ScholarWorks

Title

In Erudition

Creator

Michael (Kay) Katherine Smith, Boise State UniversityFollow

Creation Date

2016

Preview

Medium

acrylic on hardboard

Description

Dimensions: 11 x 14 inches

Artist Statement

This particular collection of work centers on the ideas of structure. Things happen, ideas form, communities constitute and combine, people associate and the world composes itself into an organization. But while there may be a dependence and promise in structure, there is an organic and dramatic loss that comes from that aging process. I want to show that loss, my intent is to focus on that departure from juniority that occurs both biologically and metaphysically in individuals. Wonder can be kept and associated freely, but its eccentric moments can become restricted socially, and the structures of growth make assimilation more cloying to that natural freedom that exists in youthful endeavor. Organic substance turns to metal and environment becomes immutable as the mirage of autonomy deteriorates in subservient stature to the mantra of the majority.

As I am naturally attracted, artistically, to pop-surrealist work, I wanted to take advantage of those trademarked qualities highlighted within the genre: enhanced, saturated hues combined with incongruous settings or interactions. For me the work rests in the relatable context of strange human mutations, both contemporary and historically. With this work, I wanted to converse with a number of topics: the perceptions of industrial and digital revolution, urban expansion, social delineations, and the progressive rise of humanity as king.

Rights

© Michael (Kay) Katherine Smith, 2016. Photo Credit: Brian Angers.