Catalpa, burdock, clover, worm

Transcription

1 University of Iowa Iowa Research Online Theses and Dissertations Spring 2016 Catalpa, burdock, clover, worm Emma Steinkraus University of Iowa Copyright 2016 Emma Steinkraus This thesis is available at Iowa Research Online: Recommended Citation Steinkraus, Emma. "Catalpa, burdock, clover, worm." MFA (Master of Fine Arts) thesis, University of Iowa, Follow this and additional works at: Part of the Art Practice Commons

2 CATALPA, BURDOCK, CLOVER, WORM by Emma Wood Steinkraus A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Fine Arts degree in Art in the Graduate College of The University of Iowa May 2016 Thesis Supervisor: Associate Professor Laurel Farrin

3 Copyright by EMMA WOOD STEINKRAUS 2016 All Rights Reserved

4 Graduate College The University of Iowa Iowa City, Iowa CERTIFICATE OF APPROVAL MASTER S THESIS This is to certify that the Master s thesis of Emma Wood Steinkraus has been approved by the Examining Committee for the thesis requirement for the Master of Fine Arts degree in Art at the May 2016 graduation. Thesis Committee: Laurel Farrin, Thesis Supervisor Sarah Kanouse David Ratcliff Sue Hettmansperger Neal Rock

5 To Worms, Snails, Mom, Dad, Catalpa, Emmett, Burdock, Violet, Alice, Alex, Dirt & Deer. I love you all. ii

6 & dead the endless procession & dead the piles on the earth & dead the marshgrass & dead the prariegrass & dead the downed dead trees the trunks bent under, snapped & frayed in death weighed down w the weight of the xcellent & living excess Cody-Rose Clevidence What is all this juice and all this joy? Gerard Manley Hopkins Spring iii

7 PUBLIC ABSTRACT This is a small collection of photographs of artwork made at the University of Iowa and an accompanying artist statement. iv

8 TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF FIGURES... vi ARTIST STATEMENT...1 CHIROLOGIA...2 ECO-OCCULT...13 CATALPA, BURDOCK, CLOVER, WORM...23 v

9 LIST OF FIGURES Figures Page CHIROLOGIA 1. Statement Reading in Bed Triptych Panel Panel Chirologia After Masaccio Lady Dai Detail of Lady Dai Emmett Google Earth View of the Konza Prairie...12 ECO-OCCULT 12. Camera Trap Installation Shot Fawn Spell for Bat Spell for Swan (After Hilma Af Klint) Spell for Cicada Spell for Beaver Spell for Barn Spider Throne for Ghost Bat at the Perth Zoo Double Swan...22 CATALPA, BURDOCK, CLOVER, WORM 22. Foraging Installation Shot Wild Violets Detail of Wild Violets Catalpa Detail of Catalpa Nine Stone Grow Roll Away Foraging Backpack Foraging Coat Installation Shot Deer Kill Detail of Deer Kill...36 vi

10 1 ARTIST STATEMENT I like to think of my work as casting symbolic spells: spells for the health of degraded prairie remnants, the thriving of bats, fearlessness, romantic love. Spells are a call for transformation, and images of transformation occur throughout my work - snakes molting, mummies decaying, insects in metamorphosis. Whether I m examining a construction site or the end of a relationship, I m asking "when is change good and when is it catastrophic?" Right now I'm looking closely at punk, witchy contemporary artists like Rosy Keyser, Maria Loboda, Marisa Merz, Victor Man, and Sterling Ruby. I'm also influenced by artists who smash a lot of pictures together, or have an overwhelming "Google Image Search" aesthetic like Isa Genzken, Anne de Vries, and Camille Henrot. At the same time, I'm drawn to old, mysterious, precious things (Viking runes, Taureg amulets, Hilma af Klint paintings, archeological digs) and have an abiding love of altarpieces, medieval objects, Botticelli, and Van der Weyden. Depictions of the Expulsion from the Garden serve as regular references. In them, I find an entwinement of my interest in ecological and romantic upheaval and a relationship to the body and touch that is both tender and precarious. I want to make work that's about all the inexhaustible things: love, death, history, sex, mysticism, family, nature. It's not there yet, but I'm working.

11 2 CHIROLOGIA Statement

12 Reading in Bed, oil & toner on linen, 44 x 48,

13 Triptych, Mixed media, 82 x 48,

14 Panel 1, oil, acrylic, and spray paint on canvas, 24 x 36,

15 Panel 2, Oil, acrylic, and spray paint on canvas, 24 x 36,

16 Chirologia, Oil and ink on canvas, 37 x 54,

17 After Masaccio, ink on vinyl, 24 x 36,

18 Lady Dai, Toner and acrylic on Naugahyde, 45 x 96,

19 Detail of Lady Dai 10

20 Emmett, Oil on wood with tulle & frame, 15 x 17,

21 Google Earth View of the Konza Prairie, Oil, acrylic, and toner on Naugahyde with marbled frame and lava lamps, 110 x 20,

22 13 ECO-OCCULT Camera Trap, acrylic and toner on canvas, 102 x 62, 2015

23 Installation Shot 14

24 Fawn, plaster, foam, and jewels, 36 x 36,

25 Spell for Bat, acrylic, toner, and spray paint on paper, 30 x 44,

26 Spell for Swan (after Hilma af Klint), acrylic, toner, and spray paint on paper, 30 x 44,

27 Spell for Cicada, acrylic, toner, and spray paint on paper, 30 x 44,

28 Spell for Beaver, acrylic, toner, and spray paint on paper, 30 x 44,

29 Spell for Barn Spider, acrylic, toner, and spray paint on paper, 30 x 44,

30 Throne for Ghost Bat at the Perth Zoo, mixed media on silver mylar with a papier-mache, gold foil, and jewel frame, 33 x 52,

31 Double Swan, toner, oil, and spray paint on canvas, 36 x 48,

32 23 CATALPA, BURDOCK, CLOVER WORM Foraging, 2016, Oil and transfer on linen, 48 x 36

33 Installation shot 24

34 Wild Violets, 2016, Oil and transfer on canvas, 58 x

35 Detail of Wild Violets 26

36 Catalpa, 2016, Oil and transfer on canvas, 96 x 42 27

37 Detail from Catalpa 28

38 Nine Stone, 2016, Transfer on canvas, 72 x 48 29

39 Grow, shelf with plants and lights, 5 x 4 x 2,

40 Roll Away, Oil and transfer on canvas, 55 x 39,

41 Foraging Backpack, handmade vinyl and cloth backpack with transfers,

42 Foraging Coat, handmade sheer coat with transfers,

43 Installation Shot 34

44 Deer Kill, Oil and transfer on canvas, 52 x 44,

45 Detail of Deer Kill 36