Artist in Residence
Artist Statement
Julia Goodman
Julia Goodman's website
When my Father died, my art practice shifted. Flat paper no longer appealed to me; two-dimensional memories felt vacant. Struck by the inability to touch someone after death, I began working sculpturally with paper pulp to create palpable surfaces. I resumed working with collected junk mail, but with new strategies influenced by Jewish Mourning traditions and my Father's grace throughout his 20 years with cancer. In Jewish tradition, the bereaved tears one's clothing to symbolically expose one's heart. I tear fibers to prepare pulp, slowly transforming the material while acknowledging scarcity.
At eight years old, I became acutely aware of mortality. This experience resonates with the history of papermaking and fuels my interests in working with fragile materials. Currently, I am making beet papyrus as well as cast paper out of pulp made from bed sheets. These delicate, skin-like materials loosely allude, respectively, to Ancient Egyptian papyrus and 19th century European-style rag papermaking. The two materials frame a time period when paper itself was scarce and valuable. The former explores lamination, staining, and transparency; the latter investigates absorption, density, and sculptural mark making. I hope to bring a deeper appreciation and sense of wonder to materials we take for granted.
When my Father died, my art practice shifted. Flat paper no longer appealed to me; two-dimensional memories felt vacant. Struck by the inability to touch someone after death, I began working sculpturally with paper pulp to create palpable surfaces. I resumed working with collected junk mail, but with new strategies influenced by Jewish Mourning traditions and my Father's grace throughout his 20 years with cancer. In Jewish tradition, the bereaved tears one's clothing to symbolically expose one's heart. I tear fibers to prepare pulp, slowly transforming the material while acknowledging scarcity.
At eight years old, I became acutely aware of mortality. This experience resonates with the history of papermaking and fuels my interests in working with fragile materials. Currently, I am making beet papyrus as well as cast paper out of pulp made from bed sheets. These delicate, skin-like materials loosely allude, respectively, to Ancient Egyptian papyrus and 19th century European-style rag papermaking. The two materials frame a time period when paper itself was scarce and valuable. The former explores lamination, staining, and transparency; the latter investigates absorption, density, and sculptural mark making. I hope to bring a deeper appreciation and sense of wonder to materials we take for granted.
- Residency Period: October 2012 - January 2013
- Art Show: Friday, January 25, 2013 & Saturday, January 26, 2013