SPRING 2018 APRIL 27 – MAY 13, 2018
ROOMS OF OUR OWN SCRIPPS COLLEGE SENIOR ART EXHIBITION RUTH CHANDLER WILLIAMSON GALLERY
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 01.
BOOK ARTS
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CERAMICS
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DIGITAL ART
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PAINTING
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PHOTOGRAPHY
BOOK ARTS DESCRIPTION The Scripps College Press publishes limited edition artists’ books each semester created and printed with letterpress equipment by students in Art 135: Typography and the Book Arts. Students from all five of the Claremont Colleges are allowed to attend under the premise that all students will learn the highest standards of typography and printing by publishing their own books. These neophyte students are asked to write on a given subject, make imagery, design the layout, hand set the metal type, print the book by letterpress and bind the edition of about 15 copies, all in one semester.
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FIELD GUIDE, 2017–2018 Artist : Madeline Helland M e d i u m : Mixed media artist book, photography, watercolor
A R T I S T S TA T E M E N T Field Guide is a mixed-media journal detailing the exploration of a fictitious culture through cartography, narrative, and illustration. It is presented through the lens of an amateur archaeologist, navigating a chain of islands to search for ruins and artifacts. In part, the project is focused on the fantasy of an imagined world. The island chain is a place entirely of my own creation. By creating the viewpoint of an outside explorer, it was possible to navigate through this world. Although I, as the artist, can know everything about this fictitious world, adopting the perspective of someone distanced by time and place allowed for discrepancies, misinterpretation, and the sense of mystery that typically colors interpretations of foreign, ancient cultures. This character is forced to fill in the context for what she is viewing based upon her conjectures, which may or may not reveal the full truth. Overall, perspective on cultures is often shaped by the observations of a few individuals. In the same way, viewers are forced to consider this culture through the lens of one character, without being entirely certain if they are consuming objective truths. The project also encompasses broader themes about the destruction and dissemination of material culture. The archaeologist character is in part an invasive element in this environment but she is also a witness to centuries of previous damage. Though the book only represents a moment in the history of this imagined place, the intent was to depict a holistic view of how places lose their heritage over time to forces both internal and external. The idea behind all this is to capture elements of real cultural heritage that have been lost in an imaginary composite culture. This incorporates a range of issues and events, from the recent destruction of Palmyra to the looting of indigenous artifacts across the world. The creation of a map and the collection of artifacts, both in this project and in reality, are the first steps in colonizing and disseminating a culture. 6
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ceramics DESCRIPTION The Ceramics major at Scripps College provides students with a firm grounding in ceramic history and technology while exposing them to the broader vistas of the contemporary fine art world. A small student-faculty ratio and 24-hour studio access creates an environment conducive to the production of singular works of art. Emphasis is placed upon conceptual development, material exploration, experimentation, and craftsmanship. Students are expected to be intellectually curious, self-motivated, and open to advice and criticism. They are encouraged to take risks and challenge themselves at every level. Medium exclusivity is discouraged in favor of an artistic methodology in which concept comes first and determines the choice of materials. Operating within the larger context of the student’s liberal arts education, the ceramics area and Art Department at large encourage interdisciplinary approaches to thinking and working.
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PIECES, 2018 Artist : Marissa Schow M e d i u m : Unfired clay, personal mementos, found objects
A R T I S T S TA T E M E N T “Some people see scars, and it is wounding they remember. To me they are proof of the fact that there is healing.� - Linda Hogan As a survivor of pediatric cancer, I constructed this installation in order to illustrate the hopeful side of diagnosis. A replication of my childhood playroom, Pieces consists of unaltered found objects as well as others covered in unfired clay. The unaltered objects represent the toys my brother played with as a child, and the ones encapsulated in clay signify mine. The cracking layer of unfired clay covering the toys from my childhood reveals the original objects beneath, symbolic of the resiliency of myself and other survivors. In addition to dismantling assumptions of fragility, as well as other stigmas associated with illness, Pieces ultimately serves as a space for families and children who have suffered from pediatric cancer to come together and heal.
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DIGITAL ART DESCRIPTION The Digital Art Program is devoted to creating original work in digital imaging, digital photography, digital video, motion graphics, desktop publishing, and web design with an emphasis on women, art and technology. The program provides a basic foundation in digital art to women in particular, enabling them to go on to careers in multimedia and web production.
