Presenter: Sam Stoddard
Authors: Samuel Stoddard
Faculty Advisor: Alexandra Giannell
Institution: Utah Valley University
The structure of language often requires that we speak about matter in terms of subject and object, while these two bodies exist as separate metaphysical states, the membranes separating the two are porous, allowing for a transfer of potentiality between them. This body of work, inspired by the work of Dutch philosopher Baruch Spinoza, the book Vibrant Matter: A Political Ecology of Thingsby Jane Bennett, as well as a talk also given by Jane Bennett titled, Powers of the Hoard: Artistry and Agency in a World of Vibrant Matteris an attempt to explore this transfer by observing expressive relationships between dweller and dwelling. To do so I chose the subject of my parents, the relationship between their aging bodies and the house they have spent the last 30 years living in. I drew from the processes of artist Mark Bradford, who often goes out into his community to gather signage and fliers which he then assembles into abstract works that evoke a sense of the place they are gathered from. Similarly, I went to my childhood home to gather images of the place, as well as the bodies of my parents, which I then assembled into digital collages that would be used as inspiration for my painting process. Using thin layers of transparent paint in combination with selective areas of thick opaque paint I was able to create two images with a broad language of mark making that give a sense of both place and person without explicitly depicting either. I believe these paintings successfully convey what I intended, but also leave me with a desire to push this concept further, perhaps exploring differences between the interior and exterior.