International Art Group: EVERYONE CONNECTED
Dec. 18. 2009 – Jan 16.2010 at Common Cup Cafe 1503 W.Morse 8am - 6pm
Curated by Marianna Buchwald
and Alan Emerson - Hicks
Mary Jo Bowers
Marianna Buchwald
Hans-Ulrich Buchwald
Alan Emerson- Hicks
Javier Enriquez
Tim Jackson
Davido Moscoso
Sandra Simonson
Artist statement by Alan Emerson Hicks:
My artwork is about transformation. I collect plastic commonplace objects and societal detritus; bottles, grocery bags, caps, hangers, video tape and use them to make sculpture. I want the viewer to see the objects of their everyday lives anew. In my work hangers are transformed into a giant “precious” diamond, bottle cap rings and caps become intriguing faces and grocery bags become startling colorful towers. My work is a commentary on what our society views as important and unimportant.
Artist Statement by David Moscoso
Working with waste materials is my passion because it gives me the opportunity to retake elements that have been discarded and mold them into something new and beautiful. This transformation and renewal can be seen everywhere in the world around us if we look in the right places. Being a proactive re-creator helps me feel connected to the cycle of life, whereby the new becomes old and the old becomes new.
Many of the materials I use are items originally created of natural fibers in small, rural Guatemalan communities, while others are synthetic fibers that I have found in various parts of the capital city. When I use folkloric materials, I pay homage to the original creators of the object, e.g. a reed mat. Rather than formal artistic training, my school has been the world around me.
ARTIST STATEMENT by Tim Jackson
Often it is said, “One picture is worth a thousand words.” this philosophy could be applied to my work as a social commentary newspaper cartoonist for the Chicago Defender newspaper, locally.
Working largely in journalism, it is my task to condense the daily national, international, social and political events into a concise, humorous illustration. I also make a point of maintaining visual diversity with my cartoons, simply because there is a great lack of this point of view presented within the pages of most major publications.
My editorial/political cartoons won the Wilbert Holloway award for the best editorial cartoons of the year award in 2008 and 2009 from the National Newspaper Publisher Association. Besides the Chicago Defender, my social commentary cartoons also appear in newspapers in Madison, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Ohio, Tallahassee, Florida, Seattle, Washington and in Northern Kentucky.
Artist statement by Marianna Buchwald
When putting my seed into the ground, the image of the drawing, like the seed is contained in a small compact volume of energy. Encouraged by the light and warmth of an open minded group of artists, the seed unfolds into a multitude of expressions, into motion, sound, color, texture and finally, caused by a breath of wind moves across the vast surface of the planet, to connect with other amazing and enchanted creatures and creations.
Wenn ich den Samen in den Grund pflantze, befinded sich das Bild, wie der Same, zusammengezogen in einem kleinen Energieraum . Ermutigt von dem Licht und der Waerme einer offenen Gruppe von Kuenstlern, entfaltet sich das Samenkorn in einer Vielfalt des Ausdrucks, in die Bewegung, den Klang, die Farbe, die Textur und durch einen Windhauch angeregt bewegt es sich ueber die weite Oberflaeche des Planetens um sich mit anderen erstaunlichen und bezauberten Geschoepfen und Schoepfungen zu verbinden.
ARTIST STATEMENT by Sandra Simonson
My interest in drawing began when I was a young child, but except for
doodling in margins my art did not reach fruition until work and child rearing were complete. It was then that I began studying at Truman College and the Evanston Art Center. Although I sometimes do not take classes, the painting continues. I have worked in oils, gouache, pastels, etching and most recently, water colors.
Having spent most of my adult life working with people from around the world, my attempt is to capture the spirit of "Everyman", that universal
quality of sameness, of struggle, of mystery that we all share no matter what our ethnic backgrounds are. I rarely have people look at my oils and say "ah, that’s Uncle Harry", but I rather attempt to get at the essence of human experience. This, of course, is never quite achieved, which makes me keep trying.
The heads in this show are part of a series of about thirty works of Everyman.
Sandra Simonoson
sandra.s@ub-alumni.org
Artist‘s statement by Mary Jo Bowers:
As an artist working with color in fabric, paper and threads,my goal is a vibrant, animated and vigorous art wall quilt. My medium challenges me to translate into a nonverbal art quilt the power of my soul. I use bold colors, shashops, thrift stores and used garments.pes and dimensions using artist dyed and commercial over dyed fabrics and scraps from various places including sari and upholstery
I work from an idea, a photo, a painting or a scene that captures my imagination and creates a mental image to represent some aspect of the inspiring theme. I lay out all the fabrics tha my or may not work with the theme: e.g. green for the fields or maybe red for the fields. The goal of each piece is an abstraction so colors need not represent reality. Freeform organic images are randomly cut and grouped on the design board until they begin to express the mood I am seeking. I continue to work intuitively allowing each piece to determine its own path and direction.
Each wall quilt has at least three layers, the pieced top that is layered with many pieces, the backing which completes th eart quilt.My work is being influenced by traveling, distressed buildings and barns that have weathered the times, and destruction wrought by wars.
