Ritualistic Objects?

This is a Quipu. There were myriads of them in Peru.

This is what I'm working on:



I feel like there is some kind of connection between the two. My professors keep talking about ritualistic/shamanistic objects in relation to my work. They talk about implied bodies, the feminine, and the use of materials in some kind of raw or elemental state. As for me, I'm just working from intuition, and, it would seem, a new-found love of fringe/hair.

In keeping with all this, I've got yet another new artist statement...

Statement
I am interested in ritualized intersections of natural and man-made materials, coming together to create objects that speak of the feminine body and repetitive practices. I’m letting my intuition guide me in the creation of these objects and the materials needed to continue expanding on my practice. Through explorations that combine rubber and wood, hair, felt, steel, or clay, I have begun to create a body of objects that speak much like ancient artifacts do, indicating an absent site and unknown purposes. As the works evolve, they are becoming more embellished and ornamental. This decorative aspect is juxtaposed with the non-preciousness of the rubber, leaving the viewer with more questions than answers as to where these works originate.

Bike Tube Experiments

I’m interested in the intersections between art and science. In the past, I’ve explored this through ideas of decay, through the study of chemistry inherent to natural dyeing, and also by co-opting/re-creating natural phenomena and spaces. More recently I’ve begun questioning my responsibility to a sustainable practice and how these ideas affect the work I make. This, in turn, has lead me to my interest in collaborative processes— the collecting of material and research to build a work. This has manifested itself in the form of cultural knowledge (via my fulbright in Peru) as well as a developing dedication to using re-purposed materials, such as bike tubes and cloth from clothes and bedding. As I continue with my explorations, I hope to find a space with the process of collaboration becomes a part of the work and not just its driving influence.



As I continue to work with these materials, I’m finding some kind of ritual in the process. The works are becoming talisman objects, mergers of the natural and the urban. As I continue to work in this way, I want to begin incorporating the mineral elements of my natural dye work… ash, salts, raw materials. They function as relics of a time/place unknown to me, however they make a kind of sense…

All images+content property of Katie Vota

Domestic Spaces, Natural "Invasion"

So grad school will really kick your butt....

I'm finally getting around to putting up photo documentation of the work I've been doing so far, and here's the first of it! This is a piece I did to begin working on ideas of natural artifice and the domestic.

Project Statement

The Victorians were fascinated with bringing nature into the home. It was a kind of backlash against the modern industrial age, as well as an exercise in decorative aesthetic. Over time, this fascination with nature hasn’t lessened in Western society. As we’ve become increasingly distanced from the natural world—the out doors being dirty, full of germs, bugs, and other undesirable things—the desire for natural artifice or “fake nature” has increased, leading to a market of goods that co-opt the image of natural phenomena, pattern, texture, and shape. This idealized version of nature is seemingly welcoming and benevolent, domestic and tactile, including mass-produced items such as blankets that look like moss and designer felt rocks. But what is within this fascination that causes this rift between the artificial and the real? Why is the fake embraced and actual nature placed in a position as “other” to be enjoyed as an idea more than in actuality? In producing these rocks, I wanted to explore the connections between domestic and tactile, in relation to fake natural objects. Why do people want to consume these objects, to own them? Is it a kind of exertion of control over (idealized) nature? And what causes these fake natural artifacts to camouflage themselves so well into domestic spaces?



These rocks were screen printed with ink and dye and then painted/printed with micro-suede base for the puffy lichens. They were then sewn and stuffed! I'm planning to continue locating the "site" for this work. I don't think that inviting people into a domestic space (such as my sun room) is really feasible as a long-term strategy for making work in/about domestic spaces. Neither is attempting to create a domestic space in a gallery setting. I believe I will end up sending these rocks out into the world, to live in the homes of people I know. I'll then round up images of the rocks in their new homes and create a photo book that documents the work.