michelle tobia
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artist statement:
“It is not so much what we perceive but how we feel about what we perceive
that is crucial to an understanding of our behavior and ourselves.”
J.K. Wright, Terrae Incognitae
It seems impossible to ever really see our selves. We only see our reflection in a mirror, our image in a photograph and how others respond to us. We know our thoughts, feelings, experiences and memories- no one else can see these. I am a sentient human being: developing an awareness of the relationship between how I see and feel in response to where I am is important to me.
The relationship between the disciplines of art & science is strong to me. However, I find science to be rooted in being concrete, logical, repeatable and predictable. Art can certainly be just that, but to me it is based more on reason, intuition and feeling, allowing wonder and curiosity to be natural motivators that I find more exciting than answers.
Porcelain. Water. Glass. Light. Paper. Wax. Salt.
My ideas are not bound to the permanence of objects but embrace the temporary and vulnerable aspects of materials and experiences as I address how the concept of containment is defined by accessing ideas of place, memory, beauty and perceptions of identity. With an innovative use of materials, I challenge traditional ceramic approaches towards the idea of containment as I research and express my ideas of what it means, “to have within, to have the ability to hold” and question what is being held,
…material liquid air light thoughts nothingness…
resulting in distilled objects and installations that are quiet and minimal.
Human Geographer, Yi-Fu Tuan discusses how ordinary spaces become significant places by being valued and fulfilling biological needs- physical, psychological or intellectual. He suggests that space is freedom and allows movement while place is security and a pause. Those thoughts are profound to me.
The idea of beauty is responsive, signifies pleasure & exists as painter Agnes Martin said, “in the mind.” I believe in the significance and beauty of what is seemingly considered mundane, elements that I am surrounded & fascinated by everyday:
the horizon, expansiveness, twilight, water ...
In considering architecture as a vehicle for “holding, ” my investigations and research broaden. Our physical and psychological experience of transitional interior and exterior architectural elements involving further ideas of escape and protection are of recent interest to me.
I seek to evoke a sense of self-awareness and place.