BFA Exhibition

This is a selection of images of my work that was part of the BFA Exhibition at the University of Delaware.

First is "The Contemplator" which re-contextualized a previous work "The Observer" into a more self reflective posture. Using mirrors I was able to reflect both the Observers image as well as that of the viewer to allow the images to be streamed over the internet.

Second is another installation of my "Grow" sculpture. For this 3.0 install I chose to break up the spiral across a preexisting path. For the most part, you can only see the entire spiral when it is viewed from above.

Finally I re-grew the grass shapes for my piece "Somehow we are all connected". I was able to install the piece in a windowed setting, which provided natural lighting.

I am (not) ...

I am (not) ...

Ava Larkin
12.5" x 15" and 12" x 8.5"
Paper, aluminum, Plexiglass



Borrowing from religious temple scrolls made from long flowing pieces of fabric or paper, I've used pure white contiguous sheets of paper in varying widths to create a moment of visual reflection. Using an antique typewriter the word 'here' has been imprinted vertically without ink down the surface of the paper. The impressions create a line for the eye to follow with slight variances in the path denoting moments of imperfection, or the meandering of the mind. Unlike the panels with the word 'here' the other three panels contain the word 'there' which has been perforated vertically and remain straight and true on each panel. Each sheet is held by plexiglass strips at the top and weighted by aluminum at the bottom.

It's Nature to Industry

Sean Doll
It's Nature to Industry, 2008
tree, metal, dirt
3' x 3' x 3'

It's Nature to Industry is from my struggle of moving from the country to the city. Coming from a more rural background, living in a more populated urban area is very different for me. Even as an artist, I find myself drawn to using natural materials in my work. I can relate to these materials more and have much more to say about these materials.

This piece is about our nature being industrialized. Almost as a self portrait, it shows this transformation from nature to the man-made. The bark was chiseled away from the found stump in order to show the tree's underlying identity. This nature is then reinforced and used in the building of the man-made world. Through the use of nature, a very unnatural world is eventually created.

A Series of Connections

Sean Doll and Esteban M. Pilonieta Vera
A Series of Connections, 2008
wood and twine
20 poles 9 foot connected, throughout the space, by twine


A Series of Connections portrays the links between an individual and a community. Although all individuals are separated from one another, there is always a series of a physical social connection between us. This piece was created to develop a relationship throughout the entire space of the garden. Multiple phone poles are placed across the garden, tied together with a line of twine. The wooden poles range in height, causing the height of the line to vary. This system of connection unifies the garden and all the art within it. Although each piece works on an individual basis, they also work together to occupy the space of the garden.

A Portrait of Portraits

Sean Doll
A Portrait of Portraits, 2008
Thread on stretched fabric
2' x 3' x 2"

A Portrait of Portraits is about individuality and identity in the United States of America. In the past, many minorities have been treated unfairly. In this country, the white male is commonly on top. Big businessmen, lawyers, and politicians all tend to be primarily white males. However, minorities are now being more recognized and respected. Now the art world is interested in feminist art and art from minority ethnic groups. As a white male, I have no chance of being an interesting artist.



This piece is somewhat of a tribute to the white male. The hand stitched portraits on fabric bring a masculine quality to a traditionally feminine craft. The portraits are blindline studies of the white male. This aesthetic gives the portrait a less representational view of the individual. Attention is given to small details as each white male is given back an individualistic identity.

Something from in a Dream

Sean Doll

Something from in a Dream, 2007
Hand stitched text on fabric
8' x 5'

Something from in a Dream is a self portrait as seen from various views. One side of the portrait is made up of my dreams. The other side is the back side of this stitched text. The piece is seen here in as an installation as well as in a group show.

The front, exterior side of the portrait is the back of the text. Both sides form my image, but this side is less personal. Another person can see my face but will never begin to know the experiences I have had an individual. Even those I have more personal relationships with can never fully experience what it is to be me. The back, interior of the portrait is the side with legible text. These stories are my experiences. These are my hopes and dreams which only I can truly relate to. My internal dreams compared to what others view of me is what my dual view self portrait portrays.

Strangulation

I have been working with poured latex house paint in my sculptural pieces for a year now. The way the paint colors interact with each other and the patterns formed when spray paint is introduced to the wet latex has become an obsession of mine. In this piece, I wanted to create an environment to be inside of rather than an object to look at. I had the idea to enclose the viewer in sections of paint in order to create a very personal space. Knowing I would show this piece in the garden, I wanted to hang it under a tree which had the same qualities of an enclosed personal space as this piece. I call this piece "Strangulation" because the way the latex space mimics the natural space is a way of talking about the synthetic world in which we live, a world in which we create synthetic materials which destroy the natural, so the more we produce, the more we must mimic with our synthetic materials the nature which is lost.

