Art Chowder March | April 2018, Issue 14 | Page 29

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I
n the Creighton Gallery, named
for Jack and Jan Creighton, you will
see Marie Watt: Companion Species
(Underbelly). “We are received in
blankets, and we leave in blankets. The
work…is inspired by the stories of those
beginnings and endings, and the life in
between…Blankets hang around in our
lives and families—they gain meaning
through use,” said Marie Watt.
Marie Watt makes fiber constructions,
sculpture and prints that explore “human
stories and rituals implicit in everyday
objects.” The wool blanket in particular,
rich in social and cultural history, has
been one of the artist’s primary materials
for over 15 years, as she has traced its
realm through symbol and metaphor;
a painful remembrance of colonialism,
and yet, an authentic, tactile symbol
of socially-binding collectivism. In
working with blankets, to make wall
textiles or sculptural forms, her process
is both solitary and collaborative. Small
works are personal meditations, while
larger-scale works are often made in
community, notably in public “sewing
circles.” Watt’s own heritage, stemming
from both the Seneca Nation and the
ranches of Wyoming, informs her
interest in multiculturalism, Iroquois
proto-feminism and indigenous art
forms, as well as twentieth-century
modernist abstraction.
Born in Seattle, Wash ington, in 1967,
Marie Watt has studied at Willamette
University, the Institute of American
Indian Arts, and Yale University School
of Art. She has exhibited at such venues
as the New York Museum of Arts and
Design, the Museum of Contemporary
Native Arts in Santa Fe, the Seattle
Art Museum, the National Museum of
the American Indian, the Portland Art
Museum, and the Institute of American
Indian Arts in Santa Fe. She has
received many awards and fellowships
and has given lectures at colleges and
universities across the country. From the
WSU Museum Exhibition Schedule.
In the Harmon/Wright Gallery,
funded by Dan Harmon, H.S.
Wright III, and Katherine
Janeway, you will see Person(a):
Portraiture from the Collections of
Jordan D. Schnitzer and his Family
Foundation.
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Person(a): Portraiture from the
Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and
his Family Foundation assembles a
captivating selection of contemporary
portraiture from a wide variety
of makers and subjects, spanning
portrayals steeped in intimacy to
highly manipulated and mediated
visages. Within the latter category are
works that contend with printmaking
and photography’s ability to produce
multiples and alterations of their original
subjects—begging consideration of the
individual in light of the mass-produced
icon. Elsewhere the exhibition focuses
squarely on how we define the self,
questioning a static representation in
lieu of hybridized and ever-changing
formations of identity. Intrinsically
dovetailed to cultural recognition and
commemoration, portraiture as a genre
is often woefully incomplete in fully
representing the breadth of humanity—
always at stake within the genre, is who
has been represented and by whom. This
exhibition seeks a far-reaching, inclusive
array of art and artist, emphasizing
less-recognized—even marginalized—
members of society.
Highlighting over a dozen artists
including foundational, preeminent
figures of 20th and 21st centuries, such
as Chuck Close, Kiki Smith, and Andy
Warhol, as well as groundbreaking voices
from the contemporary scene including
Lalla Essaydi, Kota Ezawa, Glenn Ligon
and Mickalene Thomas, Person(a)
demonstrates the genre’s continued
creative force and cultural resonance.
Drawn from the vast collections of Jordan
Schnitzer and his Family Foundation the
featured works testify to Mr. Schnitzer’s
passion for art of broad perspective and
stimulating thought. From the WSU
Museum Exhibition Schedule
“The longevity of the genre is a testament
to the boundless fascination we have with
each other…it’s about navigating complex
social worlds, but also communicating
something deeply universal within each
of us,” said Hardesty.
March | April 2018
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