Wednesday, July 21, 2010

BETH CAVERNER STICHTER











In some ways I know it's a newfound personal appreciation for the animal kingdom, but art and design have DEFINITELY been nodding toward the natural world increasingly over the last few years. Taxidermy. Anthrompomorphic figures. Mountains and forests. Yeah, I know, it's a reaction to modern day life and our worsening obsession with technology. Isn't it always?

Anyway. These sculptures are stunning, disturbing, and..... white. They may seem to be 'unfinished' in their lack of colour, but I think the palette is meant to draw attention to the material/process (clay) and keep the focus on emotion.

From Stichter's Artist's Statment:
"There are primitive animal instincts lurking in our own depths, waiting for the chance to slide past a conscious moment. The sculptures I create focus on human psychology, stripped of context and rationalization, and articulated through animal and human forms.  On the surface, these figures are simply feral and domestic individuals suspended in a moment of tension.  Beneath the surface they embody the impacts of aggression, territorial desires, isolation, and pack mentality.
Both human and animal interactions show patterns of intricate, subliminal gestures that betray intent and motivation.  The things we leave unsaid are far more important than the words we speak out loud to one another.  I have learned to read meaning in subtler signs; a look, the tightening of muscles in the shoulders, the incline of the head, and the slightest unconscious gestures.  I rely on animal body language in my work as a metaphor for those underlying patterns, transforming the animal subjects into human psychological portraits"

It continues on, so have a look.  Her statement is well done and the site shows the UNBELIEVABLE amount of intricate work involved, with a step-by-step photo journal of her process.


xo.s


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