Acropolis Spring 2022: Texture

ACROPOLIS

ART & ART HISTORY JOURNAL

Texture

Spring 2022

Texture Editors: Emma Capaldi K’Vahzsa Roberts Staff: Sam Beirne Bridget Collins Sofya Goncharenko Ellie Holt Renny McFadin Chandler Rawson

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from the Editors In selecting a theme for this Spring 2022 issue, we decided to take a step back from the conceptual and interpretive. Instead, concentrating our attention on the art itself in focusing on one of the main elements of art: texture. The tactile nature of textural artistic works allows viewers to experience them in a different way: imagining the way in which they would feel. By enacting the human sense of touch, these works draw us in and come to life.

With a lens on texture we were able to explore a wide variety of artistic mediums including sculpture, metalwork, and textiles. While the magazine itself is confined to the twodimensional realm, in examining work of these various mediums we are able to break into the three-dimensional world we live in.

We hope that the analyses of texture as seen in art by William and Mary students evoke consideration of how the textures that surround us contribute to the experience of our daily lives.

Emma and K’Vahzsa

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texture (noun) the visual or tactile surface characteristics and appearance of something

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Art Historical Writing

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CONTENTS 6 ... “Nick Cave’s Soundsuits and the Freedom of Texture”

by Renny McFadin (Class of 2024) 9 ... “Hues of Desperation in Belkis Ayón’s Acoso (Harassment)”

by K’Vahzsa Roberts (Class of 2023) 12 ... “A Requiem in Salt”

by Sofya Goncharenko (Class of 2024) 15 ... “Furry Artworks Collection, Murat Yıldırım, 2020”

by Ellie Holt (Class of 2025) 18 ... “Ketopong Crown”

by Chandler Rawson (Class of 2023) 21 ... “Magdalena Abakanowicz’s Puellae: Memorial to the Young, the Oppressed, and the Unknown”

by Bridget Collins (Class of 2025) 24 ... “A Physical Manifestation of Texture in Dan Lam’s Delicious Monster”

by Sam Beirne (Class of 2025) 28 ... “Textural Art in Our Own Community”

by Emma Capaldi (Class of 2023) 34 ... Bibliography

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Nick Cave’s Soundsuits and the Freedom of Texture

by Renny McFadin “I never think anything is finished. But I do know when a piece has life, when it has a pulse, when it’s breathing… Then I can walk away because I know it can sustain itself in the world.”

Nick Cave American artist Nick Cave (1959-) creates sculptural costumes that can only be described as fantastically weird.

These sculptural costumes are called Soundsuits, and Cave has made over 500 of them, with the first one being created out of twigs in 1992. Soundsuits, in short, are costumes that completely mask the wearer’s identity made out of a multitude of materials. Cave has created Soundsuits out of human hair, beads, twigs, crochet, toys, quilts, the list goes on. The materials utilized in each soundsuit are chosen with the intent of creating sound, hence the name.

Some Soundsuits are employed in performance through dance and other theatrics in order to fully demonstrate their ability to make

sound through the medium as well as emphasize the anonymity that they provide to their wearers.

Cave wished to create a costume that disguised any notion of gender, race, or class of the wearer. By completely enveloping individuals with the towering Soundsuits, Cave seeks to demonstrate human interaction free of judgment. When an individual is covered in seven feet of towering macrame and granny squares, the audience is enraptured by the familiarity of the materials, the bright colors often employed, and the intense interplay of textures that may occur. Instead of emphasizing one’s identity through visual signals, Cave wishes to remove it entirely through the Soundsuits.

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The subversion of identity through the Soundsuits also leads Cave to utilize many materials that may seem intimate to the audience. This is because Cave does not actively seek

creating a soundsuit that is able to live and breathe on its own.

Not only are Soundsuits works of static sculpture, but they are built to endure the complexities of human movement and to be able

inspiration from any objects or materials, but allows the objects to inspire him. Certain textures, emotions, colors of materials may inspire Cave into finally

to make music out of the sounds that the textures may provide.

Therefore it is important to view all 500 plus of his Soundsuits not as museum-works, but as 7

extensions of 500 people’s livelihoods and their ability to live judgment free in the world of sensational sounds, colors, motion, and texture.

