Please consider taking a moment to walk around the first and second floors at Bird and experience the sculpture!
Fiber and Textile Arts - Sculptural Fibers
My mommy says I'm special
Molly Knopf
The influx of social disorder diagnosis during childhood is a prevalent global issue. The problem is not the disorder, but rather the label associated with the diagnosis, and the inherent social stigma it brings. Amongst children, ignorance and confusion of another child's diagnosis often leads to bullying, teasing, or avoidance. My works intention is to convey that from far away children with disorders all seem the same but when you take a closer look there are people behind the labels that we see: individuals and unique characters. The brightly colored bulbous shapes are evocative of early stage learning toys, speaking to the neccesity of social disorder education and tolerance. Also, it is not entirely uncommon for children to be prematurely diagnosed and eventually outgrow their designated social disorder. The use of recycled children's tights helps suggest this notion.
Every time you look at this, a panda dies
Agata Katarzyna Kawalec
The media is overwhelming. Our own personal lives are overwhelming. How do we choose between the two? Why should we? In this piece, I hope to interact with the permanet space where world and local newsworthy events are read, researched and sicovered. The mannequins submerge and get mislaid within the space in their own newspaper attire. the same affect arises with one's own attempts to understand and tackle world-issues. Crocheting yarn gives me a sensation of defeat over my own inner struggles by interlocking ideas, patterns, thoughts, and frustrations. Every one-person can chose to passionately make differece in society. Yet, I am plagued by various problems of social issues and expectations that all equally represent troubles affecting my daily pattern and exhaust my thinking. Each peice was dyed and stiffened in shades of red to create an alertness and awareness that all issues have equal importance, but not all matters can be tackled and answered. The color red is linked to human emotion and aggression. the variety in reds alludes to the confusion between what one can aggressively tackle and what one should.
Breathe
Jee Eun, Lee
My name is Jee Eun, Lee who came from Korea to study ceramics at the graduate level. The title of my work is Breathe. I focus on the marine microbes which comprise most of theliving matter in the sea. My previous work has been mostly about water.
Now I am interested in the relationship with marine microbes and human life when I am thinking about the global issue. Marine microbes also have major effects on the world's climate. By absorbing carbon dioxide, they contribute to the uptake of CO2 from the atmosphere, thereby moderating the global greenhouse effect. I fabricated replicas of microbes with white felt as one might experience themselves in the water.
My Winter Hat
Jennifer Lee
Hats were my reaction to the social issue of homelessness. Why hats? I thought that a cozy winter hat would be a symbol of their fight for survival, especially through the rough winters. The idea of a color spectrum from light to dark will be comparable to a timeline of their lives. One day their lives were great, and then it gradually worked its way into darkness.
Consecrated Whales
Kasey Alison Conlon
In the corner of the staircase of Bird Library hang three paper whales, with 25 feet of fabric cascading below them. This piece is to symbolize the effects of whaling. Great strides have been made to end commercial whaling, however, the effects of whaling are still prevalent. Due to commercial whaling, only 100 west Pacific grey whales are in existence. To honor these special creatures, 3 paper whales were made. The paper gives the whales a ghostly paper lantern appearance. The black fabric cascading from the whales is to represent the oil that has been taken from the whales. The bleached fabric along with the satin gives it a grittiness and sheen look that is reminiscent of oil. The bleaching of the fabric also gives it this yellow-orange glow that appears to have a fire like quality to it, which connects back to how whale oil was used as lamp fuel. With this piece, it honors the whales and remembers those how have been killed due to commercial whaling.
Unrestricted Freedom
Rengian Yang
Our mind can be free from all the constraint of the outside world and get freedom. The peaceful heart and our creation and imagination are the panacea for us to meet the restrictions from the outside world. It is decided by us to choose to be a free man, which is the same as a dancer with shackle still chooses to dance.
Odio
Dani Swartzwell
If hate breeds hate, what causes hate? Most often fear of the unknown and prejudice against new things. That fear and prejudice can paralyze a person, confine them within their own ignorance. It can keep them stuck in place. It can prevent them from moving forward. From seeing, hearing or feeling anything beyond themselves. Hate is crippling. Decaying and destroying from within. So isn't hate the root of all evil?
