Drawing

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Open Access
Bradley Niedt: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Niedt, Bradley, artist
The artist's statement: This project, Distilling Discovery, began about a year ago with the realization that my artwork tends to form itself into metaphysical spaces. As far back as I can remember, I have yearned to discover new places, places that no one has ever seen or touched. My process of drawing in this series allows me to discover these places as they come into the physical world. These spaces are constructed and controlled within my mind. I invite my viewers to explore these spaces and discover the details within.
Open Access
Julia Manley: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Manley, Julia, artist
The artist's statement: In the conceptualization of this body of work I want the viewer to experience that sense of distress. I wanted the space to be reminiscent of time and decay. I sought to manipulate domestic spaces by the layering of paper and the peeling back of these layers to reveal the drawings; to create that sensation that time has passed and things are no longer the way they might have been. By doing this I have revealed the darker side of the domestic, a side I and many others try to cover up and avoid. The paper is a great addition to this series of work. I began by drawing on either the drywall itself, or the first layer of paper. I would draw images that represented the domestic (or home) as well as alternating hand positions (my representation of the figure). I choose hands that appear to belong to a child because I felt that alternate side of the domestic really revolves around well-being and safety...nurturing or lack thereof. I then would cover the drawings with more layers of paper and keep building up texture on these layers. Once hidden, I took a box knife and cut into the layers and would dig into the dry wall and peel away. I would remove strips of paper and sections of drywall and create these wounds on the surface of the drawings. Not all of the images would be revealed. I would keep the majority of them fragmented still trying to conceal these uncomfortable truths regarding our domestic spaces. The size is of these works I feel is appropriate because it keeps the drawing intimate but still approachable and explorable. The series contains hints of self-reflection, but progress and develop into something much more than that. The emphasis became that of the texture and less about the drawings themselves though I do feel that they are a vital part of the works. The drawings also help guide the viewer into and through the pieces just like the color did in my previous series (Uncomfortable Familiarities). My work itself uses traditional drawings of the human form but in very new ways so express more personal concepts.
Open Access
Claire Dean: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Dean, Claire, artist
To view the artist's statement please see the full text of the document.
Open Access
Corie Audette: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Audette, Corie, artist
The artist's statement: Once upon a reality, mutant animals inhabited altered environments and dimensions. These animals had foreseen the change coming in sea and land, from which the cause was of the wayward humans' span. In time came life and death, with moments of transition, and from the past wherein they strengthen. The trees and things made by man that once did matter became an icon, lost or forever altered. And through these passages of existences, a world of imaginative meaning did once arrive. My work illustrates narratives of impacting realms through fragments of changing moments and cultural interpretations. I remember the first time I saw the image of Sandy Skoglund's Radioactive Cats and being deeply impacted by it. The piece had an innate notion of conversion that struck me; I wanted to understand and become a part of that world crowded with those mutant cats. I think this is where I was influenced to create art that expressed a serious matter but in an uncanny approach. I am not trying to force a statement about preserving life exactly the way it is now; I know change is inevitable to this world and it happens all the time, but I simply want to preserve these minute moments of transitions by collecting glimpses into possible realities.
Open Access
Noelle Miller: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Miller, Noelle, artist
To view the artist's statement please see the full text of the document.
Open Access
Cassie Norrgard: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Norrgard, Cassie, artist
To view the artist's statement please see the full text of the document.
