About Bonnie
Baltimore City - Station North A&E District
Baltimore-based artist and mom Bonnie Crawford does not sleep well. Her work explores how intimacy, risk, and harm inform habits of care. She began working this way when she became a single mother of two and in turn became dependent on extralegal, queer family structures for support. She received an MFA from the University of Maryland Baltimore County and a BA in Studio Art from the University of Maryland College Park. She was awarded a prize in the 2015 Juried… more
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Insomnia Drawings
Inspired by the Insomnia Drawings series of Louise Bourgeois, I make drawings by the light of my phone when I awake in the night. I then photograph the drawings against the backdrop of my bed sheets using my phone’s camera. The flash of the camera creates a shadowy vignette that frames these watercolor drawings. From August of 2016 through November 2018, I made 400 drawings.
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Insomnia Drawing 400Watercolor and Ink on Paper, 2018. 5 x 7 in
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Insomnia Drawing 397Watercolor and Ink on Paper, 2018. 5 x 7 in
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Insomnia Drawing 394Watercolor and Ink on Paper, 2018. 5 x 7 in
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Insomnia Drawing 230watercolor and ink on paper
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Insomnia Drawing 149watercolor and ink on paper
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Insomnia Drawing 106watercolor and ink on paper
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Insomnia Drawing 090watercolor and ink on paper
or, if there be flooding
or, if there be flooding serves as an imagined response plan to a potential catastrophe. The title of this piece is a fragment from Advice to a Wife and Mother, published in 1878. Flooding, in the context of the book, refers to postpartum hemorrhaging. However, this euphemistic language can be more literally interpreted to reference natural disasters or rising sea levels. Blinking lights aimed at shadowy vignettes of accumulated detritus in the installation signal tenderly to the viewer a warning, a lament.
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or, if there be flooding (detail)Electrical circuitry, hand-stitched custom printed fabric, digital prints on Photo-Tex, latex wall paint, painted twigs, found materials
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or, if there be flooding (installation view)Electrical circuitry, hand-stitched custom printed fabric, digital prints on Photo-Tex, latex wall paint, painted twigs, found materials
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or, if there be flooding (detail)Electrical circuitry, hand-stitched custom printed fabric, digital prints on Photo-Tex, latex wall paint, painted twigs, found materials
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or, if there be flooding (installation view)Electrical circuitry, hand-stitched custom printed fabric, digital prints on Photo-Tex, latex wall paint, painted twigs, found materials
Insomnia Drawings 2016
Inspired by the Insomnia Drawings series of Louise Bourgeois, I make drawings by the light of my phone when I awake in the night. I then photograph the drawings against the backdrop of my bed sheets using my phone’s camera. The flash of the camera creates a shadowy vignette that frames these minimalist ink drawings.
Light Emitting Studies, 2015
Bonnie Crawford's Light Emitting Studies 2015 consist of hand stitched soft sculptures, painted wood, cheap craft materials, and electrical circuits. The electronic components used to control the lights are free form soldered as elements of the sculptural composition. Tiny sensors in the circuits respond to the ambient light in the room to alter the rate of the blinking lights.
Viewfinders
Sculptural elements made of fabric, embroidery, paper, and found objects are housed in 35mm slide viewfinder souvenirs. The viewer engages intimately with the viewfinders by holding them in hand, and bringing the objects to the eye for viewing. The sculptural components interact with the viewfinder as both obstruction and window within the frame of view.
Light Emitting Studies 2011-2014
These electrical circuits are free form soldered as prominent elements in sculptural composition. The lights fade on and off at a variable speed relative to the amount of ambient light in the room. Other sculptural elements at play include cheap craft materials and bits of garbage.
Light Emitting Studies 2010
Light emitting circuitry, wood, sewing pins, paper, cotton.
Commonplace
Commonplace uses light as a sculptural element in installation. The logic of their circuits ensures that the tiny lights fade on and off in direct correlation to the other lights blinking nearby. Each light functions as a discrete object while simultaneously contributing to the ebb and flow of the environment.
The lights are aimed at various objects throughout the room. The objects range from discarded plastic packaging, PC board, or saltine crackers. They function simultaneously as obstructions, windows, and lenses for the light aimed through and around them.
The lights are aimed at various objects throughout the room. The objects range from discarded plastic packaging, PC board, or saltine crackers. They function simultaneously as obstructions, windows, and lenses for the light aimed through and around them.
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CommonplaceElectrical circuits, steel, found objects
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CommonplaceElectrical circuits, steel, found objects
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CommonplaceElectrical circuits, steel, found objects
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CommonplaceElectrical circuits, steel, found objects
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CommonplaceElectrical circuits, steel, found objects
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CommonplaceElectrical circuits, steel, found objects
Light Emitting Studies 2006
These works primarily consist of light and electricity. The electronic components used to control the electricity are free form soldered as prominent elements in sculptural composition. In addition, the circuitry controls the timing of the light, while rubber, conductive thread, consumer packaging and paper alter the quality of that light.
I refer to the works in this series as studies in that they engender analysis through their production. They are not studies in the sense that they are a means to a more complete work of art, nor does their functionality as studies cease when they are completed. Both the act of making and the act of viewing them links experimentation with experience to elicit ?illumination?.
I refer to the works in this series as studies in that they engender analysis through their production. They are not studies in the sense that they are a means to a more complete work of art, nor does their functionality as studies cease when they are completed. Both the act of making and the act of viewing them links experimentation with experience to elicit ?illumination?.
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Light Emitting StudiesElectrical circuits, conductive thread, paper, discarded plastic packaging, rubber
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Light Emitting StudiesElectrical circuits, conductive thread, paper, discarded plastic packaging, rubber
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Light Emitting StudiesElectrical circuits, conductive thread, paper, discarded plastic packaging, rubber
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Light Emitting StudiesElectrical circuits, conductive thread, paper, discarded plastic packaging, rubber
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Light Emitting StudiesElectrical circuits, conductive thread, paper, discarded plastic packaging, rubber
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Light Emitting StudiesElectrical circuits, conductive thread, paper, discarded plastic packaging, rubber
usually better than getting
usually better than getting is a site-specific installation installed in the dining room of a 1940s bungalow. A light-emitting improvisational sculpture pulses from behind the doors of a china cabinet.
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Improvisation in China HutchImprovisational sculptures installed in a china cabinet. Materials include wood, found objects, craft fur, and pulsing LED lights.
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wide-installation-shot-chinahutch.jpgInstallation view at China Hutch Projects
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Improvisation in China HutchImprovisational sculptures installed in a china cabinet. Materials include wood, found objects, craft fur, and pulsing LED lights.
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Improvisation in China HutchImprovisational sculptures installed in a china cabinet. Materials include wood, found objects, craft fur, and pulsing LED lights.