Dance, a Performance Installation

November 21, 2020 · by cameron.961 · in Uncategorized

The Story

This piece is an ode to the matriarchs in my family. I dedicate it to my mother for helping me finish college debt-free and my grandmother who taught me to love everything around me. They are the glue that has kept my family together and I hope to lead the world by their loving example.

I aim to leave Ohio State University in a state of celebration, to “dance it out”, no matter what our circumstance. I hope to instill this feeling in my audience, as I present figures in moments of celebratory movements, adorned in traditional regional colors from Estonia. I felt it was important to showcase my heritage as my grandmother was so excited to see me wear historical national clothing passed down to me for my graduation this year. She has been a great inspiration behind many of my projects, from loving spiders to infusing nature into my installation. Since graduation isn’t happening this year, I thought it would be better to honor her by showing the outfit in my BFA show. It’s only worn during special occasions and was made for the 100th anniversary of the Estonian Singing and Dancing Celebration. I dream of wearing it to the celebration myself one day as I shared a very memorable moment with my grandma last year when we watched the 150th anniversary of the festival together while I was trying on the national clothing. Receiving an art education has changed the way I look at many things in life, and I was baffled by the creativity presented by the whole scope of this event. While my attendance at the celebration is still a long way off, I’m excited to start preparing when I move back to Estonia.

My clay pieces were inspired by Nikki de Saint Phalle’s beautiful “Nana” (1956) sculptures. She captures the essence of a moment of celebration frozen in time. I hope to accomplish a similar spirit in my installation, to invite you to celebrate with me. Her voluptuous and colorful figures were initially inspired by a pregnant woman but ultimately stem from a fascination with her feminine mother. She describes her as a “beautiful creature”, whom she inherited her love of fashion and mirrors from. Another artist who inspired the setting of my project is Louis Bourgeois. Her beautifully scary “Maman” (1999) sculpture has influenced a whole world of artists and she describes the piece as: “An ode to my mother. She was my best friend. Like a spider, my mother was a weaver.”

My grandmother was also a great weaver, and thought spiders were helpful as she always said: “Don’t kill spiders, let them be, spiders are protectors of the home.” Little did she know that tiny lines of wisdom like these would instill small seeds of love for nature in me as I grew older. Now as an adult my art often has nature-centric themes and memories attached from my childhood. She taught me how to love and appreciate all that’s around us and to take in everything while never forgetting to look at the bright side.

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