IMAGE CAPTION: Nick Cave, Soundsuit, 2013, mixed media including fabric, crochet blanket, doilies, sequins, and mannequin, LA Louver Gallery, https://lalouver.com/viewingrooms/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/ nick-cave_Soundsuit_3a-scaled.jpg

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Hues of Desperation in Belkis Ayón’s Acoso (Harassment)

by K’Vahzsa Roberts Belkis Ayón’s (19671999) Acoso (Harassment) is a collagraph made during the last years of the artist’s life. A part of a series of circular prints, the Cuban printmaker offers a more psychological approach to her work, rather than just a stunning narrative. Unlike many of Ayón’s prints featuring people, Acoso (Harassment) completely abandons the confines of the human figure. While there are elements of anatomy, the appearance of eyes and hands grasping the spiral, most of the image is completely obscured by the blackness of the ink.

In this piece, Ayón does not just tell us a story, she begs for us to interpret it. The piece is meditative, not explanatory. For some, it might conjure feelings of claustrophobia, given its enclosed nature, or confusion for its muddled hues. Yet, the circle could also be a portal leading the viewer into a new way of

seeing life. The eyes in the print are not looking directly at us, but rather towards something.

So, in a sense, the viewer is not merely looking into the picture as much as the people in the work are looking out. This is a new perspective. By seeing the figures that Ayón has created as not only abstractions of her imagination, but active participants in their own world, it provides a bit of order to the chaos.

Even the way that the artist has contrasted textures in the work informs this idea of cohesion and materiality. If one looks into the spiral, the strokes are rough, and partially discontinuous. The eyes and hands, however, are smooth and very much realized in the print.

With this effect, it looks like the hands are holding the sphere, and therefore, controlling the chaos.

By manipulating the different shades of black, Ayón is able to 9

create tonal deviations between each part of the composition, adding new layers.

The white in the piece provides a sense of negative space that helps to break up the murkiness of the darker tones.

spiral. However, once they are realized, the pupils guide the viewer to see the directional motion of the print. Everything is leading towards the upper left corner of the paper, which also appears to be the nexus of the

Specifically, the whites in the eyes work to give some movement to the black mass of the center circle. Unfortunately the eyes do not become apparent on first look, but are hidden within the

spiral.

Ayón portrays desperation in such a delicate manner. The lines are so sensitive, but telling, and the black hues show a lot of depth.

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Its figurative qualities are what make it profound.

IMAGE CAPTION: Belkis Ayón, Acoso (Harrassment), 1998, collagraph, Exhibited at Phyllis Kind Gallery, Fall 1998, https:// library.artstor.org/#/asset/LARRY_ QUALLS_10310639732

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A Requiem in Salt

by Sofya Goncharenko “By sitting on the floor and spending long hours drawing, perhaps I am trying to retain memories that fade with time,” Motoi Yamamoto reminiscences on his art. The artist from Onomichi, the Hiroshima Prefecture in Japan, utilizes salt in his works–aptly named “Saltworks.” Gargantuan patterns drawn with salt comprise a significant portion of his works. Searching for an effective form of acceptance to come to terms with the parting of ways, Yamamoto designs timeless pieces intended to preserve peace and memory.

In 1994, Yamamoto’s 24-year-old sister, Yuko, passed away due to a brain tumor complication, and his wife, Junko, died of breast cancer in 2016. Yamamoto described the aftermath as an ethereal shock “when something important that should still exist disappears from right in front of you.” Facing

this conflict, Yamamoto decided to give it shape. Starting in the early 2000s, Yamamoto picked up salt because of its association with purification and cleansing.

In Japan, it is an indispensable substance for customs such as funerals. Yamamoto detailed his initial interest in various themes like sutras and end-of-life care using a wide range of materials.

Still, upon reflection on death and funerals, salt became his primary illustration mode. A colorless and transparent cube, a salt crystal’s smooth, gentle color enveloped “[his] heart in an embrace as it was wracked with feelings of loss.”

Primarily, Motoi Yamamoto draws salt from a small bottle, like ink from a pen. In labyrinth formations, he spreads the mineral out on the ground. Countless bubble-esque shapes morph to form larger units, swirling organically, 12

reminiscent of galaxies, or tiny glimpses of structures invisible to the naked eye. Salt in Yamamoto’s art contains a microcosmic and macrocosmic dimension. And just as the cosmos itself is transient, so is his art. Overall, he participated in numerous presentations at home and abroad, including the

urges his audience to remove the salt after the end of each installation and return it to the waters of this world. With the creation of the “Return to the Sea” project in 2006, thousands of people who gathered on the last day of the exhibition destroyed the work, collected the salt, and returned it to the sea

Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Hermitage Museum, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Tokyo, the Hakone Open Air Museum, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, and the Setouchi International Art Festival.

