#upfor gallery

[smidgeonpress]

𝘔𝘦𝘥𝘶𝘴𝘢 𝘛𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘯 by Heather Lee Birdsong, 2012, relief print on mulberry paper, 8.5 x 5.75 inches (paper size), edition of 3 plus 2 AP.

Originally an ancient monster with goggling eyes and prominent fangs that served as a protective symbol, Medusa morphed into a lethal and victimized beauty. According to later mythology, she was raped by Poseidon and beheaded by Perseus with the help of Athena, female upholder of patriarchy (and favorite daughter of Zeus). Many 20th and 21st century feminists have reclaimed Medusa as a symbol of rage and survival.

Contemporary reinventions of the myth typically overlook Athena’s complicity in the patriarchal domination of and violence against Medusa, though that strikes me as a particularly terrible part of the tale. It also feels the most relevant: it is a pattern we see repeated in every story of the powerful abusing those less powerful. It makes us feel alone even when we are not, and undermines the seeking of justice and redress. It is up to each of us to be wary of our own complicity when tested. I think of this artwork as a talisman for this kind of wariness, incorporating both aspects of Medusa’s myth.

[claudiahart]

Beneath The Veil

The veils are a new body of work, dye transfer prints on heavy 50-mm. taffeta silk. These veils are bodies, not just a body as in art, but the physical human body - the veil through which we perceive the real. There is, however, no real way to pass beneath it because the veil is vision and we are its vehicles. So to lie beneath the veil is a paradoxical and impossible state.

The Optic Nude Silks are in orange and purple, based on the Optic Nude, a 23-minute installation-based animation I made in 2014. These veils also include a collaborative work, The Rainbow, created with Brenna Murphy​, also a dye transfer print on heavy taffeta silk, floating above our Prism wallpaper, also co-designed.  

[claudiahart]

Claudia Hart exhibition at Upfor gallery in Portland, Oregon, December 1, 2016 to January 24, 2017 Some of this work was shown at Untitled. Art Fair, December, 2016, in Miami. The veil is the body, through which we perceive the real. Though there really is no way to go beneath. The veil is vision. This are some older works (The Swing comes from 2004-06) and some new forms. There are dye transfer prints on silk, the Optic Nudes in orange and purple, based on Optic Nude, an animation I made in 2014. There are also what I'm calling Kryptonite sculptures, made using a new process (ABS plastic prints that have been chromed, stained and lacquered, and are on cast black rubber bases). There is also a collaborative work, The Rainbow, created with Brenna Murphy, a dye transfer print on heavy taffeta silk, floating above wallpaper that we also co-designed. The dress sculptures are 2015, out of ABS plastic, unique rapid-prototype prints, based on the dresses worn by Princess Maria Theresa, the last Hapsburg dynasty princess, modeled after her portraits painted by Diego Valesquez.

[alysonprovax]

Tomorrow night is the closing reception for Variable States: Prints Now at Upfor Gallery. It's been such a wonderful experience to have taken part in the show - I've met several great people (Krista Svalbonas and Edwige Charlot at the opening reception, and Sang-Mi Yoo last weekend) and I've had several really engaging conversations with folks (including last weekend's public conversation with Brenna Murphy and Heather Birdsong). If you're in Portland tomorrow evening, stop in! Let's talk about printmaking and the ever-present influence of technology on our lives. Animation still from No Memory (Each Day The Same), 2016.

[artcheeseburger]

Update: I did a reverse google image search and found the artist.  I promise most people will not do this when they see an uncredited image!  Shame on weissesrauschen for not crediting artists. 

Addie Wagenknecht, Liberator Rounds, 2​015; Ceiling mounted 3D printed liberators on custom metal body, 4.25 x 6.25 x 16 in / 10.8 x 15.9 x 40.6 cm. Courtesy the artist and bitforms gallery. Image credit Mario Gallucci, courtesy of Upfor Gallery