MFA Show
Master of Fine Arts Exhibition, Art Lofts Gallery, University of Wisconsin Madison, May 7 - 11, 2018
Exhibition Statement:
Alright
I’m in the gallery
I’m looking at the work
I see a lot of bowls
I see notes, pieces of paper, times, a record, writing
The pots, the bowls
They’re thrown, on a wheel
they have rotation to them, movement to them
Some are broken, some are warped, some are twisted and torn
Some are smooshed, some are mistakes, some are anger
Frustration
You know, I think you’ll quickly see, hopefully you’ll see
This project is a way of tracking time and keeping time
A bowl, a handmade bowl, it holds a moment and it keeps that moment within it
Forever, or at least for its use or until its broken
And so, it offers a way to connect with someone, umm
That isn’t possible through other means
When you hold a bowl that I made or anyone made by hand
You are holding
There is a moment that I had with that bowl that gave its life and its form, its shape and it will
forever be that way
And so, it offers something which I think is very important and real
Which is simply not found in…
The
This project is also grappling or trying to reach
Or find
Some sort of inner calmness or peace
Umm
In many ways it is a frustrated effort as you can see by the
Sort of reverberations of
Mmm
Failure
Or
Frustration
The project is about being hopeful
And seeking to find some sort of action that
Is both
Metaphor-metaphorically and actually
Hopeful and inspiring and changing
And I think a bowl can do that
I think paying attention to something so small as a bowl
And um
The opportunity that
Reclaiming
Or reasserting the importance of the skills that
Formed civilization
Truly
At the end of the day you do need a bowl to eat out of
Or a jar to carry water in
I mean, we definitely take that for granted and that’s
That’s okay
But if we take it for granted
Forever
I think we have lost something important
Enjoy the show
——
Thank you to my committee, Douglas Rosenberg (chair), Laurie Beth Clark, Michael Peterson, and
Stephen Hilyard for their continued insight and inspiration regarding what art can be and can do in
our day to day lives.