Open Access
Kodi Phelps: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Phelps, Kodi, artist
The artist's statement: At the end of the day, one of the most important aspects of my artwork is accessibility. I loathe the pretentiousness of artwork that can only be fully understood by those who have had formal educations. Art should be for everyone. This aspect influences my work deeply in that I tend to stick to themes that are potentially familiar to a wide audience. Coupled with my sociological and social justice background, my themes tend to focus on pop culture and/or social problems within the United States. When coming up with a new piece, I tend to start with an idea or theme I am interested in and want to explore more. For example, the drawing oneliner 00006 (superman) by Thomas Eller was a particular source of inspiration for my project, The Obscurity of the Renowned. As the title suggests, it is a simple continuous, blind contour line that depicts the torso and head of Superman. What struck me about this piece was how such a simple drawing could depict a complex and complicated character. For those who are familiar with the character, that simple line could evoke everything they have ever known or thought about Superman. This made me think of how pop culture celebrities are so recognizable to so many people and how being in the public eye makes the general population feel like they know a celebrity intimately even if they have never met them before. Even children are not immune to this process. My professor's two-year-old son, who was just learning to speak at that time, began calling every elephant he saw "Dumbo" after seeing the Disney cartoon movie of the same name. In his mind, every elephant was Dumbo, someone he felt like he knew and loved. I then decided to make ink blind contour drawings of five different well-known musicians. Each celebrity had a profile picture as well as a full body image. In my showing, I also gave the viewers clues to each one in case they had a hard time recognizing the images. My second project, Gossip, was inspired, perhaps silly enough, by the fact that I had started watching the television show Gossip Girl. In it, gossip is the main driving force of anything that occurs. This, of course, tends to happen a lot in real life social circles as well: people talking about each other or chatting about some dramatic event that happened. For this particular project, I was not so interested in assessing an opinion on the idea of gossip, but rather how it spreads and the role each individual plays in the transfer of that information. I was then drawn to the series Fields, Charts, Soundings by Emma McNally. On The Drawing Center's Viewing Program, these works are described as, "dense layers of carbon on paper fields which offer themselves up to meaning: planes, vectors, topoi are overlaid, or coexist with swarms, shoals, marks laid out in a rhythmic sequence." I loved how intricate each piece looked and the details in all of the layers. They seemed to be so simple yet incredibly elaborate at the same time and I loved it. Inspired by this, I created abstract, organic clusters with charcoal and connected them with red pins, red thread, and red Sharpie marker. Artistic neighbors that I have been inspired by, and continue to be inspired by over the years are Lorna Simpson, Yinka Shonibare, and Kara Walker. What all of these artists have in common is their emphasis in their works on the culture in which they are a part. Yinka Shonibare focuses on how colonialism has affected African culture by dressing mannequins in Victorian era garb made out of traditional African fabrics and patterns. I created a similar work in which I drew "before and after" pictures of immigrants first in traditional clothing from their home country and then in westernized clothing after moving to the United States and becoming assimilated. Kara Walker focuses on stereotypes and tropes of black culture in the United States by creating caricature shadow-like paper cutouts. Lorna Simpson does similar work but focuses on the black female experience within our systemically racist culture. One of her pieces, Stereo Styles, is a series of photographs of the back of a black woman's head who sports different hairstyles in each. Simpson then has a list of words listed between the photos that invoke either positive or negative imagery. The works of both Walker and Simpson remind me of a series I made entitled Id, Ego, Superego. It was a triptych depicting different stereotypes of societal pressures that women face from the United States' pop culture. Each of these artists are heavily influenced and fascinated by culture. So am I. Simpson and Walker in particular are also interested in the nitty-gritty of society: racism, sexism, patriarchy, colonization, and so on. It is topics like these that I am intensely interested in, am drawn to, and have explored in most of my works. I used to be interested in just making art for art's sake. Now, however, I cannot seem to be able to make something without some sort of commentary. Society fascinates me too much to leave it alone. I want my work to make people think without being too pious. I want it to move people. I want it to be intentional and meaningful. I want it to whisper in people's ears, "Listen to me, for I have interesting things to say."
