Artist Research Statement

In my artist research, I look at how 3 different contemporary artists relate to my inquiry of reconsidering historical monuments and memorials. The first artist, Banksy, relates to my interest in reconsidering historical monuments by how he is able to provide commentary anywhere with graffiti. His fast and confrontational style allows him to make commentary that is current and relatable to all. He matches the growing interest in promoting globalization and social equality through his work. His employment of graffiti can be seen as low art because of its origin, however, his content along with context and placement serve to elevate his art as well as foster public engagement and discussion.

The second artist is Sterling Ruby. He has many different explorations in visual art but his inquiry into the monument relates fairly directly to my inquiry as well. He serves to reimagine what a monument can be as well as to question its message. His use of drippy, glossy gestures paired with colors reminiscent of bodily fluids influences the viewer to see a monumental work in scale that doesn’t appear to maintain the statement we’ve come to expect from a monument. Instead, it almost seems defaced. Through reimagining the monument, Sterling Ruby creates work that approaches a more inclusive engagement with the audience. It isn’t celebrating or making a point on anything other than pure material use and form. This seems to me to be a very inclusive approach and fits the rising globalist narrative we see in the arts today.

The third artist I’ve chosen to explore is Karyn Olivier. She created a piece that maintains a stereotypical western monument, but she reimagines it with reflective, mirror like sheeting covering the monument’s surface. Through this, she creates a monument that reflects the world around it. This manages to serve how a monument can celebrate the past and future, as well as the past. This is a truly inclusive and egalitarian way to approach monumental sculpture.