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No Water,
Jane Ingram Allen, 2008; 80” x 59”; mixed
media wall hanging: handmade paper from plants of Tanzania,
Africa, red clay, carbon, grass, threadå |
Jane Ingram Allen’s
and Marcia Widenor’s works evince their interest in
the future of our planet. This show’s title Still Waters….implies
myriad meanings but very importantly engages with the subject
of catastrophic events concerning water or its absence. Widenor
deals with tsunami or seismic waves that have recently devastated
parts of the world. Her delicate wavelike membranes hang from
the gallery ceilings that emulate the undulating nature of
ocean waves. Widenor is referencing the many recent disasters
such as Hurricane Katrina that took place in August 2005,
the Indian Ocean Tsunami in 2004, and Mt. St. Helen’s
eruption in 1980. Yet, her woven lacelike forms belie the
idea of disaster in their extreme fragility. Her installation
After the Tsunami…..consists of loosely knitted hand-dyed
linen threads forming veils that confront the viewer as much
as envelope him into their midst. Because Widenor’s
installations are loosely woven they are transparent and light
and can move with the atmosphere’s air currents. As
much as they are reminiscent of ocean waves, they can also
be read in terms of protective shelters or as hollow forms
reminiscent of forts, tree houses, and other childhood hideouts
where precious objects were stashed. Widenor states that her
forms are born from “the structure and texture of organic
materials. The picture formed in the mind's eye gradually
becomes a place, an enterable sculpture, a tent, a shelter,
a hollow tree or cupboard. The installations emerge from childhood
memories, from the experience of working with seriously ill
children in hospitals and from a yearning for safety and calm
in a world not safe or calm anymore.” Widenor’s
constructions act as membranes that can afford us in their
folds, a locus wherein we can hide from the storm at least
temporarily.
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Still Water;
2007, Jane Ingram Allen, dimensions variable, 200 units,
each approx. 12” x 2.5” x 2.5”; mixed
media installation: handmade paper, dye, wildflower
seeds |
Jane Ingram Allen has been working with papermaking
incorporating this material into her installations. Her ecological
concerns arise from her compassionate nature and her commitment
to preserving life. Her many art residencies have brought
her in direct contact with the devastation wrought by nature
as a result of human exploitation. Subsequently, Allen prolongs
the life of plants when she makes them into paper turning
them not only into objects of beauty for the benefit of mankind
but also affording life through them by planting seeds in
their midst that will eventually sprout flowers. This eco-friendly
art takes place in time unlike static works of art that sit
on a gallery wall. This time element accords with nature and
can bring negative or positive results depending on what is
sown. When Allen did her residency in Africa she came into
contact with the red clay of the earth as well as the local
plants of Tanzania where she worked. By using this red clay
in her No Water she’s referencing the many droughts
and cracked soil of areas near Arusha and Moshi in Northwestern
Tanzania where water is a precious commodity.
Another Allen installation Every Drop Counts comprises paper
sculptures in the form of water drops arranged in the gallery
like spilt water or splatters on a glass pane. The paper for
this work is made from mulberry bark fibers and contains seeds
for wildflowers. The discrete raindrops are colored blue with
non-toxic dyes and act as pods for wildflowers to bloom eventually.
This is a viewer-artist collaborative piece in that Allen
invites the visitor to make a pledge to conserve water while
welcoming him to take a paper drop away with him where they
can plant the drop and water it to grow. As viewers carry
away the paper raindrops Allen replaces and replenishes them
on the gallery walls. This constantly changing configuration
of the number of drops incorporating growth potential in the
seeds also transcends typical artworks that are stationary.
Even after the exhibition the drops will be absorbed into
the soil and the seeds will take root and re-invigorate the
earth to continue the cycle of life.
Both Allen and Widenor are accomplished masters who have been
actively working in the arts for the past couple of decades.
Their work has been exhibited internationally and has become
part of many important museum and private collections. Allen
has shown in Japan, Taiwan, the Philippines and at nationwide
venues. She has earned many honors and attended international
art workshops. Among many other permanent collections Allen's
work is included in the Sacatar Foundation, Itaparica, Bahia,
Brazil, Mino Culture Hall, Mino City, Japan, Harpers Ferry
National Historical Park, Harpers Ferry, WV, Federal Reserve
Bank of New York, East Rutherford, NJ, Corning Glass Credit
Union, Corning, NY, American Society of Composers, Authors
& Publishers (ASCAP), New York, NY, and the Motorola Corporation,
Delray Beach, Florida. A selected list of permanent collections
with Widenor's work includes Bates College Museum of Art,
Lewiston, ME, Islip Museum of Art, New York, Queensborough
Community College Museum, Bayside, New York, Dell Corporation,
Austin, Texas, Ameritech, Chicago, Il, American Paper Company,
Pound Ridge, NJ, Godrej and Boyce, Bombay, India, North Atlantic
Industries, Inc., Hauppauge, NY, and the Clinton Whitehouse,
Washington, DC.
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