Ultimately, the artist

to remain part of the “natural cycle.” Giving and giving again is always a way of remembrance for Yamamoto, with which he commemorates his sister and wife. His salt labyrinths resemble the infinitely-branching paths of memory, which not only store but evoke pain and sorrow, 13

leading to the place of their origin.

“I want,” Yamamoto once said, “to feel the core of my memories deep inside me again.”

Motoi Yamamoto’s saltworks speak about the way forward and back, the two ways in everyone’s lives, in a very general yet sensual form. Motoi Yamamoto now lives with his young daughter Yuno in Kanazawa of Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan.

IMAGE CAPTION: Motoi Yamamoto, Floating Garden Saltwork (making of), 2013, salt, The Mint Museum, https://www.yatzer. com/sites/default/files/article_ images/3516/s1-salt-Motoi-Yamamotoyatzer.jpg

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Furry Artworks Collection, Murat Yıldırım, 2020

by Ellie Holt Murat Yıldırım is a Turkish digital artist known for his interpretations of classic artworks in the form of fur. In his 2020 collection titled “Furry Artworks,” Yıldırım depicts six of the most timeless and recognizable paintings: The Starry Night, The Scream, Girl with Pearl Earring, Persistence of Memory, The Mona Lisa, and Impression, Sunrise.

The fur is shaped by colors to represent the original work .

The fur occasionally contrasts with a smooth surface added in a few works to create a sense of reality and emphasize the texture. This smooth texture can be seen in Furry Starry Night and Furry Impression, Sunrise in the sun and moon. Despite the textural, unique technique for these pieces, upon closer inspection, the works are entirely digital-only. The digital element creates a more mesmerizing and impressive experience because of how realistic the fur appears.

Some of the works appear thicker, and bristled , while others look soft. “I use furs… to move world-famous artworks forward,” says the artist.

The various textures and motions of the fur create a sense of movement in the painting; this is especially fitting in the swirling stars of Starry Night.

However, the inability to develop small details causes the pictures’ loss of detail. Again, in reference to Van Gogh’s piece, the town and the waves crashing upon it are lost in the fur along with the iconic “flames” (or cypress tree).

From the waves crashing onto the sleeping town to the cypress tree, these essential parts of the painting communicate Van Gogh’s despair. Without them, the work’s focus becomes simply swirling stars, which as well are somewhat lost in the fur.

The artwork that presents the greatest opportunity for 15

interpretation is Yıldırım’s Furry Lisa. Her renowned face is recognized worldwide by young and old, quite possibly to the painting’s disadvantage. Yıldırım seems to be communicating this in his interpretation of The Mona Lisa. Lacking her iconic face,

if not by colors, by other means are shown. However, in his Furry Lisa, he deliberately chooses to not depict her face. Another interpretation is that he leaves her face blank to allude to to the great debate about her identity and her expression. His choice

Yıldırım’s artwork represents the belief that the painting has been overused and lost its cultural meaning and stance. Compared to Yıldırım’s Furry Girl with Pearl Earring and in Furry The Scream his ability to create facial features

of a blank face could be his way of creating a blank canvas that is open to interpret her as you want. She is simply just a swirling mass of fur, reflecting that there is no correct answer or conclusion to who she is.

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Murat Yıldırım uses the fur in his piece not only to create mesmerizing, realistic texture but to destroy the parts of these timeless pieces that make them meaningful. Reflecting on the underlying reality that these works of art have been overused

in popular culture. They now represent something shallow and empty and not what the artist originally intended, but what the modern world has made of them by mass producing the works.

