feature articles • 37
in a very fluid process that’s reflected in the curving borders and variety of drawing materials. In this way, she avoids the traditional rectangular format of artwork, bringing the work into the viewer’s space to heighten the viewer’s emotional responses. Add to that the large scale of some of the works, such as Savage or Fire and Rain: A Land Divided (each measuring approximately ten feet square), and an undeniable presence and experience for the viewer is established as her marks seem to jump and flow around on the paper. The viewer may not be able to pinpoint what these evolving marks mean as far as the emotive content of the wildfires and floods, and that is part of Kokoska’s intention. She is simply putting her observations before the viewer as a visual artist. These ambiguous observations allow the viewer to associate these artworks with their own feelings about the natural disasters of the past few years. Someone whose way of life was shattered as a result of these calamities might look upon these images with a sense of dread. Scientists, on the other hand, might recognize the renewing nature of these events as new life and systems spring from the Earth. Environmentalists might see the scale of these wildfires and floods as an indication of a rapidly changing climate. Kokoska refers to the unpredictable landscape of her drawings as a restless and everchanging animal. If one thinks of landscape as an animal presence rather than something static that can’t interact with people, one’s relationship to it is more deeply considered. Perhaps people are merely on the skin of this great animal, which can nurture or lash out, depending on how it’s being treated. In the new age of the
Left: Fire and Rain: A Land Divided (detail), 2013, charcoal, ink, pastel, and graphite on paper and mylar Right: Fire and Rain: A Land Divided, 2013, charcoal, ink, pastel, and graphite on paper and mylar, 8’x9’x1’
Anthropocene, human activity has unprecedented impacts on the vastness of Earth’s landscapes and systems. Humans must always be mindful of the cycles that this animal goes through as it regenerates itself and continually changes in order to maintain a balance. This mindfulness will allow humans to be symbiotic rather than parasitic to the Earth’s systems. Mary-Ann Kokoska’s drawings are a reminder to respect the forces of the landscape that are always flowing, and to keep in mind the unpredictable nature of these forces. The visceral mark-making, large scale, and dynamic qualities of her drawing installations establish landscape changes as an animal presence that must be considered. These drawings reveal to Kokoska’s viewers that the Earth really is the largest, most beautiful and fearsome source of life-giving and life-taking forces that roll, flow, jump, interact, and change across its surface. May our human marks be a harmonious part of this sublime landscape of Earth and not be futilely opposed to it. <www.maryannkokoska.com>