About Jessica Brandl

• LOCATED: Kalamazoo, MI
• MATERIALS: Terra Cotta
• SURFACE: Glazes, Engobes, Slips
• PROCESS: Electric fired to Cone 04

My contributions in fired clay mark time spent thinking and considering the visual elements that represent western culture and American-ness. Utilization of the vanitas, the art historic method for representation that imbeds the transience of life, underscoring the temporariness of pleasure and the certainty of death; is an important counterpoint to the often bright and garish pull of logos and detritus that I utilize. For me, the subsequent communion of clutter satisfies the sense of balance and duality in the world, capturing moments from life and preserving feelings that are complex and often informed by many simple interactions.

The research and visual characteristics that define my artwork grow from a sense of personal anxiety, viewing all objects as representative of future archeology. My incorporation of American popular culture began as a means to define familiar characteristics of home while attempting to bridge the psychological turmoil I experience at the physical place. The intentional ambiguity present in finished works is a declaration of social agency, not being the thing which I represent but also not completely divorced from its influence. For me it is important to deconstruct American culture symbols, seeking the intentions for which they were created and examining what biases or stereotypes they perpetuate. To understand what is loved or what is hated is equally an exercise in letting go and for me represents a desire for peace.