Recent
Exhibition
One Mellon Bank Center Gallery
Located
in the “T” station lobby of One Mellon Bank Center
SCC's off-site exhibition space is open daily through midnight.
Recent
Exhibition
One Mellon Bank Center Gallery
Located
in the “T” station lobby of One Mellon Bank Center
SCC's off-site exhibition space is open daily through midnight.
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Dianne
Baker/Karyl Sisson
An exhibition highlighting the value of recycled materials |
May 3 — July 11, 2002 | ||
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The
power of art is that it changes our perceptions of reality, making
us see things with new eyes. This exhibition, Dianne Baker/Karyl
Sisson, features the work of two contemporary craft artists who
utilize discarded and recycled materials to create colorful, bold
and often humorous works, and reinforces our appreciation of the
link between creativity and recycling.
The environment and its protection is one of the most important issues facing contemporary society. In response, many artists are working with recycled materials to create art, which makes environmental, political and philosophical statements and heightens public awareness of this important issue. The works of Dianne Baker and Karyl Sisson exemplify this varied and compelling art form. Featuring 18 outstanding works crafted by these nationally recognized artists, the exhibition highlights innovative combinations of old and new materials. Traditional materials such as paper, brass, thread, silk and copper are joined with recycled and re-used materials such as old paper drinking straws, miniature wood clothes pins, vintage plastic cigarette holders and old hair pins as the exhibiting artists express their fascination with form. A range of functional and non-functional works showcase the many techniques being used in the craft field today and offer audiences an opportunity to see and appreciate the worth of reclaimed materials and the value of recycling in our society. A resident of Buffalo, New York Dianne Baker has been making her unique woven forms and working in the textile arts since the 1960’s. Since her early exploration into the woven arena Baker has been changing the emphasis of her work so that it is centered more on the materials that she incorporates into her two- and three-dimensional works than on the technique. Her most recent sculptures have incorporated materials ranging from computer circuits to film. Anything that can be woven is a suitable material for her, and she emphasizes the use of recycled materials and found objects. Baker received a BA in history from Syracuse University, and an MS in social studies from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She has received numerous awards, and in 2000 she was included in the "Herd About Buffalo" project. Her work is included in many public and private collections including the Charles Rand Penney Collection and Uniland Development Company among others. Known nationally for her fiber and mixed media work Karyl Sisson's sculptures range from vessel forms made out of old cloth tape measures to abstract forms created from vintage plastic buttons. Describing her sculpture, which she creates by interlocking objects of or related to fiber, Sisson comments, "An examination of my work will reveal repeated reverence to the container, an intense interest in patterning and a reverence for once common materials and construction techniques. My sculptures are vehicles for exploring the different physical and psychological properties of holes, cavities, insides and outsides. I’m influenced by the beauty and simplicity of ancient, indigenous, and animal architecture, organic growth, and patterns found in nature and in the nature of man." Born in Brooklyn, New York, Sisson currently resides in Los Angeles. She received her M.F.A. from the University of California in Los Angeles in 1985. She has exhibited widely across the United States since 1976, and her works are included in numerous private collections across the country. An internationally recognized contemporary craft organization, the newly renovated Society for Contemporary Craft with its main galleries, store and education center are located at 2100 Smallman Street in the heart of Pittsburgh’s Strip District. Together with the American Craft Museum in New York and the Smithsonian Institution’s Renwick Gallery in Washington DC, SCC is one of only a few institutions in the nation dedicated to this art form. For more information call SCC at 412.261.7003. |
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