IMAGE CAPTIONS: Murat Yıldırım, Furry Starry Night, 2020, digital, Behance, https://mir-s3-cdncf.behance.net/project_modules/fs/ bb307997370749.5ec3adec9a03f.jpg Murat Yıldırım, Furry Mona Lisa, 2020, digital, Behance, https://mir-s3-cdn-cf.

behance.net/project_modules/1400_

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Ketopong Crown

by Chandler Rawson As a Sultan, Muhammad Sulaiman (1845-1899) was by no means unaccustomed to effervescent gold-wear, yet the Ketopong Crown constructed over the duration of his reign represents a transcendence from the previously crafted gold-wear of the period. Made in the Kutai Kingdom in East Kalimantan of Indonesia by the Sultan’s eight personal goldsmiths, the Ketopong Crown weighs over two kilograms (equating to over four pounds) in pure gold. The wearer of such a majestic piece carries not only the physical weight of the substantial crown, but also great social weight as the magnanimity of the Ketopong Crown denotes the immense wealth of the economically and socially empowered patron it was designed for. The crowns thus doubly asserts an experience of great aesthetic majesty and social power unto those who visually engage with both it and its

wearer. As demonstrated by the crown’s contemporary use in the coronation of the Sultan H.A.M. Salehuddin II as the Sultan of Kutai Kartanegara on September 22, 2001, such visual assertions of power are presently operative.

In addition to being bedecked in precious gemstones, the Ketopong Crown is covered in delicately carved golden vines, leaves and branches. Throughout the crown’s body, the golden spiraling leafs and twisting vines actively interact with one another; the active interplay between the leaves and vines imbues a sense of movement into the statically metallic piece.

The movement of the amassed flowing curves of the golden foliage is further emphasized by the movement of the crown itself as it is worn upon the head of its mobile monarchical patron. The curving lines of the naturalizing golden foliage carries 18

through to the curves of the crown’s structural framing.

The Ketopong Crown is made in the Indonesian brunjungan style. Translating to ‘high and round,’ the brunjungan form of the crown can be seen most vividly in the crown’s lofty height of 220 mm, its twin curling wings and its dramatic

The prevalence of pagoda’s within Indonesian temple architecture is demonstrated by the image below which portrays the Pagoda of Burma; Myanmar

by Felice Beato. The Pagoda of Burma’s curling roof which climatically compresses to sharp points can similarly be seen in the dramatic rise and subsequent

spiraling posterior metal work.

The height of the crown is due largely to its central tiered pagoda which arises directly above the wearer’s head.

Pagoda’s are prevalent not only within the Ketopong Crown, but throughout Indonesian temple architecture.

compression of the dome placed directly above the head of the wearer of the Ketopong Crown.

In incorporating the shaping of the pagoda, a well-established Indonesian temple architectural form, within the design of the Ketopong Crown, the Kutai goldsmiths forged a link between 19

the Indonesian ruler, the wearer of the crown, and the Indonesian religious tradition as manifested through the architecture of antiquarian (and contemporary) temples.

Felice Beato, Pagoda of Burma, 1885, albumen silver print, The J. Paul Getty Museum, https://artsandculture. google.com/asset/pagoda-felice-beato/ jwEQw0reVJlRvA

IMAGE CAPTIONS: Unknown, Ketopong Crown, circa 19th century, gold, Museum Nasional Indonesia, https://lh6.ggpht.com/

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Magdalena Abakanowicz’s Puellae: Memorial to the Young, the Oppressed, and the Unknown

by Bridget Collins In the National Gallery being cast in bronze, creating of Art Sculpture Garden the effect of organic, skin-like of Washington D.C., thirty surfaces. This approach was the figural statues solemnly stand, convergence of Abakanowicz’s collectively comprising the 1992 earlier sculptures of burlap and work Puellae by Polish artist resin and her growing interest in Magdalena Abakanowicz (1930metalwork, particularly bronze.

2017). The bronze sculptures Abakanowicz had a of Puellae, meaning girls in long history of experience with Latin, each stand a little over textiles. Before her independent three feet tall. A uniformity work as an artist, she studied at exists among them, each with the Academy of Fine Arts in perfectly upright posture, arms Warsaw in the Department of by one’s sides, and a rough, Textile Design and worked as textured surface. Though the a designer in the silk industry. human form is unmistakable, the Throughout the sixties, she figures are headless. Their small, concentrated on weavings, thin, rather epicene bodies are eventually leading to the creation evidently those of children, as of her famous Abakans, selfcorroborated by the work’s title. woven three-dimensional While the statues may works. Her interest in fabrics appear indistinguishable, each and sculpture carried into her is in fact uniquely designed. projects of the seventies and Based on a body cast of a single eighties, when she began creating child model, every “puella” was her headless, sexless figural individually sculpted from wax burlap sculptures, frequently in and coated in burlap before 21

groups or masses. For the rest of her artistic career, these sculptures remained a primary focus, as she expanded her mediums and further explored the human body, making figures of not only adults, but also youthful forms suggestive of children and adolescents.

