Drawing

Permanent URI for this collection

https://hdl.handle.net/10217/180166

Browse

Now showing 1 - 20 of 64

Open Access
Abigail Galvin: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Galvin, Abigail, artist
The artist's statement: Through documentation or metaphor, I seek to understand how both our sense of agency and our sense of restriction are deeply tied to an awareness of our own bodies. The result of this process is two interrelated series of work. On one hand, I use abject elements of the body to analyze issues of identity and control. On the other hand, motion and interaction explore an ecstatic sense of freedom and connection. In all of the work, the human body is focused on as an interface where these conflicting senses merge and create tension.
Open Access
Abril Maranon: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2022) Maranon, Abril, artist
The artist's statement: My work as an undergraduate student has consistently explored sociopolitical issues and gradually shifted towards making politics less intimidating to the viewer. This has created a body of work that attempts to interact and open conversations about real problems in our community. Unfortunately, as the political environment stands now, what we consider true is so easily manipulated, and the distribution of information is not equal. When a hesitance to talk about politics with others is added to the issue and we use our stance to attack, this creates hostility and prolongs the problems we are trying to solve. Through optical effects and illusions, my works explore issues like human rights, censorship, and the current political environment. Using mixed media, watercolors, gel sheets, and other materials, this body of work aims to invite both sides of the political spectrum to talk to each other. My current project is my Perspectives series, a watercolor series and installation that uses optical effects and illusions to explore politics. This is a two-part series, with each part exploring a different facet of American and international sociopolitical issues. The first part explores Either/or arguments concerning human life. It uses stereoscopic anaglyphs to explore how one political alignment is used to shut down another. Part two discusses censorship and international parallels concerning how we are allowed to talk about politics. The Ishihara color blindness test is applied to this part of the series, speaking to varying degrees of censorship in supposed democracies, including the US. In their base forms, these methods are fun and encourage interaction. However, the principle of these effects was also a source of inspiration for me. These methods can describe what is going on in politics right now without necessarily being intimidating to viewers. I am interested in exploring how we come to understand the truth and how this understanding can be blocked or distorted based on the information we consume. The way these works are installed is also meaningful in that it gives the viewer a sense of choice and responsibility. Throughout the series, the viewer is offered gel lenses from which they can view the works. These either enhance or delete details rendered on each canvas. Each piece always ties back to the presence of media and how that frames our opinion on the subject. The source images used for each project have been pulled from the news or articles with specific political views. The thought in mind that media creates the frame and forms public opinion. Whether you see your own beliefs or are open to receiving opposing viewpoints is entirely up to you. Ultimately, this body of work is meant to open conversation, one’s own willingness to listen to others is a deciding factor in how this work impacts the viewer’s perspective.
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
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
Aryn Benavides: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2018) Benavides, Aryn, artist
The artist's statement: My work has a heavy emphasis on language and the use of the written word within art to comment on social issues. It is meant to expose contradictions of what we perceive as good, bad, and uncomfortable, also while revealing my personal thoughts on violence, isolation, alienation, and worship. Within my work I want to question issues of violence, through the destruction of paper through burning and senseless acts of tragedy. I work on concepts of isolation and how it can relate to space and the illusive imagery or writing hidden within patterned paper, and the alienation of objects and space. Also how we worship people who we consider to be unique or influential while processing what they have left behind. I aim to explore my personal thoughts on the human connection to one another with handwriting as an expressive form of line, and to explore the formal use of line within a 3D space.
Open Access
Ava Schuetter: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Schuetter, Ava, artist
