"Conceptual art exploring ambivalent relationship to human body and bodily function; perceptions of beauty and horror, order and disorder."



Prozac, Thorazine, Zoloft
24"H x 48"W x 48"D
(ea. pillow 11"H x 36"W x 11"D)
hand latch-hooked rug on canvas with polyester filling
2000

Artist's Statement

My mixed media work explores perceptions of beauty and horror, comfort and discomfort.  I use anatomical and medical imagery as a point of departure to explore these dualities and our ambivalence towards the human body. I often combine scientific images and materials with more domestic or familiar ones. This juxtaposition creates a response that fluctuates between seduction and repulsion, comfort and alienation.  This dichotomous experience is evoked by enticing and formal images that upon closer inspection reveal some uncomfortable truth about our cultural and biological conditions.  My work attempts to challenge our constructed responses to these images by triggering a double take in which the viewer re-evaluates their initial perceptions of an object or image.

My work often develops out of inspiration in the inherent qualities of a material or process.  I then begin to decipher and manipulate the narrative implications of those qualities.  I am interested in an exploration into the historical and contemporary meaning that a culture projects onto an object, material, or image as well as in an investigation into its technical attributes.  I like to see how the work can be reflexive and self-contained--how not only the form of an object can reveal meaning but also the materials and process by which it was made.

Artist's Bio

Originally from Tennessee, I relocated to the West Coast to attend the University of California, Irvine where I initially studied Biological Sciences.  I soon became interested in my elective art classes and received my Bachelor of Art in 1995.  I completed my Master of Fine Art from Mills College in 2002 where I was able to compliment my art studies with independent study in the Microbiology Department.

I have always had a keen interest in science and medicine fueled by relatives who worked in medical fields as well as personal experiences with medical procedures.  With recent advances and events in biotechnology, health epidemics, and bio-terrorism my interest in science and medicine is as stimulated as ever.  Reality makeover shows, cloned sheep, anti-microbial products, pharmaceutical commercials all serve as fuel for inspiration for my work.

My work has been exhibited at Bay Area venues including SFMOMA Artist's Gallery, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, Catharine Clark Gallery, San Francisco Arts Commission, Headlands Center for the Arts, and Southern Exposure.  I have shown nationally Nexus Gallery (Philadelphia, PA), Galerie Lelong, (New York, NY), and Delta Axis Gallery (Memphis, TN).  I am currently a fellow at Kala Art Institute (Berkeley, CA).

www.laurasplan.com
laura@laurasplan.com

Doilies (SARS Virus)
16.5" x 16.5" each framed
computerized machine embroidery with thread, velvet, wood, plexiglas
2004

Thought Patterns
12"H x 12"W each
blood on watercolor paper
2003