Wednesday, July 1, 2015

ECU Alumni Exhibition September 4-26,2015

Tampa based artist Susanne Nielsen , M.F.A. graduate 1989 of East Carolina University's School of Art, will be exhibiting her soft-sculpture “Babies like Bunnies” ( homage to Nadya Denise Doud-Suleman) " in this year's Alumni Exhibition. The art will be shown in three locations, ECU's Gray Art Gallery, ECU Joyner Library and Greenville Museum of Art.

                                                             

                                               “Babies like Bunnies” ( homage to Nadya Denise Doud-Suleman) 

Artist statement:  
My soft sculpture is one of many in the series of vessels all dedicated to the theme of birth and birth myths. While this topic has emerged from absolute taboo surrounded by many fantasy tales of the origins of new life ( wives’ tales)  more current works include the modern miracle of in vitro fertilization (IVF).
“Babies like Bunnies” ( homage to Nadya Denise Doud-Suleman) has been created with the story of Nadya Denise Doud-Suleman , mother of Octuplets via IVF,  in mind . The “vessel” sends us into the soft world of infants and toys, a place where all living creatures are cute and cuddely.  And it asks us to also contemplate the topic of engineered creation.
The circumstances of  high order multiple birth have led to controversy in the field of assisted reproductive technology as well as an investigation by the Medical Board of California of the fertility specialist involved.
The pink and white soft fabrics used with Duchampian “found objects” invite the viewer in and the questions raised  in the text and context of this piece , its title and the topic generates discussion easily taken for granted as IVF has become a normal aspect of our society in the 21st century.


Susanne Nielsen biography:
   
Susanne graduated in 1989 with an MFA degree in Painting from ECU, she is currently completing her doctoral thesis for the Univerity of Paderborn, Germany, a monograph of the the life and work of a Cuban exile artist.  Susanne has been teaching visual art, art history and humanities at universities and museums in the US, she currently resides in Tampa, Florida. In recent years she has traveled to Bangladesh and China and her art, mixed media in fabric and painting in two and three dimensions continues focus on the role of women in traditional societies, her latest series: Bangladeshi brides.

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