Each figure in such works as 80 Backs, Crowd I, and Bronze

down, as if to indicate the harsh sufferings they have faced. The works are reflective of the world Abakanowicz grew up in, having endured World War II, the Nazi occupation of Poland, and Stalinist rule.

Puellae shares this theme, though with an additional narrative. It refers to an account Abakanowicz heard in her

Crowd is uniquely crafted yet indiscernible from the others that surround it. The simplicity of the forms, sexually ambiguous, headless, and unclothed, deprives the figures of any individuality.

Each appears as a small piece of something bigger, a cog in a system. Their skin seems to be wrinkled, cracked, and worn

youth about a group of children who froze to death while being transported from Poland to Germany by cattle car during the war. Puellae thus functions as a memorial to the forgotten–the unknown, faceless victims of the Holocaust. Each figure, slightly different in texture and height, is its own person, yet individuality 22

is suppressed. To their oppressors, they were their oppressors, they were nothing more than bodies. Abakanowicz has created with this work a poignant reminder of the horrors faced by so many, even young children. Through their textured bodies, these youthful figures, short and skinny, appear to have already endured so much. They are a sober reminder of human cruelty.

IMAGE CAPTION: Magdalena Abakanowicz, Puellae, 1992, bronze, National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden, https://www. nga.gov/content/dam/ngaweb/ collections/sculpture-garden/sg-06anakabowicz.jpg

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A Physical Manifestation of Texture in Dan Lam’s Delicious Monster

by Sam Beirne Upon thinking of texture, the questions arise: what even is texture? How does it manifest? Does it require a base, such as a canvas, in order to be classified as a textural piece? Upon examining Dan Lam’s pieces, particularly that of her Delicious Monster installation which she based her Hashimoto Contemporary solo exhibition on, these questions are answered.

Dallas, Texas resident Dan Lam is a sculpture artist that creates somewhat biotic forms out of polyurethane foam, resin, and acrylic. She pours and layers these forms to create sculptures that are included in one of three categories: drips, blobs or squishes. Delicious Monster is a prime example of a drip sculpture, as not only the hardened material hangs off the shelf but the runoff is piled under the main body of the sculpture.

During a video interview

and studio tour with Collector House’s Jennifer Klos, Lam enlightens viewers on her rather interesting creative process.

When she initially pours the polyurethane onto a pre modeled metal framework she is still not fully aware of what she is creating. Her feelings and the shape of the cured resin determine her approach to color and whether or not she will pour additional coats of resin and polyurethane. Next, powder glazes are added in the color of her choosing, as the natural color of her materials is a washed out grayish hue. Also to note in this particular piece are the spikes on alternating layers of the drips, which are added in meticulous detail with a piping bag filled with acrylic paint. She also does not focus on one piece at a time, the tour of her studio shows that this is a continual process, with multiple stations set up for each 24

stage of her creative process in multiple rooms.

The artist’s own perception of her own work is also quite intriguing. Given her recent popularity through social media, such as Instagram and various interviews, Lam

a contradictory feeling and appearance within her work.

The Wall Street Art Magazine featured her solo exhibition debut, also remarking on the “dichotomies” of her work and inspiration. Delicious Monster was in fact modeled after

has spoken in depth on her perspectives and approach to art. In a promotional video with Genius + Design Milk, Lam expressed a keen “attraction to opposing ideas,” which is manifested through

a plant commonly known by the same name. An opposition in itself, the “delicious monster” plant is remembered for its interesting shape, color, and tropical flavor, yet if slightly unripe it causes serious rashes 25

and irritation. She plays with this dynamic in every piece in the exhibition, most of which in the featured Delicious Monster.

The layers, colors, and textures all overlapping and somewhat contradicting one another can evoke a range of contradictory and different feelings in each onlooker. Accordingly she does not strive for perfection in any way. She has made it clear that she wants people to be interested and have these visceral reactions, interpreting her self proclaimed “grotesque” creations on their own terms. This is how Lam maintains a “dynamic of attracting people,” which has amassed her a following of over 391,000 followers on Instagram.