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GRADUATED, 2018 Artist : Holly Mitchell Medium : Digital art printed on foamcore
A R T I S T S TA T E M E N T My friends and I have had a college experience defined by death: The death of those close to us, The death of those like us, The death of those we didn’t know and didn’t need to. We know they deserved better. We know the world is unfair, that there is passing, there is murder, and there is suicide that we cannot unsee. But we are exhausted. I am exhausted. But thank god, I am FURIOUS, so let me just say, I am not done grieving. Don’t you dare tell me a single thing because I am not done bleeding from the wounds you’ve caused. You don’t want to dirty yourself healing me? I will heal myself. But don’t you dare say the scars you left are ugly. Don’t you dare say the bones you wouldn’t set are askew. It was not worth it, it was not right, it did not make me stronger. Do not be proud that I am here lest you take responsibility for all those who aren’t. I am not happy I am among the select few who “make it,” yet I am grateful nonetheless. It is impossible to balance the guilt, regret, and relief of this survival, but I am trying. I know we are all trying in our own way. If my post-grad life is to be defined by grief, so be it, but I am done with being upset with myself for being shaped by the damage others have caused. My life is still mine, My grief is still mine, And I did not grieve wrong. 14
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FACING THE WORLD, 2018 Artist : Ishbel McCann Medium : Digital video and recordings
A R T I S T S TA T E M E N T Facing the World presents the makeup routines and personal narratives of seven women to give insight into notions of identity and self-care. Although makeup application is often performed as a means to transform the aspects of one’s face that cause self-consciousness, Facing the World re-envisions it as an act that promotes personal acceptance, and at times, functions as a coping mechanism with the potential to benefit mental health. By showcasing a variety of perspectives, Facing the World provides insight into the lesser understood motivations behind wearing makeup, while shedding the misconception that wearing it is merely a superficial act or a sign of vanity.
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T I G E R J E L LY , 2 0 1 8 Artist : Julia Chambers Medium : Digital animation
A R T I S T S TA T E M E N T My installation is an exploration of the subconscious ventures within dreams, focusing on aspects of identity, anxiety, and intimacy. My imagination, active even while I sleep, has generated dreamed experiences that both fascinate and exasperate me. By documenting my dreams through animation, I am able to explore this power dynamic between my conscious mind and my subconscious which orchestrates these scenes. Tension produced by the incongruity of the audio soundtrack, visual content and aesthetic of the work is reminiscent of the grey emotional areas of dreams that leave their residue in the back of our head as we navigate the real world. Time, form, and the scientific and societal laws that govern our lived experiences may be distorted beyond recognition within a dream, and mankind’s proclivity to fantastical dreams makes sleep a gateway to something otherworldly and freeing, all-consuming and overwhelming. 18
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TOOL BOX, 2018 Artist : Sarah Bruml Medium : Video
A R T I S T S TA T E M E N T This pseudo-educational film, Tool Box, incorporates video in real time to illustrate four different techniques used to help children diagnosed with dyslexia in overcoming their challenges in reading and writing English. When dyslexia was first discovered, doctors wanted to understand how the dyslexic brain functioned differently. They eventually concluded that people who have dyslexia use one side of their brain more than the other. Although these ideas were first conceived between 1870 and 1880, the methods for teaching children with dyslexia have not changed much since then. This project is meant to illustrate the “behind-the-scenes” aspects of what it takes for someone with dyslexia to understand some basic principles governing the English language. The work is meant to show that, although dyslexic brains may perceive differently, hard work and persistence can help alleviate some of the frustration and difficulty that comes with the condition. The work portrays four different techniques: a spelling test; a grammar sheet; a trick for L’s and B’s; and a repetition list. Each of these challenges was created to help ensure that the problem words would be committed to long-term memory by incorporating all the senses. 20
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THREE LIVES, PRESCRIBED, 2018 SUPPLEMENTED BY
OXYCODONE LUNGS, 2017
Artist : Caroline Golding Medium : Digital art print and supplementary animation
