At The Missoula Art Museum
June through October, 2008
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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 fibers 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
View of installation facing southeast
Chakra Orbit
Head to foot 127,
Width 77,
Depth 44
Chakra Orbit withSuperhero Planet above
Water Being
willow with hand-printed silk tissue
(Water Falling)
62 Head to toe
38 wide
36 deep
Water Being
Superhero Planet withWater Being below
Superhero Planet
33 x 33 x 33
Boney Swan with Cocoon
74 length
41 deep
38 tall
video player and film
Boney Swan
Cocoon
62 long
27 tall
24 wide
video player and film
People watching Cocoon
Boney Swan and museum guests
Superhero Planet in process
Studio shots of Chakra Orbit in process
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