Once Upon a Time

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THE SILBER GALLERY Goucher College Athenaeum Once Upon a Time…

description

An exhibit at the Silber Gallery

Transcript of Once Upon a Time

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The Silber GalleryGoucher College Athenaeum

Once Upon a Time…

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“�The�purpose�of�

narrative�is�to�

present�us�with�

complexity�and�

ambiguity.”�

���������������������Scott�Turow��

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Katelyn GrethNora SturgesPamela Phatsimo SunstrumJames Allen Swainbank

Rochelle AbramowitzLibby BarbeeErin FostelBrent Green

Once Upon a Time…

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Storytelling has always been intertwined

with various art forms—artists cull

inspiration from scriptures, history,

literature, mythology, current social or

political events, personal experiences, and

their own imagination. Narrative works

depict events unfolding, often compressed

into a single image or object that implies

something has happened or is about to

take place. These stories are powerful tools

with the potential to evoke a multitude of

emotions, allowing an audience to identify

with common experiences or imagine

situations they might never encounter. In

Once Upon a Time…, Rochelle Abramowitz,

Libby Barbee, Erin Fostel, Brent Green,

Katelyn Greth, Nora Sturges, Pamela

Phatsimo Sunstrum, and James Allen

Swainbank unite characters, plots, and

imagery to create a brief escape from the

everyday world.

�� � � –�Laura�Amussen,�curator

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Rochelle Abramowitz�has�been�making�tiny�things�since�

she�was�a�child;�however,�she�only�recently�rekindled�her�

love�for�all�things�small�and�began�making�miniature�diora-

ma�sculptures.�Her�newest�work�is�inspired�by�music�from�

singer,�songwriter,�and�harpist�Joanna�Newsom.�Abramow-

itz’s�Monkey and Bear�visually�translates�Newsom’s�lyrics,�

and�the�imagery�they�conjure,�into�delicate�scenes.�Monkey

and Bear�tells�the�story�of�a�monkey�and�bear�who�escape�

from�captivity.�Ironically,�the�bear�quickly�finds�that�she�is�

captive�to�the�monkey�and�must�perform�to�appease�the�

monkey,�who�proclaims�his�love.�Playing�with�this�idea�of�

captivity,�Abramowitz�depicts�these�scenes�inside�of�16�

mason�jars.�In�the�final�jar,�the�lid�is�off�and�the�bear,�having�

snuck�away�from�the�monkey,�sheds�her�costume�into�the�

sea.��By�depicting�the�story�in�multiple�dioramas,�like�chap-

ters�from�a�book,�the�fluid�narrative�is�clear,�and�the�viewer�

is�free�to�create�their�own�interpretation.�This�piece�not�

only�captures�the�whimsicality�and�ambiguity�of�Newsom’s�

storytelling,�but�also�depicts�the�weighty�ideas�of�confine-

ment�and�freedom.

Monkey and Bear,�2010

mixed�media

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Libby Barbee�is�interested�in�the�narratives�that�cultures�

create�to�describe�their�relationship�to�the�natural�world�

and�how�these�narratives�establish�cultural�identity.�In�In

Search of the Myth,�Libby�examines�the�historical�rela-

tionship�between�Americans�and�their�environment�as�it�

is�represented�in�the�American�frontier�myth,�which�has�

served�as�the�primary�creation�myth�for�the�United�States.�

Though�it�has�mutated�over�time,�it�continues�to�be�the�

dominant�narrative�from�which�contemporary�American�

political�attitudes�and�identity�derive�significance.�In�portray-

ing�the�conflict�between�man�and�coyote,�Libby�alludes�to�a�

metaphor�that�describes�the�relationship�between�America�

and�its�most�reviled�enemies.�By�projecting�the�myth�of�the�

Other�and�revealing�the�myth’s�construction,�Libby�ques-

tions�contemporary�American�values�regarding�violence�

and�conflict.��

In Search of the Myth,�2010

mixed-media�installation

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Gale Force,�2009

charcoal�on�paper

21”�x�52”

