2018 Faculty Exhibit
Title
Preview
Medium
installations (visual works)
Creation Date
2018
Disciplines
Art and Design | Art Practice | Fine Arts | Interdisciplinary Arts and Media
Description
Vignette, an installation, is composed of a table, lamp, wall hanging, and chair.
Artist's Statement:
The desire to create is strong. My life is seamless between aesthetic decisions about what I am making, what I am wearing, how I live, what my beliefs are, etc. Also, conceptual decisions of "who" I want to become. Art for me is not separate from other disciplines. It is the "how" of how I do everything. The impulse is sometimes stronger than at other times, but everyday I am an artist.
When I create objects, my focus is on beauty. I want my works to inspire awe, just as I want awesomeness in my daily life. Mediocrity is not something I aspire to. I design my life to be authentic and I go to painstaking lengths to make that happen, in the best way I know how with my current set of tools. In every task, I quickly set up customs, rituals, and beliefs, reinforcing this originality. As we are created of stardust, it seems we are forever locked in a mystery of the universe. This I return to frequently in my musings. So I cannot definitively tell you who I am or what my title is. I truly do not know. I enjoy thinking of myself as a seer. A mystic of sorts that travels to far away places (if only in my mind), and brings home nothing but suitcases full of questions, and ponderings. These I proudly display and they comfort me.
I am a maker, I am stardust, I am a biped with a penchant for mystery. But for me, I am not focused on "figuring it out." It seems most humans think they have the answers to life's more persistent questions. Many are hard at work to decode everything. In my view this is missing the moment. I hope to provide an experience. To provide something simple and beautiful that will last for all time in someone's mind as a special moment or series of ongoing special moments. Whether I am carving, painting, performing, teaching, or cooking dinner, these are the goals. How successful I happen to be with these endeavors is in the eye of the beholder. I have finally reached a point in life where I am quite comfortable with all this. It has never been easy being a rebel. To break ties and go where only you want to go requires some staying power. Going against the grain can create a rough cut. I am happy to have made it this far in my endeavors and am glad that you are at least taking a moment of your time to contemplate my work.
Related Resource
Recommended Citation
Shriver, Totem, "Vignette (View 02)" (2018). 2018 Faculty Exhibit. Image. Submission 15.
https://digitalcommons.linfield.edu/arts_fac2018/15
Comments
This work appeared in the 2018 Faculty Exhibit, an exhibition presented by the Nils Lou Gallery and the Department of Art at Linfield College during September 2018. Image courtesy of Kathleen Spring.