Hanna Vogel
I use craft-based materials and techniques in sculptural ways to evoke growth, decay, and the tenuousness environment. My work addresses aspects of physical existence on the edge of potential destruction. The physical and connotative properties of the materials describe the conceptual content: the fragility and historical preciousness of vitreous porcelain speak of its inherent precariousness; rust undermines wire’s flexibility, turning it rigidly vibrant; and paper becomes a stiffly delicate skin of its own, rather than a transient means of communication or care.
The techniques that I use—hand built clay, woven basketry, and handmade paper—reference the body in their labor-intensiveness and in the degree to which they require the direct physical involvement of the maker. In presenting the result of this bodily labor in visual form, I investigate the paradox of vision and remnant of physical labor as a conduit to touch and proprioception. I believe that this synesthesia can counter the centrality of vision and its presumed objectivity in western art since the Renaissance in favor of a more physically integrated experience.