SDA show 2 -- second prize

Leslie Pearson, In Words Alone (detail below)

I think I liked this piece even better than the best in show, perhaps because the artist likes all the stuff I like.  From her artist statement:

"Be it handwritten letters, journals, old books, rusty metal, postage stamps, buttons, teeth, animal bones or bits of fabric -- my studio is filled with objects I've collected or unearthed.  I'm a scavenger for lost or forgotten things that have interesting textures, colors, and surfaces..."

This piece combines a body-like structure -- or maybe it's a tent or shelter --  made of gut stretched over a wire armature, with a snake of paper discs apparently cut from an old book.

I liked the contrast of the two materials, one dense and opaque, the other weightless and translucent.  I liked the casual curve of the endless tube, lifting up from the base and casting intriguing shadows.  Both sections were mysterious: the words of the book sequestered inside the tightly packed tube, the empty space inside the gut perhaps containing something ephemeral.

The show, "Transgressing Traditions," is co-sponsored by the Surface Design Association and the host Schweinfurth Memorial Art Center in Auburn NY.  It's up through  August 21.  Stay tuned for more work from the show!