Artist Statement
2010
i am passionate about the power of art to convey meaning, and thus beauty, to expand a shared communal experience, to connect the poetic subconscious landscape with the matter of factness of the everyday. to try and pursue this i perform deeds of transgression which constantly expand the intersection of life with art. i seek to make a vital cultural contribution that is wholly contemporary while rooted in the primal need of connectedness and the desire for transcendence.
i often am struck by the beauty found in the sincere human dissonance of self, and find that the human presence or story - the undoing of self - plays a critical part in my work. this often includes a juxstaposition of liminal and mainstream sensibilities (materials, narratives or forms), exploring aspects of human which are both heroic and pathetic, bold and vulnerable. i use an expressive, humorous, often suductive voice, to question personal and social structures, bringing critical awareness to overseen aspects of human existence. some of my drive is connected to the fact that i was raised by my mother, a gifted therapist, who’s work with people and compassionate view of life have been an inspiration. other influences are figures who actively pushed the limits of art and dared to build their artistic visions, and create utopian or mini utopian realities. Among these are artists such as joseph beuys and Hugo Ball. Other profound personal artistic voices which eco in my work are louis bourgois, sara lucas and jennifer holzer.
my artistic practice takes on two parallel paths: public art projects and studio practice. the site-specific public art projects invite community participation, collaboration and the integration of art into the urban setting. i founded HomeBase - a community based site specific public art project exploring notions of home, in 2006 and since it has received attention in prominent venues and publications such as the New York Times, New Yorker Magazine, NY1, Volta NY. Anat’s Birthday Exhibition, a project that took place on September 14th this year in a vacant storefront in Chelsea, was centered around a personal ceremony / right of age: me turning 35 years old. i invited friends, artists, and random passerby's to participate in this event by contributing a birthday offering - a blessing, hug or gift. the guests and offering were documented and added to the display, building the content of the exhibit as an anthropological case study of “celebration” while blurring boundaries between private and public, sentimental and cultural, art and life. in these projects there is an attempt to use the urban setting as a playground for cultural congregations and intimate interactions.
my studio practice focuses on building a poignant visual vocabulary through the medium of paper cutouts and installations. i am interested in an overall direct, child-like, raw sensuality and often use a saccharine color palette and elementary forms. i want the viewer to be lured by the beauty and vitality of the piece while stirred and confronted by complex, thought provoking, content. The paper cutout series explore the set of relationships between "I" and "other", the arbitrary social hierarchies we engage in driven by power games of race, rank and gender, and the shared subconscious formed by myths and fables - both true and false. i find that the medium of paper helps to deliver a desired naivety and sincerity, while offering a bold presence. the use of scissors demands an expressive commitment - the turning of an idea or image into a precise hard edge form - a challenge which i find compelling.
my installations include mass produce materials from the everyday such as straws (strawling sculpture) , ruber hoses (She Altar) and cards (tower sculpture) which are binded together in an obsessive manner, and turned into a poetic ladder reflecting human hubris. i think that all great art points to 'a way out' while being itself a means to all ends. i hope that my art triggers something of that.
I am currently studying Jewish text and mythology at LABA of the 14th Street Y, and working on a series titled ANATOMY - a biological, biographical iconography of self through paper cut-outs and stories, to be published in 2011.
i often am struck by the beauty found in the sincere human dissonance of self, and find that the human presence or story - the undoing of self - plays a critical part in my work. this often includes a juxstaposition of liminal and mainstream sensibilities (materials, narratives or forms), exploring aspects of human which are both heroic and pathetic, bold and vulnerable. i use an expressive, humorous, often suductive voice, to question personal and social structures, bringing critical awareness to overseen aspects of human existence. some of my drive is connected to the fact that i was raised by my mother, a gifted therapist, who’s work with people and compassionate view of life have been an inspiration. other influences are figures who actively pushed the limits of art and dared to build their artistic visions, and create utopian or mini utopian realities. Among these are artists such as joseph beuys and Hugo Ball. Other profound personal artistic voices which eco in my work are louis bourgois, sara lucas and jennifer holzer.
my artistic practice takes on two parallel paths: public art projects and studio practice. the site-specific public art projects invite community participation, collaboration and the integration of art into the urban setting. i founded HomeBase - a community based site specific public art project exploring notions of home, in 2006 and since it has received attention in prominent venues and publications such as the New York Times, New Yorker Magazine, NY1, Volta NY. Anat’s Birthday Exhibition, a project that took place on September 14th this year in a vacant storefront in Chelsea, was centered around a personal ceremony / right of age: me turning 35 years old. i invited friends, artists, and random passerby's to participate in this event by contributing a birthday offering - a blessing, hug or gift. the guests and offering were documented and added to the display, building the content of the exhibit as an anthropological case study of “celebration” while blurring boundaries between private and public, sentimental and cultural, art and life. in these projects there is an attempt to use the urban setting as a playground for cultural congregations and intimate interactions.
my studio practice focuses on building a poignant visual vocabulary through the medium of paper cutouts and installations. i am interested in an overall direct, child-like, raw sensuality and often use a saccharine color palette and elementary forms. i want the viewer to be lured by the beauty and vitality of the piece while stirred and confronted by complex, thought provoking, content. The paper cutout series explore the set of relationships between "I" and "other", the arbitrary social hierarchies we engage in driven by power games of race, rank and gender, and the shared subconscious formed by myths and fables - both true and false. i find that the medium of paper helps to deliver a desired naivety and sincerity, while offering a bold presence. the use of scissors demands an expressive commitment - the turning of an idea or image into a precise hard edge form - a challenge which i find compelling.
my installations include mass produce materials from the everyday such as straws (strawling sculpture) , ruber hoses (She Altar) and cards (tower sculpture) which are binded together in an obsessive manner, and turned into a poetic ladder reflecting human hubris. i think that all great art points to 'a way out' while being itself a means to all ends. i hope that my art triggers something of that.
I am currently studying Jewish text and mythology at LABA of the 14th Street Y, and working on a series titled ANATOMY - a biological, biographical iconography of self through paper cut-outs and stories, to be published in 2011.
