Ode To Laundry: March 2010

Artist Statement

And always, there is laundry…

Underlying all of the great and tragic events, situated between the cycles of birth and death, are the ordinary moments, the rituals, the mundane tasks and routines that thread through it all, tying together all of humanity. Repetitive, at times dull and boring, often overlooked, it is the ordinariness of life that connects to our human spirit.

As an artist, I am interested in both the meditative and the transformative nature of the ordinary tasks and mundane moments. I see the daily routines and rituals as the process of living. In my practice, I am drawn to the process and the materiality of making art rather than the drive to create a finished product. For me, the joy is in the process, the engagement of my senses, touching and manipulating the material. Just as the simple routines and rituals in life, whether cooking and cleaning, eating and sleeping, walking and breathing, provide a rhythm and balance, the artistic process provides balance and keeps me grounded in the present moment. The ordinariness of life, like the artistic process, is a journey that slowly but inevitably transforms life one moment at a time.

Sunday, March 28, 2010

Project #5

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Shana Moulton

Shana Moulton's work, combining video, performance and installation, involves the notions of journey and transformation. In her video/performance pieces her body and her character undergoes both a physical and spiritual transformation, as she deals with issues of gender, technology and popular culture. I find it interesting the way she layers video with performance to create these multi-layerd, almost psychedelic works such as the link below.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Western Spaghetti

I think that stop motion animation is a great example of working with process. The video is created one moment at a time.

Monday, March 8, 2010

Kiki Smith

I am inspired both by Kiki Smith's work and her art process. Her artwork merges conventional art practices such as printmaking, drawing and sculpture with domestic tasks such as sewing.

Sunday, March 7, 2010

Project #4

Daily Rituals

For project #2 I have photographed daily rituals such as cooking, eating and cleaning. Since my theme is a rather abstract concept, I decided to explore the abstract qualities in the subjects that I photographed, with an emphasis on colour, texture and shape. By freezing each moment and zooming in on its formal aspects, the ordinary transforms into something more, something to contemplate, at times almost transcending its material form. ( This is an idea that I'd like to explore further with access to a better camera.) Observed as a group, the individual moments flow together into a simple narrative.
After I completed the photographs and placed them together on my blog, I noticed the repetition of circular shapes. Circles reflect the cyclical nature of mundane rituals and routines and the repetition inherent in tasks such as washing dishes or cooking a meal. Repetition can be meditative and has the effect of keeping you grounded in the present moment.