.
2018
Title: Which Rules I Choose To Follow
Medium: mixed media
Dimensions: 40 in. x 30 in.
2018
Title: Control Freak
Medium: vellum
Dimensions: 8.5 in. x 11 in.
2019
Recommended Citation
Churchman, Rosalyn, "Control Freak" (2019). B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498). 42.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/art498/42