Alluding to the questions asked at the beginning of this article, Dan Lam’s work can be seen as a physical embodiment of texture itself. It is and is not a sculpture, as it does not imitate any known form, it is simply a mass of the raw materials used within art that seemingly creates itself. Claire Grunland’s description of Lam’s pieces as

“modern optical illusions” is agreeable, as the work is often deceiving in size. Delicious Monster appears as if it should be a massive construct, with long, thick strings of material, and an intense number of acrylic spikes, but it is relatively small as it hangs at 37” x 45 ½” x 15”.

Actually among Lam’s drips and squishes it is one of the largest, which is shocking , as a fair assumption is that they all are of an impressive stature. In fact, this exhibit in particular is of a small size considering the mass of detail in piping the acrylic tips on the surface of the ambiguous “organic forms,” as termed by Jennifer Klos.

This is not universal, as her constructs have become versatile in sizing through the years, but initially her creations were mid-bafflingly small.

Ultimately, Dan Lam creates texture, and through her texture she allows the interpretation and channeling of a myriad of emotions within onlookers.

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IMAGE CAPTION: Dan Lam, Delicious Monster, 2019, polyurethane foam, resin, acrylic, Hashimoto Contemporary, https://images.squarespace-cdn. com/content/v1/5ac3b9d11aef 1d460b6481df/1557816466378R2PQZ4VJAV363R6UE46H/ DeliciousMonster.jpg?format=750w

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Textural Art in Our Own Community

by Emma Capaldi In addition to being works of art, textiles have a wide range of functional purposes including clothing, blankets, and wall decor. They are portable canvases bearing compositions that can be appreciated through senses of both sight and touch. Textiles from the Navajo Nation, land extending into Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona retained by the Navajo Native American tribe, are the subject of the Navajo Weavings: Adapting Tradition exhibition in the Colonial Williamsburg Art Museum in Williamsburg, Virginia. This exhibition is on view through December 2022 in the Guyton Gallery in the museum, a small gallery shooting off from the passageway between two larger galleries providing seclusion from larger displays of the museum’s folk art collection. It features six Navajo Nation weavings loaned from American Folk art collectors,

Pat and Rex Lucke, displayed on the gallery’s three walls on slanted wall projections protected by glass panels. Each of the weavings is unique displaying different colors, patterns, and figural representations thereby demonstrating the versatility of weavings in both use and design.

On the left wall of the gallery is a weaving titled Wearing [Chief ’s] Blanket, Classic First Phase. This weaving is patterned with light tan, brown, and dark blue colored shapes of varying thicknesses. While the blue stripes were achieved by dyeing the wool with indigo, the light tan and brown shades are undyed natural wool. The horizontal orientation of this weaving paired with the simple pattern of stripes is characteristic of early Navajo weavings that functioned as blankets and pieces of clothing. The back gallery wall displays three vertically oriented 28

textiles with two smaller weavings flanking the larger central one. The left weaving, Dr. Pepper, 10-2-4 depicts a light tan undyed background with black and red stripes framing the top and bottom, a large square diamond with rounded corners and inside a central red stripe

and 4 were part of a popular Dr. Pepper ad campaign listing the times at which people most needed to drink a Dr. Pepper. The Dr. Pepper, 10-2-4 weaving, serving almost as an advertisement for an American brand, is an example of the changing functions of these

with text reading “Dr. Pepper” accompanied by the numbers 10 and 2 above the text and the number 4 below. This larger diamond is then surrounded by four smaller diamond like shapes with the numbers 10, 2, and 4 inside them. The 10, 2,

textiles as the Navajo people began creating ones that speak to a particular outside market.

The central weaving, Horses, Cows, Eagles, and Chicken, in dating to 1875 to 1885 shows the shifts in Navajo textile design motifs from their early works resembling 29

Wearing [Chief ’s] Blanket due to interactions with other peoples and cultural groups including the Spanish, Pueblo Indians, and Americans. This weaving maintains the solid colored stripes seen in early Navajo textile works but as indicated in the title, also features figural depictions of animals

surrounded by stars, while the bottom one is surrounded by squiggle motifs resembling clouds. These green mountain shapes are representations of Tsé Bit’ a’i, or Shiprock, a sacred rock formation in Navajo Nation. Despite the introduction of new motifs and materials, Shiprock Pictorial demonstrates

prevalent in their surrounding environment: horses, cows, eagles, and a chicken. The right weaving, Shiprock Pictorial, depicts two hilly green mountain shapes stacked on top of one another with two white goats facing each other in between.

