Julia M. Becker
Root Orbit


(where the spirit meets the bone)


At The Missoula Art Museum
June through October, 2008


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Installation view at MAM

This installation plays in the vertical air space in the museum entrance, a place where forces of gravity and natural light take precedence, a space that breathes into the other galleries, and is, in a sense, at the heart of the museum. From this architectural ‘view’ I explore states of floating and transience; grounding and displacement; gravity and time; regeneration and decomposition; swimming, orbiting, free falling and filtration.

From the premise that we are spiritual beings having a human experience, and that all form is energy, this work grows into being. Working with green willow and dogwood is a dynamic process that is akin to the stretching and twisting of our own body with its limitations of the fiber’s structure and resistance.

Altering and forcing engages a collaborative process to manifest the form. Energy is exchanged; passage of time also alters fiber and form. Natural and found materials serve as metaphors for life processes including growth, fertility (and loss of), birth and dying, and the physical and energetic body (anatomy, breath, synapse). The body is a vessel, temple, and possibly an illusion; it is a transient form. The spirit witnesses and is altered yet remains the same.

There is another presence in this universe, the superhero, the ego, and their manifestations in our shared psychosis and ecology. Here we play between our super powers and our carnal nature and vulnerabilities; our shared grace and awkwardness; our sense of permanence and inherent transience; our love and war; our self, relationships and community.

Julia Becker
June 5, 2008



Watch a QuickTime version of Julia's artist's talk
at the Artini reception at the Missoula Art Museum, June 19, 2008.
Time: 35:21


Installation view at MAM

View of installation facing southeast

Chakra Orbit

Chakra Orbit
Head to foot 127”, Width 77”, Depth 44”

Chakra Orbit

Chakra Orbit withSuperhero Planet above

Water Being

Water Being
willow with hand-printed silk tissue
(Water Falling)
62” Head to toe
38” wide
36” deep

Water Being

Water Being

Water Being and Superhero Planet

Superhero Planet withWater Being below

Superhero Planet

Superhero Planet
33 x 33 x 33”

Boney Swan and Cocoon

Boney Swan with Cocoon
74” length
41” deep
38” tall
video player and film

Boney Swan

Boney Swan

Cocoon and Planet

Cocoon
62” long
27” tall
24” wide
video player and film

People watching cocoon

People watching Cocoon

Boney Swan and museum guests

Boney Swan and museum guests

Superhero Planet in process

Superhero Planet in process

Superhero Planet in process
Superhero Planet in process
Root Orbit in process

Studio shots of Chakra Orbit in process

Root Orbit in process
Root Orbit in process
Root Orbit in process
Root Orbit in process
Root Orbit in process
Root Orbit in process
Root Orbit in process
Read a review of the exhibit by Jamie Kelly of the Missoulian