About Liz
ANTHROPOCENE MONUMENTS
My research examines the designed and found icons of the American character in search of our underlying values and our aspirations as individuals and as a society. These ideals are visible as monumental forms, but also camouflaged in mundane ubiquity. Themes within the work- the economic flows of resources, moral and material conundrums, and the legacy of empire- are touchstones that constellate to destabilize and complicate what may have been seen as our foundational ideals.
I present a comparative study of the mass-cultural investment in disposability and the human desire to imagine permanence through emblems, monuments, and self-celebration. While disparate intentions inform these impulses- one to remember, and the other to quickly forget- each will materially describe our society to future generations. Through this lens, I explore the complexities of the American landscape, human-scale and geological-scale time and space, and the ways in which the constructed environment rivals that of the natural environment. Our physical material footprint will outlive the emblems designed to signify our political and moral ideals to stand as our lasting cultural monument and define the Contemporary American Sublime.
My sculptural and installation works borrow from the visual language of memorial and commemoration in textiles and metals. These Anthropocene-Era Commemoratives contrast human-scale and geological-scale time and space as part of the continual unfolding and cycling of matter and the transformation of landscape. My installations are arranged differently each time they are installed, often integrating locally sourced found materials. This contemplative combination of materials becomes existential, questioning the solidity and permanence of both nature and culture, and implicating the local community in a global conversation about materials.
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With God on Our Side (ynitseD tsefinaM)2017, cast brass, patina, steel stand, custom hardware, 14" x 20" x 68" created at Kohler Arts/Industry
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With God on Our Side (reverse)2017, cast brass, patina, steel stand, custom hardware, 14" x 20" x 68" created at Kohler Arts/Industry
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Esto Perpetua2013, cast iron, stone, 20" x 26" x 38"
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HELA Monument Proposal2015-2017, proposal sent to the Mayor of Baltimore addressing public Confederate Monuments, 8.5" x 11"
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Your Payment is Immaterial2016, cast bronze, patina, steel stand, custom hardware, 13" x 20" x .5" each plaque (3 plaques)
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Remember the Future / Forget the Past2016, cast aluminum, cast iron spikes, each plaque 13" x 19" x .75"
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The Pursuit of Happiness2017, cast brass, patina, steel stand, custom hardware, 14" x 24" x 68" created at Kohler Arts/Industry
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The Pursuit of Happiness (detail)2017, cast brass, patina, steel stand, custom hardware, 14" x 24" x 68" created at Kohler Arts/Industry
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Novus Ordo Seclorum2017, cast brass, patina, steel stand, custom hardware, 22" x 32" x 44" created at Kohler Arts/Industry
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Indicator of Abundance2013, cast iron, 13" x 17" x 20"
PROVISIONAL LANDSCAPES
I examine the human role of shaping the current geological era and its possible interpretations as a chronicle of our activity, these works that question our impulse to alter the Earth's story through the rearrangement of past accumulations of matter and what our existence and the scale of our actions mean in terms of a geological time scale.
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First There is a Mountain2013, foamcore, paint, graphite, wax, steel, silkscreen on reflective mylar, 10' x 18' x 10' (total installation)
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First There is a Mountain (interior)2013, foamcore, paint, graphite, wax, steel, silkscreen on reflective mylar, 10' x 18' x 10' (total installation)
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Cartesian Glitch
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Mountain's Memory2015, silkscreen on sheer fabric, thread, grommets, cardboard, steel stand, custom hardware, 40" x 60" x 44"
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Mountain's Memory (detail)2015, silkscreen on sheer fabric, thread, grommets, cardboard, steel stand, custom hardware, 40" x 60" x 44"
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Oquirrh Range (pre Kennecott topology)2018, double weave (double width) cotton and acrylic digitally designed hand-woven Jacquard cloth, hand-dyed canvas, thread, 90" x 146"
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Oquirrh Range (pre Kennecott topology) (detail)2018, double weave (double width) cotton and acrylic digitally designed hand-woven Jacquard cloth, hand-dyed canvas, thread, 90" x 146"
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Convexity / Concavity (detail)2015, silkscreen on sheer fabric, thread, grommets, surveying tape, plastic sheeting, cardboard, pallets, variable size- up to 24' x 50 ' x 4'
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Convexity / Concavity (detail)2015, silkscreen on sheer fabric, thread, grommets, surveying tape, plastic sheeting, cardboard, pallets, variable size- up to 24' x 50 ' x 4'
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Convexity / Concavity2015, silkscreen on sheer fabric, thread, grommets, surveying tape, plastic sheeting, cardboard, pallets, variable size- up to 24' x 50 ' x 4'