BFA 490

Revised Research Question

By using kudzu as a metaphor for queerness, how can the way society treats queerness intersect with the way society treats invasive plants species?

How might you use narrative, visual metaphor, allegory, and/or symbolism to better visualize your concept?

With the feedback that some viewers do not see this work as initially about queerness, I want to focus more on how the interaction between materials can allude to queerness. While I know that my work is queer, and that kudzu, which is the main material incorporated throughout my work, is a metaphor for queerness, the viewer may not immediately make that connection. Abstract work can be interpreted in a variety of ways and to me, if the viewer does not see my work as queer, I want them to see this intense interaction with kudzu and other materials. Whether or not the viewer also recognizes the kudzu, they see a natural material interacting with another material. For example, in the Orientations series, Part 2 of that series involves kudzu fibers twisting and arching around a scrap pulley wheel. The fibers are woven on the outside of the wheel, but are not woven under. The fibers are also energetic, bursting around the wheel, and are being forced, or confined to the holes of the wheel. The pulley wheel is made out of steel, picked from a scrap yard that was among a giant pile of others. This mass produced wheel that is made of a man made material, not naturally occurring in our environment, represents the social constructs that are man made as well. The natural fibers are constrained by the holes of the steel pulley wheel, and queerness, which is symbolized by the kudzu, is natural. The tension between the manmade pulley and the natural material alludes to the tension between the social constructs of heteronormativity and queerness. I hope to continue, to continue to use visual tension to represent the conflict between queerness and heteronormativity.  

What questions are you asking of your viewer? What do you want them to take away?

This body of work allows the viewer to rethink kudzu not as a plant but as a material that can be used in a variety of ways. Its versatility is expressed through the ways I use it, such as spinning cord and weaving. Kudzu is viewed by society as a nuisance plant and something that people feel should be eradicated, however kudzu has many uses, especially as a fiber. If kudzu was used for its traditional purposes it could replace some of the other unsustainable options. Queerness is treated in this society similarly to that of kudzu. It is deemed as invasive, and with new laws making drag illegal and forcing teachers in public schools to out students to their parents, queerness is also facing the threat of eradication. Like kudzu, queerness has many uses and can be applied to society in order to make it a more inclusive environment, however, the hatred perpetuated by white supremacy prevents people from seeing kudzu and queerness as important. Blaming kudzu and queerness for society’s problems deters people from seeing what is truly invasive in our society. Whether or not the viewer sees the work initially a queer, I hope they see my experimental use of material and texture as unconventional. 

What are three researched facts that relate to your concept?

1. Kudzu was not always viewed as detrimental to landscapes in the United States. In fact, it was deemed a very desirable plant to have in one’s garden. The first known time kudzu came into this country was at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition in 1876 where representatives from Japan showcased the vine. The vine was presented again at the New Orleans Exposition in 1883. Kudzu was encouraged as a decorative plant to provide shade as it grew fast and abundantly.

Eskridge, Anna E., and Derek H. Alderman. “Alien Invaders, Plant Thugs, and the Southern Curse: Framing Kudzu as Environmental Other through Discourses of Fear.” Southeastern Geographer, vol. 50, no. 1, 2010, pp. 110–29. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26225593. Accessed 1 Dec. 2022.

2. Kudzu was introduced to public lands by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the New Deal. Not only was it viewed as the answer to shade coverage, nitrogen fixation, and erosion control, Channing Cope, an early 20th century kudzu advocate, argued that it was, “a way to heal a ‘weak and sickly’ southern landscape”. 

Eskridge, Anna E., and Derek H. Alderman. “Alien Invaders, Plant Thugs, and the Southern Curse: Framing Kudzu as Environmental Other through Discourses of Fear.” Southeastern Geographer, vol. 50, no. 1, 2010, pp. 110–29. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26225593. Accessed 1 Dec. 2022.

3. Fibers are “unlimited in direction” and Vaccaro’s queer theory of felting can be applied to kudzu. Vaccaro uses art, “as an alternate form of theory to create new modes of language”. Thus, queering language in this sense, is using language not just as a means of words, but as a form of communication which can be expressed through a visual platform.

Vaccaro, Jeanne. “Felt Matters.” Women & Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory. Vol. 20, No. 3, 2010, pp. 253-266, https://doi.org/10.1080/0740770X.2010.529245.  Accessed 1 Dec. 2022. 

What art historical works or movements can you cite to support your work?

