Lawrence University Studio Art 2020 Senior Capstone Project: (R)evolution
https://lux.lawrence.edu/se2020_haigt/
(R)evolution Artist Statement:
Nature exists in a state of constant change. Its beauty, cruelty, and decay contextualize the messiness of our human lives and society. Stepping back to observe the details of plant, insect and animal activity in a forest, field or river bank reinforces our smallness in the ever-present cycles of life. These are reminders that extraordinary beauty and terrible indifference can touch us simultaneously. Religious structures often explain immutable facts of life by echoing these lessons from nature. Through Lawrence’s Chandler Senior Experience Grant, I spent a month in Nepal studying Buddhist art and the connections between this trinity of natural, societal, and artistic understanding.
My senior capstone project reflects the interconnectedness of these ideas by representing a transformation using clay, a cyclical material in and of itself. These ceramic portraits have undergone a series of changes on both a physical and metaphorical level which represent the human condition intertwined with nature. As I began this sculptural contemplation on Buddhist beliefs regarding impermanence and detachment from life’s ever-evolving phenomena, events in the world brought these concepts into drastic focus. The sudden spread of COVID-19 has forced us to pause and experience a time of both cruel loss and potential for positive growth, together as a world community.