Strangulation
Ashley Main
dimensions variable
latex paint, spray paint, ink, wood and rope

Pollywog

Pollywog is over 100 wax and oil paint creatures that are placed in shallow water, insides of a baby pool. This presentation is to show the creatures as a type of algae or tadpole that is multiplying in the pool of shallow water. The creatures are extremely colorful and plays with the viewers eyes. The collection of small creatures in a small pool creates an almost bacteria look that pushes the viewer back but the color and strange cuteness brings the viewer back into the work and down to the ground to touch of play.
Kat Riley
2'X 2'
wax and oil paint

my left fin

With this work I wanted to explore my feelings towards my experience in grief group as a young child. I am questioning how much it helped versus how much it hurt.
I made a pink whale to represent myself at 3 to 4 years old, the pink fabric screamed little girl to me and the shape of a whale was cute but also was a strange animal to have lying on the floor. i removed one the the fins and then reattached the fin to show my awareness of my loss. the inflating and deflating of the whale became like the people in the grief group trying to help, and also became a very sad and pathetic aspect of the piece.
Kat Riley
My Left Fin
fabric, plastic, yarn, air pump
2'X 5.5'

My Dearest Herbert

I've come to the conclusion that we can know a person best by what they leave behind. The objects they have accumulated and what they have chosen to surround themselves with tell stories about their likes, dislikes, personality, obsessions and even dreams. When I stumbled across the intimate letters written by Irmgard Watson to Herbert Watkins, it was apparent that the greatest part of their lives together was contained within those pages. The letters date from the 1920's through the 1950's and catalogue their estrangement due to Herbert's work, as well as document their courtship, marriage and life afterwards.

In My Dearest Herbert I've highlighted aspects of their lives with the materials used within the piece. White ribbons symbolizing her wedding dress are suspended from a bright white fluorescent light, which references his job at the Westinghouse small lamps division. She speaks of a shirt he left behind during once of his visits and how she darned it for him and sewed a missing button on. Thus, the use of antique buttons to hold the letters and ephemera to the ribbons.

I wanted to create a suspended moment in time, where it flirted and rested lightly on the ground, warm in color and soft, inviting the viewer to come up and read a page or two. I also desired tension to exist within the piece, the feeling of being under investigation or observance, slightly removed from the light source. I feel Irmgard and Herbert yearned for eachother and even 10 years after they were married they were separated due to his work. This is why no letters or correspondance actually reach the light source.

Through this piece I've struggled with the rightness of displaying something so personal for all the world to see. I searched for the two of them and their family, but made no headway. It seemed like a beautiful homage to two ordinary, yet personally extraordinary lives. However, some may not feel this way. Regardless, it is their moment, captured, reclaimed and retold for all to either choose to partake in or not.

My Dearest Herbert (detail)

Ava Larkin

10' x 4' x 1.5'

Paper ephemera, ribbons, buttons, light

This is as Close to The City as I Get

This piece is an extension of both concept and materials placed in an outdoor setting. Using varying materials found in house hold construction I wanted to create an artificial environment. The sections have individual layers that represent the different levels of life and nature. I choose the shape of spiral steps to suggest the idea of movement. In addition I am again dealing with the idea of a journey by changing the direction and level of each step.

“This is as Close to The City as I Get”

Styrofoam, Plywood, Plexyglass, Grass, Sponge

tradition

this project started with a video i watched about the Tibetan monks and their tradition of making the mandala. i then went from there to find out what the general public thinks of tradition. i used youtube and searched the word tradition and cut together the videos to make one large definition of todays "tradition". i then projected this new tradition onto several small monks as they watched the video off of the laptop.

Painting Machine

Painting Machine
2008
Welded Steel, acrylic paint, stretched canvas, machine components

By allowing a machine to create the painting entirely by itself, I have removed the human element from creating artwork. Specifically In painting, the interaction between the artist and the canvas is necessary to achieve a results. A machine takes the place of the artist and creates a painting without any human interference. Using scientific elements such as the forces of gravity, physics, and chemistry, the machine creates an elaborate mix of color to attract the viewer.

Somehow We Are All Connected

This piece was a direct inspiration of nature, specifically the roots. I was working off the idea of smaller organisms collectively coming together to form a larger entity. The piece itself represents three parts. The roots are the smallest form, coming together to form the individual "puzzle" pieces. These pieces then create a larger form that spans the space. Each "puzzle" piece is a simplified abstract of a life form, specifically the human form. It has both male and female features. The grass represents life and growth. In addition, the grass is the part of the piece represents me, as it requires my constant care in order to survive.

Grow 2.0

This is the second installation of this piece. I was given the opportunity to be a part of an Outdoor Sculpture event at Georgia Perimeter College outside of Atlanta. This version 2.0 has increased in size from its original form, but the concept still remains.

I made casts of my feet using materials ranging from pure plaster to pure concrete. In the molds I set steel posts and inserted the feet into the ground. The spiral I choose is to represent both the journey of ones life as well as the ancient symbol for the Universe.