Open Access
Duncan Parks: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2013) Parks, Duncan, artist
The artist's statement: My work addresses ideas and themes of analysis, the way we inhabit space and interact with domestic objects, the distortion and growth of forms, automation of process, and the use of craft processes in contemporary art. In the fall semester of 2012 I started working with the idea of deconstruction. This approach now underlies the majority of my practice. I was working with the image of a potted house-plant because it represents a dull vernacular facet of a domestic environment. A banal starting point proved important to exploring the way complexity develops as something is taken apart. Converting the domestic object to hand built polyhedra dislodged its immediately recognizable state. While the new object was considerably less complex than a houseplant it presented the information of form and composition that would normally be overlooked. I am fascinated by the way form and concept breakdown. The process of analysis produces a simplified version of the original idea, while simultaneously providing a more abstract and complex understanding. My work seeks to address this idea of reduced complex ideas of processes down to tangible objects and collections. This also mirrors the role of consciousness; consciousness - being aware - is a matter of simplification; to be aware is to be aware of something; this something is always a reduced version of what is really perceived by the direct senses. Systems also play a large role in my work. My process requires some kind of process in place to move forward. I invent varying levels of rather trivial systems to explain each aspect of my work and studio practice. In this way the works have a conceptual space they reside in. It provides a point of reference for analysis how the work functions. The use of systems also directly relate to the way I look at growth, decay and distortion of forms. Each piece starts with a simple set of rules to guide a number of processes. In some cases these rules relate to material concerns or technical processes. In other cases they restrict the way a concept can be used to guide decisions. These processes are repeated to expand the work and altered to accommodate the way the project develops. The use of systems to explore growth and decay relates to my interested Matt Shlian folded paper work. In a formal and technical sense it relates to work I have made in paper. Conceptually his approach interested me in how it addresses systems and repetition. He creates work because he is not sure what the result will be. It's a necessity to explore a process to experience the unknown result. It also ties into the idea of generative art. By using a simple set of rules and a large scale of iteration. In the piece Permutations I used an orthogonal grid and four rules to direct the form of drawings. By using the set of rules each drawing progressed or stopped. To explore all the possible permutations each drawing was traced after each mark was added. This allowed the drawing to systematically expand into all the possible forms the grid allowed. My interest in the use of craft processes really addresses how the hand of the artist is present in my work. Work made through means of digital fabrication and automation should be considered a collaboration between a person and a machine. Each must bring different attributes to the work for successful work. This is the point where digital fabrication becomes fascinating because it results in work that neither an artisan nor a machine would be capable independently. Craft also applies to the skill and precision to work in meticulous detail. This relates to way I look to Marco Maggi's work. He approaches each piece with an extreme sense of control and the ability to dictate each mark on the piece. He also use materials that are not that are not traditionally considered fine art mediums. I am extremely interested in the way process can transform material. That's not to say I am not interested in transformation of form, concept or idea. I don't know why. It's the ability to transform the blank into the object, or the drawing; this process that occurs between a work being a collection of raw media and a support to the creation of a work. It also relates to the idea of imbuing an item with value and personality through handling or manipulation I am interested in the meaning and form of domestic objects and the narrative they create. Domestic objects also express this idea of transforming something ordinary into an object of value through handling. Building a narrative of objects also provides a challenge because it is telling a story but removes all the typical signifiers of storytelling. It forces the viewer to better consider the way the objects express meaning and interact. The way we occupy space is fascinating. By existing we create form. To see is to create what is seen. The space, people, objects, and architecture and the space they inhabit and do not inhabit are constantly building compositions. Do Ho Suh work in fabric architectural spaces addresses ideas I am interested in. His work looks at how architecture functions when removed from primary setting. Normally a house separates the inside from the outside, providing shelter for its inhabitants. By constructing the house from silk it loses this function of protection and simply addresses. It looks at the significance of the structure and how it changes when dislodged from its ordinary environment. The house without its standard function becomes an expiration of space. My working process functions in a variety of ways. I am in a constant dialog between form, technique and concept. The work typically begins as an exploration in one of these three. I normally start a piece with a processes in mind. Each work evolves out of an overgrown experiment of technical approach. I work through the technique to explore what kind of feel or personality it gives to an object. While my work addresses a wide variety of idea concepts my approach of systems and aesthetic sensibility give the pieces continuity. Through analysis, deconstruction, and material experimentation I seek to understand the way ideas and concepts are connected.