The EcoArt movement had much popularity starting in the 60s and is still very prevalent today. The Spiral Jetty by Robert Smithson that was constructed in 1970 in Utah as well as the Cadillac Ranch in Amarillo, Texas which was created in 1974 by an artist group known as Ant Farm. Not only did this movement focus on sustainability, it also focused on activism and how capitalism, which has a foundation of white supremacy, has and inevitably will destroy the environment and the connection between humanity and nature. The modern art movement encompassed many subcategories of movements within it. Sophie Tauber-Arp was an artist and a part of the Dada movement. She was a true multi-faceted artist that participated in performance work, woodworking, textiles, drawing and painting, and much more. There is a unique interaction that occurs when a piece is composed of multiple different materials. This interaction creates a sense of mystery and intrigue. These historical movements and artists have all used materials in an unexpected way that challenged society. The EcoArt movement challenged the exploitation of natural resources and the separation of human and nature. The Dada movement challenged the way art is viewed and redefined fine art. With my work, I am challenging the way society sees kudzu, queerness and the various forms of white supremacy, our society's biggest invasive. 

How do the formal aspects of your work support your conceptual intent?

Since the material I am working with requires me to harvest and physically convert the raw material into a form in which I can utilize to make my pieces, I try to make every part of the process just as important and intentional as the final product. My sculpture professor, Jackson Martin, mentioned to the class that the viewer only sees the final product, but the process of making it is the most important part of the project. With kudzu, I try to be very conscious and present when I am harvesting. When weaving the fibers, I try not to force my own plans on the fibers, but rather have the collaboration between us. If I were to force the fibers to behave directly the way I want them to, I am forcing them to conform to my standards and therefore, I am not allowing the fibers to be authentic. 

Bodies are vessels for identities. The vessels that I make out of kudzu are vessels for queerness. The way the vessels interact with other materials represent what is ‘invasive’ in our society, which is white supremacy. For example, the piece, “Do This in Memory of Me,” illuminates my experience growing up in Catholicism as a queer person. The phrase “do this in memory of me” is said as the priest raises up the wine and eucharist, just before Communion. The black walnut chalice at the base of the piece directly references the chalices used at Communion during a Catholic Mass. As I got older, I broke away from the religion that felt suffocating to me and is rooted in white supremacy. This is shown through the kudzu basket breaking out of the black walnut chalice. The light is representative of my emotional body propelling itself out of Catholicism and into queerness. 

Name an artist whose artwork relates to your own, but works in a different medium. List the similarities found in the subject matter, concept, and/or the aesthetic/formal qualities.

Ruth Asawa is the artist that I have taken the most inspiration from recently. Although she is most famous for her hanging wire sculptures, Ruth Asawa has worked in a vast amount of materials. As an artist, I aspire to not be confined to a single form or material, thus I strive for my concept to be able to be conveyed through multiple presentations. Ruth Asawa has taken a material, such a metal wire, and redefined its capabilities through her hanging wire sculpture pieces. She channeled her life experiences and identity in an abstract way. I see Asawa’s sculptures as vessels and representations of herself as well as how she perceives the world around her. Similar to Ruth Asawa, I am thinking about the emotional body and the physical body as two concepts of the human experience that interact with each other as well as how I perceive society by making vessels of kudzu. 

Research Question: 

By using kudzu as a metaphor for queerness, how can the view on plants deemed as "invasive" change as well as bring to light what is invasive in our society? (Julie- ending is too vague, a lot is there maybe focus more, Tamie- both kudzu and queerness go hand in hand, change wording) 

By applying queerness to kudzu, how can the view on plants deemed as "invasive" change as well as bring to light what is invasive in our society?

How can applying queerness to kudzu change the way we view plants deemed as “invasive” as well as bring light to what is invasive in our society? 

What is it that you like to create and why is it important to you?

From a young age, art has always felt like my best form of communication. I use art to express my emotions and to process the world around me. Throughout high school and college, I have become fascinated with the relationship between humanity and nature, both personal and my perspective of how capitalism treats the environment. While at my six-week work study session at Arrowmont in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, I had the opportunity to take a class called “Queer Strategies for Textile Thinking” which was taught by HH Hiaasen. We were told to bring an identity object for one of our projects and in the midst of all my packing and preparing for the next six weeks, I had completely neglected this part of the materials list. I decided to take a walk outside. I walked up towards the Artists in Residences’ studios and saw this hill covered in massive leaves of kudzu. Immediately I felt drawn in towards its bright green and abundance as well as its nostalgia of it reminding me of North Carolina. I immediately went back to the textiles studio, grabbed my knife and ran back to the patch. I wrestled with the vines, and several of my peers caught sight of the scene. I ran back to the studio, excited about what I had obtained. I peeled it, wove it, and knotted it. The vine had become a vessel from which I displayed myself as being queer in the American south as well as how queerness is viewed in the United States. Ever since my time at Arrowmont, I have made kudzu my central focus while also implementing other materials. I do not like to confine myself to one material and enjoy seeing how multiple materials interact with each other. With a minor in environmental studies, making parallels to the queer human experience with the natural world assists me in understanding the way white supremacy is embedded into all facets of society. Whenever I make art that relates to my queerness and queerness as a whole, I can’t help but think of those who are still silent about their queerness, who are queer and do not make art, or cannot make art. I am making art for myself, but also for these people as well.