ARTIST STATEMENTS: MASTER OF FINE ARTS 2005 EXHIBITION
Amjad Faur, Photography
My current body of work is primarily informed by the Qur'anic concepts of Al Ghaa'eb, or the Unseen. It is the conflict between the subjective experience of Islam and the phenomenological nature of photography that I am most interested in exploring.
Todd Griffith, Painting
Within my paintings I am creating narratives about internal situations, voids, achievements and turmoil in an individual's existence of life. Emotionally significant events that are relative circumstances at certain moments mold personality and growth. Coping with internal conflicts and self-destructive forces allow for opportunity of continued viability. I believe that the struggles and low times within you bring change, transition and forward movement. Much of my work deals with negative aspects of existence. I choose to use colors to subvert the imagery, creating a positive outlook on the pitfalls of life.
Ukiko Honda, Metalsmithing and Jewelry
Even conflicting personalities can create unified relationships. By hybridizing similar yet visually opposing found objects, I seek formal unity. The halves intersect, their contrasts enlivening them in a surrealistic manner.
Kristie A. Johnson, Printmaking
My artwork is primarily instinctual. With each creation, I often learn more about myself as a person and as an artist. Currently, my prints are a blending of images found in the rich forests of the Pacific Northwest with memories and impressions from childhood. As our world continues to change and the pace of human living increases, we often find ourselves passing by the gentle surprise and awe that a mushroom, spider or even a banana slug can bring. Through the layering of printmaking, I attempt to investigate and render the biological as well as the possible psychological impact from memory and from the natural world.
Sally Metcalf, Fibers
I have been manipulating plant parts since I was a small child. My backyard was a great source of materials. I loved nature so much I captured butterflies and other bugs and let them loose in my bedroom hoping they would appreciate stick structures I built for them. I live in the Cascades now and my backyard is still a great source of inspiration and materials. The wildlife, however, is not allowed in the house!
Marshall Roemen, Painting
In my current work I am thinking about the human body's utter dependence on the unseen. Quantities and processes such as the breaths we breathe or the daily number of heartbeats we have become meaningful arenas for me to explore ideas of internal and external beauty, purpose and experience.
Angaleen Schroeder, Photography
My recent work reflects on several corresponding themes: 1) the woman as an object or sight for the male gaze, 2) projected ideas of femininity by the media and culture, and 3) the personal exploration of my future and purpose taught to me by my religious culture and my family.
Joseph Stengel-Goetz, Visual Design
I am an ardent observer of the world around me. The structure of American society—its short history, capitalistic morality and apparent need to recycle its own culture—is fascinating. I explore and question these issues via the computer, translating them into audio, video, web and print, the main forms of communication found within contemporary American society. My current project, an embodiment of the above, is entitled culturecatalogue.com.
Chad Tolley, Printmaking
My work is based primarily on my fascination of the dualistic nature of the human psyche—one that is capable both of extreme love and hatred, envy and compassion, fear and courage, desire and restraint. Each piece is constructed from a system not based on clear-cut items, but rather with a sense of something going on, a process in an unending continuum.
Contact : Melody Ward Leslie, (541) 346-2060, mleslie@uoregon.edu
Source: Katie Sproles, (541) 346-0942, ksproles@uoregon.edu
Links:
Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, http://jsma.uoregon.edu
UO Department of Art, http://art-uo.uoregon.edu
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