A R T I S T S TA T E M E N T This triptych consists of three pointillist-style portraits of myself, a close friend and my mother, each assembled out of the specific pills we take. While we each appear “healthy” at first glance, a closer examination raises questions about society’s collective dependence on prescription drugs – a microcosm of the much larger tragedy of opioid abuse that is destroying many American families. In addition to the portraits is an animation, “Oxycodone Lungs,” comprised of individual Oxy pills, reflecting my personal experience with this wildly addictive opiate during an emergency room visit to relieve extreme chest pain from pericarditis. Creating each portrait required me to inventory the specific medicines taken by the subject, capture high-resolution images of each pill, then transfer the images to Adobe Illustrator to be used as individual design elements. In total, these three digital portraits required the use of over 10,000 elements. Beyond the rendering of each “pill face” I added critical context in the background, listing the pill name and a quote from each subject as to why she is taking it. I also added a subtle, almost transparent, layer of pill bottles to provide more texture to each portrait. For the “Oxycodone Lungs,” I created and duplicated two 2-D pills in Adobe Illustrator to form the trachea, lobes and bronchioles. To capture a realistic rendering, I added animation so that the lungs appear to be breathing. Three artists have provided valuable inspiration for my thesis project. Vik Muniz is a Brazilian multimedia artist who uses unusual everyday items to create art that is accessible and meaningful to all viewers. Yayoi Kusama’s work with polka dots creates a sense of movement and depth through scale and repetition. Lastly, I was inspired by Yung Jake’s innovative, accurate images that he creates solely out of emojis.
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Painting DESCRIPTION The Painting program encourages you to look critically into three main issues in painting as art today: yourself, the world around you, and, the process of painting itself. The program examines painting as a form of communication, a language. With its challenge to overcome its restriction to a 2D plane and its difficulty of depicting time, painting offers a great opportunity to study and improve creativity, observational and critical skills, hand-eye coordination and effectiveness in communication. As a discipline, it has a long and rich history of various creative approaches to overcome its limitations and promote different agendas, from propaganda to self-expression, and anywhere in between. Mainly though, it is, like all art, shaped by and a reflection of a culture’s view of the world at a particular time. Art absorbs and reflects on the culturally accepted view of reality and, at times, is able to challenge it. The goal of Scripps’ Painting program is to enable and encourage students of all interests to find their own critical voice through this medium by providing a basic skill set, laying the theoretical groundwork, providing the specific vocabulary and encouraging research, experimentation, and discussion.
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WATERWAYS - SOON DRY, 2018 Artist : Aiyanna Cameron-Lewis M e d i u m : Acrylic on canvas
A R T I S T S TA T E M E N T For my senior art thesis project, Waterways - Soon Dry, I am addressing the question of human evolution and its relationship to water sustainability in current-day Los Angeles through the translation of photographs to neo-expressionist landscape paintings. I use drip, varied paint thickness and dynamic brush stroke to capture the immediate and pressing nature of water sustainability. The works are centered on particular locations, yet abstracted through style to forward an abrasive and paramount visual that invites meditation on the effects of the Anthropocene era. I am elevating four specific locations in the LA water system: Owens River Valley, the LA Aqueduct, industrial downtown LA, and the Los Angeles River at the Sixth Street Bridge. Each of these locations has specific relevance to my question of sustainability. In painting # 1 I examine the complete extraction of water from Owens River Valley that enabled the initial growth of metropolitan Hollywood and modern-day art mecca LA. The pipes that jut up through Jawbone Canyon to make up part of the LA Aqueduct are the subject of painting # 2. These pipes are part of the water transport system that brings water from Mono Lake and Northern California to Los Angeles. Painting # 3 represents an aerial view of downtown LA and its physical infrastructure as framed by the towering San Gabriel Mountains. This painting’s geometrical perspective of the city examines the extent and cost of human growth so far as it undulates, expands, and sprawls out across the valley. The site of the former Sixth Street Bridge is the subject of painting # 4: its history and the significance of its location at the entrance to the arts district point to the shifting demographics of LA through green gentrification, while also demonstrating the indefinite nature of the LA River. My work is inspired by various artists such as Lauren Bon, Lane Barden, Susan Leibovitz Steinman, Anselm Kiefer and Matthew Brandt. By painting this series of four locations and incorporating aspects of each place into the paintings, I am attempting to capture the juxtaposition of the objectionable beauty of human creation and the profundity of the natural landscape in order to nurture the question of coexistence and sustainability between the environment and humans, in the context of future existence.