The artist's statement: My name is Ava and as a multimedia artist my work allows me to navigate through what I struggle with. Between the materiality and process of creating each piece, I can confront what is troubling me and understand it better to continue growing as a person. I wouldn’t say this process allows me to fully overcome everything I face, but rather gives me the space to approach it in a comfortable, therapeutic way. Recently, I have explored themes of mental illness, gender, sexuality, and family. Currently, the work I am doing centers around my existence within domestic spaces. A commonality between all my work is material and sourcing materials second-hand is a large focus of my practice. I believe there is value in continuing the life cycle of objects that already exist, rather than buying something just to be used once. This largely stems from my fears for the future of the earth, but I draw some satisfaction from reimagining what something can be used for. For instance, using an old, gifted window to become an interactive wall installation about my experience being a woman. Or my most recent work, where I use scrap fabric from second-hand stores to applique an imagined view of my current bathroom. Both are very different materials used in a similar process to help me understand more about myself.
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
Brian Pena Garcia: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Pena Garcia, Brian, artist
The artist's statement: As a Mexican immigrant I've had to witness and experience a lot of mistreatment while living in the U.S. Feeling the pressure of being the absolute perfect model citizen in a country that doesn't respect or care for my existence is exhausting. With no financial sustainability or support medically, I've seen my family and other immigrants struggling year after year. Even though Undocumented Immigrants pay Billions of dollars in taxes every year, we are still not accepted as citizens. For my project I would like to explore the feelings and sentiments I have felt through my life in growing up in the U.S. as a Mexican immigrant. Throughout my years of watching the political climate in constant fear, to my personal experience of racial discrimination, I want to create illustrations in ink that demonstrate the aspects of being an immigrant in the United States. Some examples of concepts I'd like to explore are the experiences in the work environment. Being underpaid, working more hours, and having no choice in where to work are a few points that describe the situation of work for undocumented immigrants. Another aspect is the ability to see family from their home country. Undocumented immigrants usually don't have the money to travel, and if they did it would be impossible to leave the U.S. because they would no longer be able to come back. This causes them to not be able to see their family. This is an experience I had to go through in my family and witness this pain in my parents. Pieces like "Thinking of Mexico" explore this feeling of diaspora that Mexican immigrants deal with when it comes to being in the United States. Only experience my birthplace through memories while experiencing the unjust systematic discrimination and oppression in the U.S.
Open Access
Callan Zink: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2024) Zink, Callan, artist
The artist's statement: My work transforms introspection into image by way of intuitive mark making and emotionally driven color choice. By reflecting on memories, emotions, experiences, or simply trying to capture an idea, a sense of presence is developed. This process feels like a ritual at times, pairing music with materials to build an ongoing language of symbols and meaning that stretches across multiple works. The resulting compositions are both personal and idiosyncratic while remaining ambiguous. As a body of work this approach develops into a mythos or collection of concepts that is open to interpretation. In that sense, each drawing is akin to a spell, or moment in a larger narrative. That energy is captured by an alchemical approach to material use. By integrating dry and wet media, mixing colors from dirty containers, and letting textures develop on the page or by impulse, there is a conscious spontaneity. This feeling of electricity coincides with an active reflection on life events and personal questioning, the result is a work that often holds answers for me. My work grows alongside me and is a representation of my growth as a person. As I continue to create, I develop better methods to visualize and make sense of myself and the world around me.
Open Access
Carlos Moreno Loachamin: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Loachamin, Carlos Moreno, artist
The artist's statement: The body of work I have made in my four years at CSU has been a ramping evolution in the exploration of contemporary American mental health struggles, the notion of the sublime, and the beauty in such raw emotions as shame, guilt, and exhaustion. This evolution has primarily taken place through material exploration. Beginning with pen and ink on paper my freshman year, I have ventured into different media as I've painted, sculpted, and animated pieces which grew imbued with flashes of self-flagellation, exhaustion, and the buckling weight that follows when one holds onto torturing ideals for an excruciating amount of time.
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
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
Cesar Ita: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017) Ita, Cesar, artist