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As�a�child,�Erin Fostel�spent�hours�in�her�room�writing,�

daydreaming,�and�drawing.�She�created�different�worlds�on�

paper,�and�disappeared�into�them.�It�was�a�time�when�her�

dreams�and�her�reality�were�divided�by�such�a�thin�line�that�

she�sometimes�lost�touch�with�the�present.�Fostel�wishes�

she�had�retained�that�pure,�naïve�imagination.�In�this�series�

of�drawings,�she�creates�narratives�where�the�imagined�

play�has�become�all-consuming,�and�the�audience�wit-

nesses�what�the�characters�have�created.�These�drawings�

are�about�the�spirit�of�imagination,�a�power�so�strong�it�can�

change�your�world.�

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Brent Green�is�a�filmmaker,�writer,�musician,�

and,�perhaps�above�all�else,�a�storyteller.�

Spun�from�tragedy,�yet�steeped�in�hope,�his�

films�unfold�with�a�building�sense�of�urgen-

cy.�They�begin�as�words�on�a�page,�distilled�

down�to�their�essence,�each�sentence�

forming�an�image,�an�emotion.�Shot�on�his�

farm�in�rural�Pennsylvania�using�stop-motion�

animation,�Green�creates�handmade�ele-

ments�to�accompany�his�narration.�Con-

necting�form�to�content,�Green’s�evocative�

voice�and�musical�selections�heighten�the�

emotional�effect�and�create�a�resonance�

between�otherwise�disparate�images.�His�

prosaic�characters�are�passionate�and�driv-

en�and�tragically�consumed�by�the�world�

around�them—their�circumstances�seem�

odd,�but�also�familiar;�thus,�it�is�easy�to�iden-

tify�and�empathize�with�their�stories.�In�the�

end,�nostalgic�feelings�and�loss�transcend�

to�a�state�of�wonder,�a�thoughtful�reminder�

of�Green’s�idea�that�“there�is�euphoria�all�

around�you—you’re�swimming�in�it.”

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Carlin,�2007

stop-motion�animation�still

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Little Red Riding Hoof,�2009

mixed�media

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Katelyn Greth�is�interested�

in�dark�fairy�tales,�surreal-

ism,�and�the�inner�child.�

Drawing�inspiration�from�

childhood�fables,�such�as�

Little�Red�Riding�Hood,�and�

her�subconscious�dream�

state,�she�creates�doll-like�

sculptures�that�are�simulta-

neously�familiar�and�oth-

erworldly.�Sometimes,�her�

characters�appear�as�small�

children�suspended�in�a�lan-

guid�state�of�enchantment.�

Other�times,�she�imbues�her�

characters�with�a�combina-

tion�of�bizarre�humanistic�

and�animalistic�traits,�which�

seem�to�breathe�life�into�

fragmented�memories�

culled�from�nightmares.�

Each�sculpture�depicts�a�

moment�from�a�larger�nar-

rative;�thus,�encouraging�

the�viewer�to�ponder�and�

imagine�the�story�behind�its�

creation.

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Nora Sturges’�series�of�paintings�was�

inspired�by�the�narrative�structure�and�

subject�matter�of�Italo�Calvino’s�novel�

Invisible Cities,�in�which�a�fictitious�Marco�

Polo�describes�to�the�Kublai�Khan�all�the�

cities�he�has�visited�on�his�travels.�The�

paintings�grew�to�encompass�the�artist’s�

personal�experience�of�travel�and�cultural�

displacement,�as�well�as�ideas�she�took�

from�The Travels of Marco Polo.�Sturges�

explores�xenophobia,�tourism,�exoticism,�

and�cultural�difference�as�Marco�Polo,�

depicted�as�a�wealthy�westerner�and�the�

quintessential�tourist,�is�drawn�to�and�

made�uneasy�by�the�foreignness�of�the�

places�he�visits.�While�each�painting�has�

its�own�narrative,�Sturges�is�most�inter-

ested�in�the�larger�narrative�suggested�by�

the�series:�the�reappearing�Marco�Polo�

becomes�a�sort�of�everyman,�and�viewers�

begin�to�understand�the�good,�the�bad,�

and�the�contradictory�aspects�of�Polo,�and,�

ultimately,�our�own�characters.�

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Marco Polo writes in his Journal,�2005

oil�on�panel

10.75”�x�14”