The top mountain shape is

the continuation of traditional subject matter and techniques revealing how deeply integrated textile production is in Navajo culture. The right gallery wall displays the final two weavings of the exhibition: Red Train, depicting a locomotive, and 30

American Flag, a textile representation of the American Flag. Red Train has a horizontal orientation with a black and orange stepped pyramid pattern along the top and bottom and a train chugging across the center of the composition.

The subject matter of a train

a finer wool that more easily lended itself to complex designs, and was made to appeal to the tourist market.

This collection of weavings provide a glimpse into the changes in the Navajo textile industry over time, reflective of the Navajo cultural shifts

reflects the completion of the Santa Fe Railroad and is a visual representation of increased communication and easier access to new materials fostered by the railroad system. American Flag is made from Germantown wool imported from Pennsylvania,

in response to the changing world around them. Beginning as purely functional works with minimal artistic design, to then displaying complex compositions

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appealing to the American commercial market, the Navajo weavings were adapted as the Navajo interacted with different groups of people resulting in an introduction to new motifs, technology, and an opportunity for profit. To complement the the weavings, on the short wall ends flanking the doorway of the gallery there are panels providing an introduction to the exhibition, contextual information on Navajo Nation, and a depiction of the loom these weavings were made on.

Weaving production was an important aspect of Navajo culture with the process being taught from generation to generation. Women were the artists behind these textiles spending their days in front of their looms. While the creation of these weavings was originally grounded in practical use for their own people, as a result of cross-cultural contact, they took on new purposes in becoming sought after collectibles by outside markets. The weavings’ Native American cultural

background and close association with domesticism in their original use as clothing and blankets and being created by women has resulted in these weavings often being seen as a craft rather than a form of esteemed art.

This exhibition dedicated to the display of Navajo Nation weavings, subverts the antiquated hierarchy of art and values of the art historical discipline that neglect the significance of textile works as forms of art as well as art produced by Native Americans in general.

Through these weavings with their changing iconographies over the course of time, visitors are able to see and gain an understanding of the impact of contact with American settlers on Native American culture. In living on land once inhabited

by Native American tribes, the Williamsburg community should consider seeking out this opportunity to learn about Navajo culture and explore ways in which they can honor the legacies of the Native American tribes who lived here.

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tribes who lived here.

IMAGE CAPTIONS: 1840-1860, native handspun wool with undyed natural shades and indigo, Guyton Gallery at the Colonial Williamsburg Art Museum, https://res. cloudinary.com/colonialwilliamsburg/ image/upload/q_auto,f_auto/ v1626980507/museums/D2021JBC-0630-0001.jpg Navajo Nation, American Flag, 19001910, Germantown wool wefts and cotton warps with aniline dyes, Guyton Gallery at the Colonial Williamsburg Art Museum, https://res.cloudinary. com/colonialwilliamsburg/image/ upload/q_auto,f_auto/v1626967853/ museums/D2021-JBC-0630-0002.jpg Navajo Nation, Dr. Pepper, 10-2-4, Horses, Cows, Eagles, and Chicken, Shiprock Pictorial, circa 19th-20th century, handspun wool, Guyton Gallery at the Colonial Williamsburg Art Museum, image courtesy of Emma Capaldi

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Bibliography Nick Cave’s Soundsuits and the Freedom of Texture

by Renny McFadin “PBS NewsHour, Nick Cave Brings Art, Sculpture to Life with ‘Soundsuits,’ Season 2012.” 2012. Www.pbs.org. April 24, 2012. https://www.pbs.org/video/pbs-newshour-nick-cave-brings-artsculpture-to-life-with-soundsuits/.

Public Delivery. 2019. “Nick Cave’s Soundsuit Sculptures - Everything You Need to Know.” Public Delivery. September 5, 2019. https://publicdelivery.org/nick-cave-soundsuits/.

Hues of Desperation in Belkis Ayón’s Acoso (Harassment)

by K’Vahzsa Roberts Haddad, Natalie. 2019. “How the Myth of a Sacrificed Princess Bewitched Printmaker Belkis Ayón | Frieze.” Frieze. January 18, 2019. https://www.frieze.com/article/how-myth-sacrificed-princess-bewitched-printmaker-belkis-ayon.

A Requiem in Salt

by Sofya Goncharenko “MOTOI YAMAMOTO, Japanese Artist.” n.d. MOTOI YAMAMOTO. https://www.motoi-works.com/en/.