Open Access
Alice Getz: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) Getz, Alice, artist
The artist's statement: Engrained (series - ink and mixed media on wood) The wooden works started with a series of ideas brought on by wood grain, combined with careful thoughts about meaning, and human manipulation. To see wood grain requires the splitting and manipulation of the natural tree. Human influence is already present in wood grain, but the textures and patterns are something we also find universally beautiful and relatable. People influence and affect each other and the world around them constantly. The idea of natural paths and universal collective subconscious and the sharing of ideas and thoughts is present in the idea that we share and see many of the same things, and create in our own minds separate and individual imagery and imagination out of the things we encounter, be it forms, shapes, lines, implied figures, moods, ideas, and experiences. These are all part of human experience. I took a simultaneous interest in these works for Taoist principals, including the uncarved block and following a path of highest potential and lesser resistance. The final idea is one that has been present since the beginning of human culture of creating and emphasizing forms from those that already exist. It is human nature to want to leave our own mark and express a personal perspective. In trinity I expressed an idea of stability, collective subconscious, and individual expression of thoughts- while considering all of these influences in the making of deliberate marks and embellishment of particular forms. Adaptation (ongoing- flux) This work is continuous, 2007 to the present day. It utilizes mixed media and a series of techniques, favored in different time periods during these years. Adaptation represents a transitional period of time. A period of euphoric disillusionment and self-sabotage is the first step in the change. Whether the euphoria is caused by general youth, is drug induced, an illusion or false perspective of safety, or a reliance on any vice, it still is a type of shelter or confusion that separates an entity from reality and from striving for change. The space within the tree IS a striving for change. It is a time period of self-actualization, there is a type of safety and loss in the phase of changes, no figures or forms are present in the center, because it represents a loss of familiarity and a chance for reformation or to be pressed into worse circumstances if there is a strong resistance to change. Change and growth come of learning to live without roots of life. They both become the roots and become our reasons for appreciating stability, familiarity and structure when they return. The other side is the outcome of change, unknown sometimes, viewed before we can clearly experience it as a source of apprehension and a yearning for avoidance, that later becomes a source of familiarity and strength.
Open Access
Hope Broyles: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) Broyles, Hope, artist
Open Access
Laura Wingate: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) Wingate, Laura, artist
The artist's statement: My art is a collection of stories stemming from my own personal narrative. Told through an ink world of animal hybrids, my hope is for the work to transport the viewer into nostalgic and strange folklore. These fables speak of distant sounds somewhere in the deep, dark forest, the rustling of moonlit leaves, and the howl which echoes from somewhere in the back of our minds. From the frightened doe that startles at the very hint of danger and the humble and lamb hearted, to the wise yet mischievous sage, the animals in this torn paper world are depictions of the people and themes present within my own story. The creatures I scrawl upon the page tell tales of vulnerability, fragility, and yearning. Their ink faces are something more than scribbled and something less than written. They are pure, they are primal, they are immediate, they are drawn. However cryptic these tales may be, however wild the lines become, it is clear these heartfelt creatures are in search of something more, just like the rest of us.
Open Access
Lyla Wortham: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) Wortham, Lyla, artist
The artist's statement: My work deals with narratives, often with an autobiographical or cultural tilt. I work with imagery that has do with contemporary issues faced by Indigenous cultures in America, especially within my own Navajo heritage. The imagery is violent, focused on themes such as racism, domestic tension, and abuse. There is personal reflection in my work that deals with the struggle to learn about my heritage in a post colonial, post genocidal society. The issue of identity- and the historical, contemporary, and familial influences that make up identity is a universal issue. I work with materials that have some historical aspect to my heritage, such as beading and weaving techniques. I use found images and objects in my artwork, to create a sense of location for the viewer and engagement into the space of the piece. I work two dimensionally with a heavy focus on drawing. Charcoal, ink, and markers are the mark making tools I mainly use. My work is heavily symbolic, with recurring objects, characters, and colors that are supposed to act as sigils to the viewer- an alphabet to read the narrative. Oftentimes I do include text, in Navajo and English, meant to a certain extent to be cryptic. Rather than making literal sense as a section of prose, I strive to include words and phrases that lend to the overall feel of a visual work, a stream of consciousness piece of thought that would not dominate the viewer's interpretation of content. I create my own way of storytelling.
