This Friday’s featured artist is local artist Manda Remmen.
You may remember I first discovered her map art in November when I saw it on display at Art Saint Louis. Little did I know she works in both two and three-dimensions!
The breadth of Manda Remmen's work ranges from paper making to textiles to sculpture to installation and more.
You may remember I first discovered her map art in November when I saw it on display at Art Saint Louis. Little did I know she works in both two and three-dimensions!
The breadth of Manda Remmen's work ranges from paper making to textiles to sculpture to installation and more.
The Fabric of the Country
From her artist statement:
We are a collection of our stories. Culturally, and individually, identity is defined by a narrative.
The recording of group history is fascinating because of what is passed over in its singular perspective.
Each event from the past leaves evidence, proof of a defining moment.
These indications vary in scale from the intimate, traces left by rain falling on one square foot of ground, to the global when viewed from a satellite, the palimpsest left on the earth when boundary lines shift through time.
We are a collection of our stories. Culturally, and individually, identity is defined by a narrative.
The recording of group history is fascinating because of what is passed over in its singular perspective.
Each event from the past leaves evidence, proof of a defining moment.
These indications vary in scale from the intimate, traces left by rain falling on one square foot of ground, to the global when viewed from a satellite, the palimpsest left on the earth when boundary lines shift through time.
Manifest Destiny detail West
These pieces act as a poetic addendum to a particular history.
Through the process of observing the marks and documentation of history, personal accounts, maps, records, physical marks, etc. the story is distilled. The evidence and marks are examined for their mystery and interpreted, then, re-presented to highlight a specific perspective of an event.
The intentional use of familiar materials allows the viewer their own interpretations.
Each material brings with it intrinsic associations distinct to each person viewing it; the feelings and memories identified with the smell of dirt, the faint sound and feel of unfolding paper, or the weight and tactile quality of a quilt. No two interpretations are alike because no two perspectives of a story are exactly the same.
Through the process of observing the marks and documentation of history, personal accounts, maps, records, physical marks, etc. the story is distilled. The evidence and marks are examined for their mystery and interpreted, then, re-presented to highlight a specific perspective of an event.
The intentional use of familiar materials allows the viewer their own interpretations.
Each material brings with it intrinsic associations distinct to each person viewing it; the feelings and memories identified with the smell of dirt, the faint sound and feel of unfolding paper, or the weight and tactile quality of a quilt. No two interpretations are alike because no two perspectives of a story are exactly the same.
The Homestead Ranches, North of Camp Crook, map 3
This witnessing by the viewer, when combined with the history and data that I collect, as well as, the process and materials of making the piece, verify a defining moment in time and place.
I try to fill in the gaps of history, the important parts that have been left out, the stories that create our identities.
I try to fill in the gaps of history, the important parts that have been left out, the stories that create our identities.
The Homestead Ranches, North of Camp Crook, map 1
Read more about Manda Remmen and see more of her work on her website here.
TGIF!
Mary^
TGIF!
Mary^
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