Leaps and Bounds

UGA MFA shows are tricky. The show should be one of the highlights of the year in terms of innovativeness, technical skill, and general execution. These are the young minds of the artistic community who have had time and energy dedicated exclusively to making a body of work for 3 years straight. The 2005 UGA MFA show was phenomenal; Stephanie Dotson’s installation was triumph of printmaking, fiber arts, and general Oldenberg sensibilities. Kathryn Refi’s color field paintings took 1960s abstract expressionsim and brought it into the video installation era seamlessly. In 2006 Claire Joyce exhibited a sparkle extravanganza. Unfortunately, this sabbatical from the rest of the world does not always result in the genius one would expect. Last years MFA show at UGA was a one note catastrophe. Even those whose thesis projects were worthy of praised suffered from the bad hanging job, and blandness of the majority.

Luckily, this years line-up satisfied those still with a bad taste in their mouths from the year past. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t let me take any pictures, so I’m waiting for somet o come up online to post pictures of my favorites. Here’s a short list for now: Euni Figi, John Powers, Jessica Ann Mills, and Leigh Ann Johnson Swift.

I was certainly not the only one who was completely enraptured by John Powers’ pieces. The mechanized grass in the wind was surrounded by masses of people throughout the night. Each of his pieces utilized elements of sound created by the mechanisms he created. Nothing like nature in the machine age.

I am a sucker for Jessica Mills’ work. Her thesis show was a lovely as I expected it to be. Americana prints with a twing of old photograph. Reads like a Cormac McCatrhy novel.

Euni Figi’s rice apron were absolutely gorgeous. Figi’s approach to rendering a functional item almost completely decorative is quite a feat: The train extends about five feet in front of the wearer, and the weight of the rice that fills the apron would stunt any movement that the train did not. I found the juxtaposition she created between the idea of the long train of the dress immediately signaling visions of matrimony, and of course the added domesticity of the apron, with what she mentions in her artist statement about the apron serving as a type of protective armor to be an interesting approach. Before seeing the statement I had assumed that she was using the apron in a perjorative way, and just covering it in the gorgeous construction of the apron. And maybe she still is.

I’ll post pictures when someone puts them up. They wouldn’t let me take pictures inside, but I am guessing one of the MFA students will put some up soon.

Jessica Mills

This week's artist, and the first to begin the trend is a MFA Candidate at the University of Georgia in Printmaking. Her approach to printmaking is a great departure from a medium that can be very traditional and limiting for many artists. Several printmakers, including the greats, seem to become overwhelmed by the medium. One of the most common criticisms of printmakers is that they are more concerned with the process of making an image than in the image itself. The criticism is far from the truth for this artist.

So without further ado, Jessica Mills.

If I had to guess, I would say that Mills is going places. Her work is able to achieve a familiarity with its' audiences that is hard to find outside of old family photographs and movies that you can replay in your mind. The underlying Americana sensibility is one of the characteristics of this series that instantly won me over. Mills' upbringing in Nebraska is undoubtedly what gives these images such a personal stake in her wide and minimalist landscapes.

Her current body of work is predominantly trace monotypes. Previously she was working with intaglio, so I'm guessing this was a pretty smooth transition for her. The work deals with the idea of memory and the images that your mind saves from specific instances, although not necessarily particular events. From what I understand of her working method, she pulls her images from photographs she takes using a digital camera that never leaves her side. This close companion is definitely helping her to turn out some stellar work.

Here are some of my favorites:



Under the Red Sunlight, 2007. Trace monotype.



Afternoon Drags On and On, 2007. Trace monotype.



Passing Afternoon Series, 2006. Trace monotype.


ARTIST STATEMENT (SNIP)
Through intimacy in layering, the transparency of papers and meditative mark making the prints invite the viewer to enter into them. Invite the viewer to read into them in a similar fashion to his or her own approach to a favorite book. To react to them in a similar way to a song that could just break hearts. These images serve as evidence of the body’s imprint on land, of our constant dialogue with the environment that surrounds.

WEBSITE
www.fadefade.net

EXHIBITS
Mills has work up at the Lamar Dodd School of Art right now. In terms of upcoming I have yet to find anything, but will post if I see something come up.