Open Access
Miranda Molinar: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2014) Molinar, Miranda, artist
The artist's statement: My artwork reflects on my interest in tattoos. Tattoos have influenced my art tremendously as well as created a new passion and life for my work both visually and conceptually. They are explored in my work through various ways such as through media, imagery, technique, style, content, etc. I have worked with various materials; such as latex, paints, markers, found objects, found images, various papers, sculpture, and paper folding to communicate my ideas. Each artwork embodies the idea of tattoo, although it may not always be apparent. Tattoos to me are much more than embellishing the body; they tell a story and bring life to a person's body. Through my work I investigate the cultural and ornamental significance they have to me, as well as show the world they create for me.
Open Access
Chase Moore: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Moore, Chase, artist
The artist's statement: My work is primarily concerned with transience. Drawing from history and personal experience, I try to recreate lost moments in time. I am inspired by the idea of travel, both on a personal level and a societal. Drawing from America's history of transculturation, westward expansion, and cultural blending, I attempt to weave in the narrative of my own life which has been largely defined by instability and travel. I use the mediums of drawing and printmaking, focusing primarily on expressive and chaotic line work. Another theme that influences my work is urbanism. I am concerned with the ideas behind architectural styles and the cultural forces they may represent. I also draw incredible inspiration from the built environment.
Open Access
Amanda Thomas: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Thomas, Amanda, artist
The artist's statement: My artwork is an attempt to find spiritual order in an ever chaotic and imperfect world. My work tends to focus on control and stability, however in more recent works I have learned to embrace the results of automatic and both unconscious and conscious drawing decisions. My body of work assimilates control and chance, and some pieces reflect both simultaneously. I create works focusing on organic animal forms, utilizing them as a vessel for my emotions and thought-processes, as well as placing spiritual emphasis on them. Humans often connect to animals in certain ways, reading particular emotions for different species, therefore creating spiritual outlets through those animals; I utilize this to my advantage in my works, forcing emotions out of them that could only be done by depicting certain animals. Concurrently, my work explores the relationships that humans have with not only the animals that I depict, but with other human beings. The void of emotion that has become ever present in human interactions intrigue me, particularly my own lack of emotion towards others. I am interested in sharing imagery that I feel strongly connected to in order to record viewer reactions, so that I can experience the full range of emotional connection and witness it in others. Through these drawings, I feel closer to my audience and I hope that they feel close to me.
Open Access
Kayla Moore: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Moore, Kayla, artist
The artist's statement: Dealing with the themes of reaction and emotional response, both first and second hand, communicated through a balance of intentional mark making and mediated accident, I explore what it means to be an individual amongst many. My individual perspective and experience serves as a catalyst through which I can then strive to communicate with others on an intimate level, unique to each viewer. There exists a tie between us as human beings, an empathetic umbilical cord. Along with this primal connection, exists a barrier separating us that only allows us to experience the life of another through our own perspective. I wish to delve into the depths of this deep unnamed connection, and to explore brief moments of understanding as well as empathetic response, while personally trudging through my own nostalgia and memories. Beginning in a place of personal reflection, exploration of mental illness, and anxious tendencies, my work engages with subtle yet raw formal language that serves as the avenue through which honest, yet guarded dialogue can begin. In my most current body of work, I strive to inflict emotional response, whether it is apathy, empathy, or sympathy. Using my own personal themes of perceived gender roles, mental health, coping, and a search for home; the work in this show is my vessel through which I can function as a mirror where my viewer's own unique existence can be acknowledged and validated. This work is my way of saying that because I have felt and struggled with these things, I believe the things you have gone through matter, what you have to say matters. It is my way of saying, "I see you, and you're going to be just fine."
