janet kozachek: mosaic artist and poet-painter janet ... · allusions to persian painting or...
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JanetKozachek:MosaicArtistandPoet-PainterJanetKozachek’sworkconcernsitselfwithvastarcsofhistoryand
transnationalissuesofrepresentation,posingquestionsatoncelocalizedintimeandspaceyetresistanttoeasycategorization.LivinginOrangeburg,SouthCarolina,shemakesmosaics,poems,paintings,andmusicalinstrumentsthatspeaktomulticulturaltraditionsofcreativeexpression,thatmemorializepasteventsandstories,andthatcommentoncontemporaryissuesofsocialjustice.Hershow,Homestead–APictorialTaleofAbandonmentandLessonsfromtheGreatDepression(2009)forexample,supportedhistoricpreservationeffortsinSouthCarolina.Andyet,hermessagesabouthome,belonging,andformitself,transcendboundariesofnationandculture.
Kozachek’smosaicpanelsrecallarchaeologicalsitestheartistvisitedin
Pompeii,Herculaneum,OstiaAntica,andChina.Eachworkunfoldswithmultiplereferences,oftenwithdetailsintheChinesecalligraphyorwithinter-textualallusionstoPersianpaintingormasterpiecesofWesternart.Eachmosaicpresentsapuzzletodecipher,aneducationinallegoriesandcodesfromourglobalculture,andrhythmicharmonies.Piecesincorporateancientsubjectmatterwithcontemporarymaterialfromcastawayobjectstopreciousgems.Incertainexamples,segmentsofcomputerhardwareframefolkartreferencesinoneoftheoldestmodesofgraphicexpression:themosaic.
EachmosaicKozachekconstructshasastorytotell.InBinomialSikinnis,forexample,shebuildsupapalimpsestofsemioticsystems,ananti-élitistdancesatirizingapoliticalsituation,portrayedinceramictile,enclosedinbitsofmotherboard.
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Sikinnistranslatesas,“bothadanceandaformofsatiricalmimodrama.Itburlesquedthepolitics,philosophyanddramaofthedayandwassaidtocatertothetasteofthecommonpeopleforvulgarityandsensationalism"(http://www.carnaval.com/greece/dance/ ). ThecentralglazedtileofBinomialSikkinispicturesamaenaddanceraffiliatedwithDionysus.Theartistexplains,
Usingcomputerpartsinthismosaic,Iamsatirizingtheexcessesoftheinformationhighway.Thematerialsinthemosaicare,liketheinternetitself,jewelsinjuxtapositionwith,andsometimesembeddedincommonsubstances:pearlsfilltheholesintheplasticcircuits,24Kgoldembellishesordinaryglass.(2009)
Thismosaicasimagenotonlytellsastory,butalsosignifiesinwaysthatdonottranslateintolanguage.Themotherboard,forexample,framesthedancer,evokestechnology,andfunctionsdecorativelytoemphasizetheflatsurfaceandabstract,geometricpatterning.Consequently,thisbitofcomputerhardwaresignifiesbothitselfandwhatsomewouldcallpureformalordecorativequalities.Intheoverallcontext,the“madeinJapan”and“madeinTaiwan”imprintsdeconstructmeaning,asthemosaicwasactuallymadeinSouthCarolina,US.TheartistthusappropriatesfoundobjectsinawaythatcreatesameetingofEastandWest.
BinomialSikinnis
(2007)
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Kozachek’sattentiontogeographicdistancesandperspectivalshiftsindicatesthesensitivitywithwhichshebothlivesinandrenderstheworldinart.Severalyearsago,shebeganfashioningdouble-sidedmosaicmasks.ShelikenedthisdevelopmenttothatofAfricanAmericanmemoryvesselsinwhichtheinnersurfaceisasvaluedastheexteriorone.Sheexplains,“theothersideofthemaskwasacaveinwhichobjectscouldgrowlikestalactites.Itwasayintotheyangoftheface.Itcouldbeametaphoricalother–thethingsthatareinthebackofthemind”(Kozachekart.blogspot.com).
lueRakuMask(Front)
BlueRakuMask(Front)
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Kozachek’sexperimentswithmedialboundariesbetweenwordandimagecomethroughmostobviouslywithhercollectionsofpoemsandvisualworkssuchasMyWomen/MyMonsters(2013).Thesepoemstendtowardsthehighlydescriptive,revelinginwordsasrhyming,rhythm-inducingelements.In“DiamondsinSerpentEyes”shewrites,WarmnightsbroughtbejeweledsnakesfromtheboughsoftreesAndoutofthedepthsofstillwatersSerpentscomingnottofeedbuttoinformBellydancingthroughthereedsandrushesGlidingbywithdiamondsintheireyesFacetedtocatchthesunlightanddisperseitattheirpleasure.Kozachekthuscollectsandassembleshighlyevocativewords,asshedoesthebrightesttesseraeofhermosaics,rhymingcolorsandechoingsoundsinasynaestheticdisplay.Asinherpaintingsandhermosaicwork,onefindsacombinationofdescriptivemeditationandformaldynamismaspartscoalesce.
BlueRakuMask(Back)
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Kozachek’smulticulturalartspeakstodiversecommunitiesandfortheunderrepresentedgroupofthoselivingwithchronicillness.AsanAmericanwithDisabilitiesherself,sheoftenevokesthemesofbodilyhealthinherworks.Inmosaicsincluding“TheOtherSideoftheBellCurve”and“ANewPerspectiveonVariousRatesofGrowth,”shehastakenonsubjectsrelatedtomedicaltreatmentandtherealityoflivingwithphysicaldisabilities.TheInterstitialCystitisAssociationjournalfeaturesherwork(Summer2008).
Theartist’sformaleducationtookplaceonthreedifferentcontinents.
Consequently,herinfluencesaremultitudinousandherstylenearlyunclassifiable.ShestudiedartandscienceatDouglassCollegeinNewJersey,andobtainedherMasterofFineArtsdegreeinpaintingfromParsonsSchoolofDesign.Inbetween,shespentsevenyearsinChinaandEuropewhereshestudiedChinesepaintingattheBeijingCentralArtAcademyandceramicsculptureattheStateAcademyofAppliedArtsinMaastrict,Holland.
Kozachekmadeasubstantialcontributiontothedevelopmentofmosaicarts
intheUnitedStatesbyestablishingtheSocietyofAmericanMosaicArtists.Mostrecently,shecreatedahighlyoriginalBookofMarvelousCats(2015),ahand-boundvolumeofillustratedrhymesaswellasapoetryvolumeMomentsinLightandShadows(2015),accompaniedbyherownpaintings.Inaddition,Kozachekperformsonceramicmusicalinstrumentsshehasfashionedherself,includingocarinasofvarioussizesandanudodrumwww.janetkozachek.weebly.com.JanetKozachek’simaginativevisionsandthematicconcernswithnon-standardparadigmsofrepresentationallowhertospeaktoandforlocalcommunitiesinSouthCarolinaandbeyond.Asanartistwhoinspiresherviewerswithaunique
WomanRecliningWithGarFish(2008)
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perspective,wroughtinstones,gems,ceramic,paint,andlanguage,Kozachekputsfortharchaeologiesofthehumanmind,digginguppastrelicstoilluminatethepresent.