Gallery, Mikiko Sato. n.d. “Artists.” Www.mikikosatogallery.com. https://www.mikikosatogallery.com/en/artists/motoi-yamamoto.

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Furry Artworks Collection, Murat Yıldırım, 2020

by Ellie Holt Behance. n.d. “Murat Yıldırım on Behance.” Behance. https://www. behance.net/muratyildirim.

Miller, Caitlyn. 2020. “Iconic Art given a Furry Spin by Digital Artist Murat Yıldırım.” Yellowtrace. October 29, 2020. https://www. yellowtrace.com.au/digital-artist-murat-yildirim-fury-iconic-art/.

Ketopong Crown

by Chandler Rawson Ra, Sean. 2022. “Sultan Suleiman II - Ancient.com.” Ancient.com.

February 4, 2022. https://ancient.com/sultan-suleiman-ii/.

“KETOPONG CROWN - Unknown.” n.d. Google Arts & Culture. https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/ketopong-crown-unknown/xQFj1JO8SkH-qA. Magdalena Abakanowicz’s Puellae: Memorial to the Young, the Oppressed, and the Unknown

by Bridget Collins “Magdalena Abakanowicz.” Studio S. https://www.abakanowicz.art. pl/index.php.html.

National Gallery of Art. “Puellae (Girls).” https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.107764.html#overview.

National Gallery of Art. “Sculpture Garden Tour.” https://www.nga. gov/visit/tours-and-guides/sculpture-garden.html.

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Rose, Barbara. Magdalena Abakanowicz. New York: Harry N. Abrams, 1994.

A Physical Manifestation of Texture in Dan Lam’s Delicious Monster

by Sam Beirne “Collector House Conversations 05: Artist Dan Lam Studio Visit.”

2018. Www.youtube.com. August 17, 2018. https://www.youtube. com/watch?v=Wpbygus9CBA&t=5s.

“Dan Lam.” 2019. Wall Street International. May 13, 2019. https:// wsimag.com/art/53988-dan-lam.

Granlund, Claire. 2019. “Dan Lam’s Modern Optical Illusion.”

TRENDLAND, Online Trend News. January 28, 2019. https:// trendland.com/dan-lams-modern-optical-illusion/.

“Sculptor Dan Lam Blends the Outside World into Her Genesis G70 Art Car.” 2021. Genesis G70. June 14, 2021. https://g70artcars. design-milk.com/dan-lam/.

Textural Art in Our Own Community

by Emma Capaldi “Navajo Nation.” n.d. nww.navajo-nsn.gov. https://www.navajo-nsn. gov.

“Navajo Weavings: Adapting Tradition.” n.d. www. colonialwilliamsburg.org. https://www.colonialwilliamsburg.org/ explore/art-museums/current-exhibitions/navajo-weavings-adaptingtradition/.

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Visual Art

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CONTENTS 40 ... Summer Here Kids, Renny McFadin (Class of 2024)

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Summer Here Kids, Renny McFadin

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This piece created by Renny McFadin was inspired by the euphoric feelings of summer as experienced by children. Hoping to encapsulate the freeing nature of summer break in childhood, Renny utilized bright colors and shapes to emulate the sights and sounds one may encounter on a beach boardwalk. In order to mirror the ocean, texture was purposefully employed in the background; the blue and green background is meant to imitate the various depths of the ocean, and the etchings of the paintbrush seen in the background of the piece are representative of the ocean’s waves. Overall, Renny was hoping to create a fun, immersive experience, where one may be able to feel nostalgia towards the phenomena of summer vacation.

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William and Mary Studio Art Major Minimum Required Credit Hours: 37

Core Requirements ART 211 - Drawing and Color, and ART 212 - 3D Design: Form and Space ART 461 - Capstone I ART 462 - Capstone II ART 463 - Capstone III (2) 200-level Art History courses at, or above ARTH 230 (1) 300-level Art History course at, or above ARTH 330 *17 Additional Credits in Two or Three Dimensional Focus Studies

William and Mary Art History Major Minimum Required Credit Hours: 33

Foundational Courses (3) 200 level courses at or above ARTH 230 to ARTH 299 ART 211 - Drawing and Color, or ART 212 - 3D Design: Form and Space Core Requirements ARTH 331 - The Curatorial Project ARTH 333 - Theories and Methods of Art History ARTH 493 - Capstone Seminar *9 Additional Credits at or above ARTH 330 and 1 Elective Course

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