Open Access
Matthew Weiderspon: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Weiderspon, Matthew, artist
The artist's statement: Presence imagined environment experience sacred strength contemplation real self object everyday vulnerability action and (is) the structures in-between - mediated meditations awakenings light, touch, breath shifts, subtle hues between snow cold and body warm passage, only moments ephemeral recognitions of heart secrets Hesse centerings but searches edges balancing attempted reconciliations of difference hurt, hope cyclical ritual
Open Access
Matthew McHugh: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) McHugh, Matthew, artist
The artist's statement: My work focuses on the individual's perception of their own reality through a variety of interpretations. One aspect of this concept is the relationship between an individual and their own environment, including the effects that each has upon the other. This environment can consist of locational, circumstantial, or psychological formations of our own realities. I also explore visual interpretations of the edge between the conscious mind and the ambiguity of our own subconscious selves. This bridges into a number of questions, including the depth of complexity within individual human minds, the lack of a clear border between the conscious and the subconscious, and the varieties in which we perceive our own separate realities. I draw on a large scale, working between the figurative and the ambiguous. I value the powerful impact that larger works have on the viewers, pushing them into a mentally interactive state with the work as its own environment rather than a passive spectatorship of the work as an object. In my work I walk the edge between figurative definition and obscurity, pushing viewers towards the questions of these concepts, rather than answering the questions directly.
Open Access
Cass Kruger: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Kruger, Cass, artist
The artist's statement: My work refers to the human body within the context of gender, sexuality and identity. I explore the vast diversity that exists within these themes and present them in my drawings for the viewer to reflect upon. This piece represents an exploration of the forms and contour of the human body. There are suggestions of identity, sexuality and gender that appear throughout the piece. The reception of these images can be very personal to the viewer, as they are presented in an ambiguous manner, open to interpretation. In order to alleviate the inevitable repulsion some viewers may have to the content of my work, I use enticing and playful formal qualities to make my work more approachable. My soft, whimsical color palate, and simple use of materials and line ease the viewer into a state of child-like wonder. Here they can forget or reflect upon their preconceived notions of what is or isn't vulgar. My work hovers between the mature and the immature. My sumptuous line work and sensual imagery heighten the erotic nature of my work, but the lack of clarity of what's being depicted neutralizes that somewhat, and further pulls in the viewer to examine images that they might usually avoid. There is a fragmented quality in order to convey the uncertainty can exist when trying to define one's identity.
Open Access
Christiana Lambert: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2015) Lambert, Christiana, artist
The artist's statement: Art is a necessary part of the human experience. While some people actively make art part of their life by attending galleries or other art events, many do not. The people who do not actively participate in art culture are my target audience. By using common materials such as shredded paper or newspaper, I intend to make art more approachable and familiar to the average person. In my work, I address themes of industrial versus the natural, the effects of mass media, the transformation of the human in the age of technology, imagination and our relationship with animals. I find the city, a monument of industrialism, a primary source of inspiration. Yet, my work as a body does not offer a clear message, as it illustrates my internal conflict of both love and hate for the city that has developed while growing up next to Denver. This aspect also allows room for the viewers to formulate their own opinions on industrialization through the different faces I portray. My work serves as a spark to a conversation rather than an ending. The idea of industrialism is paired with the ideas of sustainability and direction of our future as a society in my work. My work focuses on the human impact on nature, including that on organisms and the landscape. I explore these themes through a variety of drawing in both traditional and non-traditional ways. I find traditional categories of art limiting and strive to create without boundaries. As I progress as an artist, I hope to continue to challenge perceptions of the purpose of art and create work that offers different perspectives of the progressing world. My strengths lie in my use of detail, repurposing common materials, the emphasis on the element of line, and the interplay of color I wish to contribute to the world. Art can be for everyone and I intend to make that happen.