Rebecca Meredith______¬¬¬______Creative Work Statement
The creative process begins with an itch. A question comes to light and then wont recede from the mind. I explore a topic by reading, sketching, and eventually constructing an artwork. It's as if I can only move forward by constructing my answer to a question through a visual language that draws on design principles and a variety of artistic traditions.
Philosophical Abstracts, or General Rules are what I aim for and usually each piece aims to explore different ways of relating, asking "What is _______
home
friendship
compassion
music
?"
As I make the piece, I analyze the combinations of visual and spatial possibilities which will help me to communicate.
I love the physicality of working with my hands to create an object that can face back to the viewer. Perhaps it answers my desire to bring the General Principles of philosophy into conversation with the present, and variable realities of our lives. Along these lines, my itchy questions usually begin from observation of people and their relationship with others and their environment. My work often uses recognizable or canonical symbols as a means to make the General relatable to viewers.
Drawing from sociological literary research and first hand visual documentation, my work explores the interactional effect of social roles within the environments in which people live. These visualizations distill qualitative experience, towards an analysis of everyday scenes. Specifically, I look at the way in which the spatial relationships between people and the structure of the place in which they interact shapes their psychological experience. Working in traditional mediums of oil, ink and gouache, and woodcut while employing current technologies in my process, my work employs traditional craft of textiles and visual foundations as well as editorial and narrative commentary. My educational background in comparative literature and sociology (BA, Reed College) and illustration (MFA, Academy of Art University) attests to my dual approach to matters of culture and translation, pairing academic research with visual narration.
