click on artist name to view statement STATEMENT objectification: considers the ancient power objects (figures), the black female body az power, literal & figurative, figure... i.e.: slave, property, her seed as property, body as property, domestic property. power of the everyday object infused with the power of the hand that uses/moves it.power objects (congo nkisi, power figures)the black body, as power object, as property, transcends domestic objects to become sacred objects by objectification. in this sense we reclaim our worth through ritual; recognition of our (spiritual) power to create and claim ourselves. fusing all of these ideas together to create work that is, in process, embodiment ritual, objectification, and utilitarian. BIO Vanessa German is a performance and visual artist currently based in Pittsburgh, PA. Her mixed media sculptural works gather inspiration from the Kongo "Nkisi" power figures, Mexican iconography, and the many potent, tragic, and stark realities of present day life. Seeking to create work that evokes not only the visceral emotional response of spirit and memory, Vanessa's work also seeks to create a visual contemporary ritual iconography relevant to the realities of the modern world; to employ objects with the power to invoke. Recent exhibitions include "Celebration of Visual Traditions", touring PA through 2008; "Migrations" at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts; "In Our House", at 937 Liberty Avenue. German has shown and performed throughout the country. A featured performer at the International Arts Festival in Grahmstown, South Africa, Vanessa's performance poetry could be seen and heard in Germany, Sweden, Los Angeles, Chicago, Miami, Olympia, and New Mexico. Vanessa was a 2005 and 2006 nominee for Emerging Artist of the Year at the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. She is the National Slam Bush Champion, Ink Tank Slam Champion, and was voted Best Spoken-word Poet by the Pittsburgh City Paper. Other performance credits include August Wilson's “The Piano Lesson”, “Seven Guitars”, and Jo Turner’s Come and Gone”; "Fire", her performance project with the Three Rivers Arts Festival, and this spring's Kuntu Repertory Theater production of "Relativity".Gallery Home|Current Exhibit|More Art|Gallerie Chiz Artists|Artists & Services|Future Exhibits|New Work| |
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| For More Information Contact: Ellen Chisdes Neuberg, Owner/Director GalleriE CHIZ 5831 Ellsworth Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15232 Tel: 412-441-6005 FAX: 412-661-5662 Internet: galchiz@hotmail.com |
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