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Fleeting Euphoria

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Date

2021-07-06

Authors

Mpeletzikas, Zoe Evanthia Rosemary

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Abstract

I am researching material and aesthetic strategies from the Arte Povera movement and feminist art of the 1960s to address contemporary issues of ubiquitous waste and language. One of Arte Poveras most prominent artists was a woman named Marisa Merz. Merz was the sole female artist in this influential movement, introducing the traditionally domestic and feminine craft of knitting to the genre. Arte Povera is often associated with commonplace materials such as dirt, paper and clothing. At the time, this work was a strong reaction against earlier abstract painting and minimalist practices, while questioning society's modernization. My work is a representation of throwaway culture. The work represents craft and the futility in the challenge I have laid out for myself. My work is the process of composting life's waste and transforming it into a conversation for the next generation. This transformation invites the audience to consider a new relationship with the materials as they shift category through intention. Deconstruction and reconstruction of abject material, shifting it from utilitarian and then disposed of to artwork renegotiates the value through aesthetics and moral questions that the artwork imposes. The quilt and smaller sculptural forms have a pleasant tactile quality. The pieces on the floor interrupt the autonomous space of the gallery. The audience is forced to interact physically with the work, whether they choose to avoid it by carefully stepping around the work or walk across it, potentially leaving traces of themselves on the surface. The quilt will grow and become overwhelming in size, creating a speculative fiction solution to the worlds plastic problem. Ambiguity is something I embrace in the work, there is no exact or single solution.

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Women's studies

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