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SILICON VALLEY, 2018 Artist : Judy Lin M e d i u m : Craft paint on paper
A R T I S T S TA T E M E N T Home to some of the world’s most advanced high-technology industry and research, Silicon Valley is a high-capital powerhouse in California’s San Francisco Bay Area. Technology and innovation have transformed the landscape, opening up a discussion about what’s at stake. Who is included or excluded? How does nature respond? I want to encourage these sorts of questions in my work. I depict the presence of Silicon Valley in three large-scale landscape paintings. I combine epic nature and expansive capitalist geography as expressions of the Sublime, a philosophical art term that refers to greatness beyond all possible calculation, measurement, or imitation. Pixelating Silicon Valley attempts to demonstrate the attraction to a mysterious digital capital. My painting technique involves layering several squares to suggest pixelation in the city. Artists Gerhard Richter and Thomas Ruff inspire my approach in abstraction and pixelation to create a sublime digital storm. I create my own version of compressed digital images in a traditional medium by layering squares of colors. My procedure for determining colors is arbitrary, rather than algorithmic. I am also inspired by geographer David Harvey’s analysis of economic factors in producing difference between geographical spaces. Thus, the painting technique for Silicon Valley seeks to map the Sublime philosophy and capital attraction on a technological landscape.
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Photography DESCRIPTION The Scripps photography program is designed to give students the skills necessary to create, interpret and analyze photographic images. Courses emphasize technical, conceptual, and critical uses of photography while acknowledging photography’s changing role in contemporary culture. Photography is no longer a narrow artistic (or scientific) field but part of an ever-expanding fascination with the human experience. Most importantly, the analysis and production of photographic images allows students the opportunity to develop their own intellectual and artistic voices within an academic community that is as sensitive to their concerns as it is demanding of their excellence.
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BEAUTY IS IN THE EYE OF SHE WHO HOLDS IT, 2018 Artist : Justina Goldbeck M e d i u m : Six photographs A R T I S T S TA T E M E N T My work explores themes of supernatural alternate universes and human interaction with nature. Using the medium of photography, I strive to create impossible realities, juxtaposing the real and the imagined. My work portrays mystical women interacting with surreal environments and seeks to portray nature in its familiar forms as magical and spiritual. As a female artist, I have often received the criticism that my work is too beautiful and that this beauty makes it devoid of substance. I believe that beauty has inherent value and goodness. My photos celebrate the beauty of female strength and the unmarred landscape. To me, the mirror represents the negative stereotypes of superficiality that have been attributed to female-created art. While male painters and photographers throughout history have become famous for portraying the passive female form, selfies or other images of women taken by women are considered exercises in vanity. This series seeks to challenge that narrative. The mirrors in my images add depth to the piece, showing a perspective one would not see otherwise. In most images, the mirrors obscure the subject and reflect the environment surrounding the subject, uniting women with nature, and revealing something deeper within the subject. In my technique, photographs are taken far away from civilization, are not preplanned, and are constructed without the use of elaborate technology. My practice is rooted in exploring, discovering new landscapes and new ways to photograph them. My work is not manipulated in Photoshop. All of the seemingly impossible elements of the pieces are created within the camera using mirrors and strategically-placed colored camping lights. This lack of manipulation is intended to challenge the idea that images reflect unadulterated reality. It also contradicts the idea that anything impossible depicted in an image must have been Photoshopped into the piece. My work is influenced by magical realism as well as surrealist photography. As a female photographer working with female subjects, it is important to me to escape the traditional relationship between active artist and passive subject. Each photo I take is a collaboration with my female subject as well as a collaboration with nature. Through my photos, I seek to emphasize a non-objectified female form as she interacts with nature and portray my subject as a magnetic and powerful force uniting in spirit with her natural environment.
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APRIL 27 – MAY 13, 2018
ROOMS OF OUR OWN
Rooms of Our Own features book arts, ceramics, digital art and video, painting, and photography. It displays the culmination of the artists’ work during their senior year. In addition to creating their works, the students conceptualize and install the exhibition, write artist statements, collect funding, and design publicity for the exhibition.