Interview with Mixed Media Artist Ruthann Mazrim
Curiosities on view in the Prairie Art Alliance Gallery until Thursday June 19th
Cicadas, mended leaves, old books, silk covered
bark, binary code? Where did the
inspiration for your work in the Curiosities
show at the Prairie Art Alliance Gallery start?
I collected the cicada wings in the summer of 2011.
Our backyard was literally teeming with cicadas. I couldn’t avoid them. As they
died, I picked the wings off the bodies – with no idea what I would do with
them. They stayed in an empty yogurt
container for months. Then I happened to read a delightful book about a
Victorian era butterfly collector. That led
to more reading about botanical collections and curiosity cabinets. I was
intrigued. The cicadas became a somewhat curious collection.
The artwork in this exhibition contains a lot of
text. What made you decide to include
text in your artwork?
I wanted to label the collections and identify them,
but found so much interesting information I guess I just wanted to share it. I had to learn to limit what I wanted to share
– at times I would include so much text that the object would get lost.
What comes first in your process, the art objects or
the text?
The objects come first, and then I spend hours
looking for scientific and literary references. I especially enjoy finding 18th or 19th century text. The
language is so interesting.
How do you get the text on the glass?
I use a Dremel etching tool.
You have used binary code in some of your book
pieces. What inspired the pairing of the
organic antique books with the computer language?
The binary code is a symbol for the speculation
about the possible demise of printed books.
Might books become a curiosity? The books I use have paper so brittle that it
sometimes crumbles, much like the dried plant material. It seems a natural
addition to botanicals and curiosities.
What message do you hope to give visitors to your
show?
Stop and take a closer look. Be curious. Wonder.
I’ll probably experiment with botanical material for
a while – see where it takes me. I wish I could say I have a plan, but I don’t.
I seem to work better without one.
