Ja, støv er du, og til støv skal du vende tilbage

mandag den 23. juli 2012

Ja, støv er du, og til støv skal du vende tilbage

Dust arrives in our homes as a remnant
of our own existence and degeneration from
decaying particles from our bodies and objects.

Kunstneren Allison Cortson fra Santa Monica har fundet en speciel teknik. Når hun aftaler at lave et portræt, beder hun om nogle måneders støvsugerposer. Støvet sigtes, og bruges som maling til at forme billedet. Derefter forsegles overfladen, så der ikke er noget for eventuelle husstøvmider at komme efter.

Allison Cortson: Eric Descending the Staircase

Eric Descending the Staircase by Allison Cortson

Located in homes, offices, and other human environments, this domestic dust phenotype contains small amounts of plant pollen, human and animal hairs, textile and paper fibers, minerals from outdoor soil, human skin cells and many other particles thrown into that eclectic mix founded from the local atmosphere. Most commonly a nuisance, and the source of much discomfort and symptoms in hay fever sufferers, now is the time for this infinite, commonplace substance to become subject to the attention of art.

Eric and his Dust by Allison Cortson

For my series of Dust Paintings I was interested in the fact that matter is mostly empty space and is held together by an observer experiencing it. This concept contradicts our everyday experiences with the world. I wanted to make a model for this concept with my artwork and decided to craft people in their environments out of an ephemeral material, dust.

For these portraits, I photograph the subject in their home. Then over a period of months I collect the dust from their home via their vacuum bags. Dust arrives in our homes as a remnant of our own existence and degeneration from decaying particles from our bodies and objects.

The painting is completed by rendering the subject in a realistic manner with oil paints and the rest of their environment is made solely out of the dust from their home, which I sprinkle on the canvas and manipulate with a brush. When finished the dust is coated with an acrylic sealer.