A Defense Against Anxiety
Drawing Installations
Tread Lightly (detail)
Mixed Media Drawing Installation, 82x118.5 inches, 2010
by Joelle Francht
April 27, - May 20, 2012
Frable Gallery
Artist's Statement
Ever since I can remember I have kept common, everyday objects that once had a use, but for some reason or another, no longer are functional or practical. Things such as broken jewelry, receipts (anything with a date and time on it), clothing, towels, toilet paper rolls, and many more ordinary and seemingly mundane relics. All of these things have found a permanent home in my apartment. This pile of clutter accumulates and travels with me everywhere I move, growing and finding a place to live in each new home. Consequently, these collections are my method of recording life's everyday, banal details. Equally important is the collections' value as a way for me to hold onto the past with tangible reminders of personal historical events and experiences. My current body of work explores my pre-occupation with the everyday minutiae and its' ability to reinforce memories and events in my life. As I move from one home to another each year these things stay with me. Consequently all of my past experiences that lived but lay dormant in each of the objects stay with me as well, finding a new meaning and place to be stored in each new space.
The organization of personal space and possessions offer a daily reassurance of one's place in the world- where they have been and what is currently or historically important. More specifically, the make up of our private space informs and reinforces one's sense of self. When considered in this way, the home or private space is where we feel the most comfortable- we are intimately aware of our surroundings and have a clear understanding of how this particular environment helps one function on a daily basis. It is a place where personal dramas play out as well as a place to consider and analyze the events of a day. At home we are at our refuge, which protects us from the outside world. At one point or another, many have had a similar feeling of curiosity or apprehension when a new guest comes to call; "My front hall way smells like home to me, I wonder what my visitor smells..?"
Here is where this sense of security can begin to break down. At once feelings of vulnerability and inadequacy emerge as one tries to imagine their space through the fresh eyes of another. It sparks questions about what kind of assumptions or inferences are being formed based upon an outsider's sensory reactions. We begin to notice that the cluster of objects on a table or night stand can be regarded as evidence of personal ritual, strange interests or vices- perhaps simply a disorganized person and in turn, psychology. This second hand interpretation is not always necessarily negative to one's character. The misunderstanding one feels that is formed about their environment can be due to the lack of familiarity of the guest. What is clear however, is that certain accumulations of things signify one's history, as well as mortality.
When creating, I work in what is often considered traditional two-dimensional media, such as charcoal, graphite, conte crayons, oil crayons and photography in order to reconstruct, or extend my living environment into its current spatial context. As I recreate these experienced spaces I adapt them to the architecture of my new environment by the re-arranging of space and objects, just as one does when moving and redefining that particular notion of home or personal space. In a sense, this is also how I consider my material as all left over charcoal and conte crayon dust is swept up and stored away to be used on my next project. Just as I store residual artifacts from past experiences, I also store and reuse the residual media as a way for me to connect past and present drawings, spaces and experiences. I consider my drawing installations (which involve the creation of space using wires, clips and moveable walls) as an impermanent ephemeral structure comprised of images that seem to defy a static moment in time. My drawings and installations are a method to understand how people perceive space, and how our perception is shaped by our experiences, memories and ultimately our imagined sense of space.
Recently I have devoted my attention to intimate dwelling places- specifically the house and all its architectural components-as well as the things housed within that space. The home is where self-reflection takes place and where one can let the mind expand, uncurl and wander. In turn, our perception of that space is formed by our experiences within it. The psyche and home are intricately linked in such a way that the two can become virtually indistinguishable. My drawings are an exploration of this phenomenon in a visual form.
www.joellefrancht.com
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Opening Reception Fourth Friday
April 27, 2012
7-10 pm
Free and Open to the Public
Closing Artist Talk
Sunday, May 20, 2012
4 pm
Free and Open to the Public
Tread Lightly
Mixed Media Drawing Installation, 82x118.5 inches, 2010
by Joelle Francht
Untitled (Curtain) #2 (detail)
Charcoal, Conte Crayon and Digital Transfer on Silk, 74x35 inches, 2010
by Joelle Francht
Untitled (Curtain) #1
Charcoal, Conte Crayon and Digital Transfer on Silk, 55.5x34 inches, 2009
by Joelle Francht
Apartment #7
Mixed Media Drawing Installation,Dimensions variable, 2008-2010
by Joelle Francht
Apartment #7 (detail)
Mixed Media Drawing Installation,Dimensions variable, 2008-2010
by Joelle Francht
Untitled
Charcoal conte and oil on matte board, approx. 290 pieces, 2x3 inches, 2012
by Joelle Francht
Untitled
Charcoal conte and oil on matte board, approx. 290 pieces, 2x3 inches, 2012
by Joelle Francht
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