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We wanderers,�2008

collage,�glass�beads,�drawing�on�canvas

16”�x�22”

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Pamela Phatsimo Sunstrum�is�interested�

in�how�travel�experiences�can�become�my-

thologies�that�address�the�traces�of�history,�

stories,�and�memories�from�individual�and�

collective�identities.�Her�work�is�often�inter-

disciplinary�and�ranges�from�love�poems�

collaged�from�news�headlines,�to�photo�ani-

mations,�drawings,�performance,�and�sound�

works,�to�installations�composed�of�found�

materials�and�traded�goods.�Sunstrum�was�

born�in�Botswana�and�spent�much�of�her�

childhood�living�in�different�parts�of�Africa�

and�Southeast�Asia.�She�believes�that�as�a�

result�of�her�early�experiences,�she�be-

came�interested�in�how�traveling�can�spur�

our�imaginations�to�invent�myths�out�of�our�

everyday�landscape.�Sunstrum�has�always�

felt�that�she�has�lived�in-between�many�

places,�many�cultures,�many�identities,�and�

believes�this�experience�is�common�within�

the�African�diaspora—that�forced�or�volun-

tary�migrations,�movements�of�laborers,�and�

other�systems�of�globalization�have�created�

complex�transnational�populations.�Her�

recent�work�features�an�alter-ego�named�

Asme�who�becomes�an�entity�that�is�trans-

cultural,�transhistorical,�and�transgeographi-

cal—she�belongs�nowhere�and�everywhere�

all�at�once.�

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Themes�of�fantasy�and�nostalgia�pervade�

James Allen Swainbank’s�paintings,�

and�he�attempts�to�evoke�the�viewer’s�

memories�of�youth�and�early�imagination�

with�culturally�familiar�icons�and�figures.�

Swainbank�presents�these�themes�in�a�

style�and�handling�from�centuries�past—the�

work�directly�and�indirectly�borrows�from�

early-�and�high-Renaissance�painting�of�the�

northern�and�Italian�traditions,�as�well�as�

mimics�the�techniques�of�the�old�masters.�

But�despite�the�art-historical�context�in�

which�Swainbank’s�narratives�are�created�

and�staged,�the�characters�and�issues�are�

wholly�contemporary.

Nights Revel,�2009

oil�on�panel

5.5”�x�7”

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3/1

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DiREcTiONS

Baltimore�Beltway,�I-695,�to�exit�27A.�Make�first�left�onto�campus.

GALLERy HOURS

11�a.m.�to�4�p.m.�Tuesday�–�Sunday.410.337.6477

The�Silber�Gallery�is�free�and�open�to�the�public.

The�Silber�Gallery�program�is�funded�with�the��assistance�of�grants�from�the�Maryland�State��Arts�Council,�an�agency�funded�by�the�state��of�Maryland�and�the�NEA,�and�the�Baltimore��County�Commission�on�the�Arts�and�Sciences.

www.goucher.edu/silbergallery

The Silber GalleryGoucher College Athenaeum

April 5 – May 8, 2011

ARTISTS’ REcEPTION

Thursday, April 7, 2011, 6-8 p.m.

Katelyn GrethNora SturgesPamela Phatsimo SunstrumJames Allen Swainbank

Rochelle AbramowitzLibby BarbeeErin FostelBrent Green

Once Upon a Time…

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