WORK SHEET MBUS ARTISTS TALKS
Name of Individual: Liz Rodda
Rodda is Associate Professor of Studio Art:  Texas State School of Art and Design. After looking at her art and hearing her in the artist talk I didn’t know how or even if her art could be categorized. Did not know what “Expanded Media” was but glad to learn. So now I know Liz Rodda is an Expanded Media Artist. Â
Expanded media, Installation, digital media like combining all these things and video and audio. Performance, socially engaged projects.
What did they talk about?
Rodda started out discussing how we are now forced to communicate, how people are now in relation to one another. In relation like how far apart we must stand. She showed pictures of people standing 6 ft apart because of the virus. How that space making us structures and being a structure in its self almost. Then she got into talking about some of her video and audio work. I went to her site and re watched.The first video was Death Drive. This is when she talked about a feeling of Life and Death along with self-preservation and who is in control and who isn’t. She talked a bit about that chick who got famous for licking an airplane toilet seat and how that is like seeking immortality through fame. Talked about Dissociation when it comes to choosing her clips.  When she talked about her piece “Slow Dazzle”, she talks about mixing urban life with audio. Elastic was her last video she showed and I think I wish she would have talked more about it, maybe she did and maybe I was just still taken back by the visual and hard cuts. So I would say she definitely provoked something with that work.  She talks about Her installation pieces as well like her piece Clockwise, involving a yoga mat and a plaster rock containing perfume. The time went by so quick; I wish I had understood the whole of the piece at the time but I ended up checking out her site. There I found that it wasn’t just the yoga mat and rock, there were paintings on the walls made with cough syrup. Combining all these things give many associations. Â
Describe their working process?
Searching through clips and audio. Listens to podcasts. She talks about certain choices to make pieces that are challenging/provocative. Then when she has collected what she needs for her intended concept (the material, media, or other) to combine she creates something that would not exist in the pieces separately. Rodda explained that the scale, how its viewed and so on all depends on her deciding if her piece need to be seen by one person or a large audience. Sometimes she does video conferences and has to choose how to present her work in that arena. She talks about how she has less control of how long or how many people view her pieces in a gallery setting.
Describe their philosophy?
From what I gather, could be wrong, she takes her philosophy like how she deals with her art process, taking from many outlets such as: early feminist writings, to Freud, Aristotle, Plato, and Performance culture in America. She talked about Death and Life as well, and the thoughts of Darwin like Self Preservation and how it connects to self destruction.
Did you enjoy this speaker? Why or Why not?
Yes, I enjoyed Liz Rodda. Her work was provoking, she thinks out of the box and wants to convey a thought in her unique artistic fashion. She was genuine and having innovative leaders in art like her give me hope for the future. Though, I feel I’m not a very picky person and I’m very openminded, these are not qualities of an art critic, not sure. All I know is that I wish I wasn’t so emotionally shaken from trying to get connected to the talk, to actually calm down and really enjoy and not take for granted that she took time to share with us.
Did they speak well both on presentation and content?
Yes. I think that she especially handled being on webcam and presenting that way very well. Maybe one day there will be a chance to experience her work and an artist talk in person.
What new information did you gain?
Like I said in the first question, had no idea there was a form of art called Expanded Media. Its very self-explanatory name for an art that uses a variety of media.
What else did they talk about?
She also discussed some personal history along with how she is exploring paintings stills from found videos.
Quote something of interest?
The addition of Elizabeth Taylor perfume into the plaster rock I found interesting. “The invisible element that completes the piece”.
IF APPLICABLE, WHAT QUESTION DID YOU ASK?
I tried but I couldn’t get my microphone to work, it kept blocking me. I was going to ask if she finds the inspiration through watching the clips and gathering other material or does she have a pre-intention and has to search for something that tells that concept, or both or neither?
