Current Artists Statement

As my first year of MFA study comes to a close, I'll post my current artists statement and a promise that I will post new artwork photos as soon as a catch a bit of a break!


Ok, here's one:


Artist Statement

My current body of work is based in two inter-related series, Palimpsest and Ornament/Monument. Each piece explores the written word, and how the subtleties of texture, light and transparency affect the way an artists book is read. My central line of inquiry is twofold: How many layers of information can be contained in a single object, and how does revealing or concealing a narrative affect meaning?

In Palimpsest, I create journals that deal with language as code, texture and design that can break down, erase or heighten a feeling of attempted communication. The text is handwritten in stylized script, html, translated text and Braille, then layered and obscured with more writing, encaustic wax or hand-cut paper. In recent work, I have embedded text into handmade paper and inscribed messages or poems on top, so a different message may be read depending on the way a page is held up to the light. The effect of this work illustrates the way a palimpsest can hold hidden messages, exist in several languages, live different lives and contain multiple meanings inside of a single book.


Ornament/Monument is a series of inquiries on mourning and memorial, and the ability of a very small object to contain a monumental idea. In a series based on Victorian mourning jewels, I wrote several Ghazal poems in white ink on Japanese paper and encased them in epoxy pendants. The epoxy makes the paper completely transparent, so the words seem to float, perhaps in a space between the living and the dead. I have also encased natural objects, flowers and vines, in an act of memento mori, the need to capture every fleeting moment with the bittersweet notion that every moment passes.


Palimpsest and Ornament/Monument are born out of the need to document life, to leave something beautiful behind, a need that is complicated, layered and ever changing.


Elizabeth Isakson

2011

compare and contrast

new pieces from ornament/monument series

images were taken from my iPhone, so again, not the best in quality, but my layout and process in this work is becoming more clear.
i have taken a lot of inspiration from the artist i've been assisting, Susan Campbell, and her work with plants. a book in her collection, The Pressed Plant, has gorgeous annotations, with i realize should be featured in my work, as the tie between my images and handwritten text is important to the piece.

video of ghazal

hopefully this video will work. my camera broke recently, so image quality on some of this work may be spotty, since they were captured on my phone.

paint-making, research

the other day i found karen michel's book, "green guide for artists", and i haven't been without it since.

the most useful tool in the guide is michel's recipes for natural, non-toxic paints. i've been interested in raw pigments since i've begun working with encaustic mediums, but haven't made my own paint yet. these recipes are so simple, and include ingredients that are readily available and non-toxic, like gum arabic, honey, eggs, and essential oils. i'm excited to make my own paint, and to ditch the studio fumes that come with solvent-based paints.

one paint included in the guide is called glair paint, and was used during the fifth century for illuminated manuscripts- the only ingredients are egg white and pigment.

i have also been avidly following a blog, "pen and parchment" from the metropolitan museum of art, that details book art and drawing from the middle ages in the museums collection. a recent post, here, talks about the formula for making gold paint from a medieval source called the Mappae clavicula. it's amazing.

this research has inspired me to work with medieval mediums, and to make my own glair paint, gold paint and india ink in small batches to incorporate into my work.

first portion of ghazal

a ghazal is an arabic form of poetry consisting of couplets that are related, but are separate poems in themselves. the couplets were described in one source as a string of pearls, beautiful on their own, but more powerful grouped together in one strand.

this is the first couplet in a series of six, written about memories of my great-grandmother, lelia.

they are also meant to represent musical notations, and each couplet will be in a different configuration. i may compose a piece on the autoharp to be played following these notations.


it reads, "to see her was to look into a light."

this will be the first completed piece(s) in my series exploring monument and ornament.

in the studio this week....

experimenting with hanging the new pieces....some almost-complete projects.