The artist's statement: My interest in drawing comes from the passion I have for representing the subtle yet distinct varieties of color and line through the use of varied media, especially colored pencil, acrylic, and ink on paper. Color and line are the two elements of art I excel in. I mostly draw non-representational subject matter with an emphasis in expressing geometric shapes. Architecture is a source of inspiration for me because I like structure. Another source of inspiration for me is the sublime. The sublime represented in my artwork is influenced by the Fibonacci number sequence as well as the phi ratio. Identity is another concept that I like to represent in my art through the rendition of abstract masks. Sacred geometry is another source of subject matter frequently spotted in my art. I like to experiment with patterns found in mathematical logarithms and play with quantities of a given element such as line. Chaos theory, metaphysics, spirituality, and psychedelics are heavy influences found in my art. I also like to experiment with the concepts of masculinity and femininity. A famous African American drag queen in a blonde wig once said, "Use every color in the crayon box." I will do just as this drag queen-RuPaul-said because life is not meant to be taken so seriously. And for that matter, art shouldn't be taken so seriously either. My ultimate goal as an artist, especially as an artist who draws, is to show the world that art can be anything you want it to be. Art has no rules. Art is the most freeing thing that anyone can take up. Long live art and long live the human condition of one who considers theirself an artist.
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
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.
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
Daniel Guerrette: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2017) Guerrette, Daniel, artist
The artist's statement: My work is largely centered on our cultures willful ignorance of the impact we have on the world. It is meant to show the disjunction between our cultural ideals and the reality of our social structure. In my art I seek to highlight the easily dismissible details that are underlying symptoms of our culture of self-obsession and materialism. I believe that by exploring these small details we can see for ourselves the ways in which our actions serve to support our cultures willful ignorance. In coming to know ourselves we can begin to make changes that can have larger effect on the world. I see my drawings as a critical examination of our society and our cultural American way of life. It is intended to make the viewer consider how and why our society functions as it does. If we allow it, an attitude of growth and waste will become permanently ingrained in our culture. By questioning the motives for and the consequences of our actions I seek to bring attention to our cultural norms and to examine the influences we are having on future generations.My work is meant to force the viewer to question the imagery they are presented and in turn to question their own role in the growth of our American culture. With my drawings I intend to illustrate the results of our cultures attitude of willful ignorance and to highlight our impact on the world. My desire is to help the viewer make informed decisions about the ramifications that their actions have on local scale and the impact they can have on the world as a whole.
Open Access
Devan Kallas: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2016) Kallas, Devan, artist
The artist's statement: My works are tied together by the line of intimacies and are deducted by the space of neglect. They take various forms and range in topic but all stem from a sense of self and emphasize importance of the temporary. I am motivated by the boundaries of a contemporary self, pushing and poking at the limits of comfort, if it's not made with an uncertainty it is not made at all. Most recently my art has seeded from a politically charged idea and manifested itself with a poetic movement. Each piece has a specific motivation and intent; I believe each is made with purpose not just simple aesthetic appeal.
Open Access
Dorie Keck: capstone
(Colorado State University. Libraries, 2023) Keck, Dorie, artist
The artist's statement: I always feel at home with either a book or a pen in my hand. Actually, it is when stories and art are combined that I feel the most at home. Stories and art are like two sides of the same coin; both introspective and have massive potential for creativity but where stories have almost unlimited page space for exploration, art is limited to a single viewing plane. The drawback for stories is that within this limitless vat of vocabulary, the core of what is being told can be lost. This is why I believe stories and art function best in tandem, with the universe of possibility for exploration pared with the stagnant picture of a feeling. My drawings and illustrations are homages to the most treasured stories from my life; both those read in books and those that I have lived. I touch on what I feel is the essence of these stories as well as how my memory has shaped them since my initial experience. This ends up turning into a mix of rose-tinted idealisms and stoic reflections of the past which never feel correct until at least the second full iteration of the piece. A lot of my process is trial and error. Recently, every piece that I embark on gets fully finished before I realize that I want to go in an entirely different direction and start anew. However, I wouldn't have it any other way, as though this process I have learned more about the works themselves as well as myself as an artist than I ever would have if I got it right on the first try.