Calorner 9
Spring 2013
Artist inspired by man and machine By Max Freese
society builds people into perfection,” Bodner said.
A young woman with bright orange hair and glasses sits timidly in a large, oversized library chair. She is wearing a black and orange jacket with erratic markings.
The drawing, again using pastels, is of a Barbie doll with thick blonde hair that eventually turns into thick, tentacle-like wires. Circuits can be faintly seen in the loudly pink background.
A portfolio with pieces of art with similar orange colors rests next to her big chair. The young woman is Katherine Bodner of Cambrook. A graduate of Shade City Central High School, she’s a junior graphic design major at California University of Pennsylvania. However, Bodner still isn’t sure why she decided to go Cal U. “I don’t know. I ask myself that same question every day,” Bodner said. Despite not being exactly in love with her college of choice, she is passionate about what she loves most: art.
Bodner doesn’t remember when she first got into art, but she knows that from a young age she’s was “always scribbling.”
Photo by Max Freese
Katherine Bodner creates ‘steampunk’ art.
is a pastel drawing of hands interlocking with one another. Some parts of the hands are exposed and the veins and muscles pop out. Warm colors, such as red and orange, give the piece a fleshy look.
Bodner said that no specific art or artists have an influence on her.
“It’s all about the sense of touch,” Bodner said. “I used Da Vinci and my own hands for references.”
“I like everything,” Bodner said, “from Rembrandt to the latest thing.”
The third piece is untitled and unfinished.
Bodner has three pieces of art in her portfolio that all share a common theme: man and machine.
“This one is about society and how
A secondary passion for Bodner is music. The eye-catching jacket she’s wearing is actually a The Used jacket, an alternative/hardcore rock band that has been around since 2001. The Used frequently play at the Warped Tour, a music and extreme sports festival that Bodner attends every year. In her free time, when she’s not coming up with scenes of creepy biomachinery, she enjoys long walks and ATV rides, she said. Bodner may not find inspiration from a particular artist or work, and she may not know why she chose Cal U, but she is clearly passionate about art.
The first piece, (which Bodner says she forgot the title of), was done with pastels and charcoals. In the foreground, there is a young man with black sunglasses and a black suit. In the background, there’s an orange haze, and within the haze, are different kinds and sizes of cogs and clockwork. A term for this genre of art is “steampunk,” which, according to Wikipedia, is a type of science-fiction that mixes Victorian-era and American West fashion with steam-powered machinery. The second piece, “Nerve Damage,”
Photo by Max Freese
Katherine Bodner’s latest artwork represents society and its strive for perfection.