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July 2016
Interview Shirley Wagner Tucson |
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Shirley Wagner
Shirley Wagner is a widely-exhibited Tucson assemblage artist who describes wood as the “backbone” of her work. In this interview, she talks about the evolution of her artwork.
SAN: Shirley, you are a native of Ohio, lived in New York City, and you transplanted to Tucson in 1983. What brought you to Tucson?
Shirley Wagner: My husband was offered a job in Tucson, so we went West! I was nearly 9 months pregnant with my first son Richard at that time and unable to fly. We had to drive across the country. Now that my son is grown, he lives in New York City. I get back to the city often!
SAN: Your website indicates that wood has been the basis of your work for the past 14 years. Were you doing a different kind of art prior to working with wood? Or has wood always been a component in your artwork
SW: I have always been drawn to texture and relief. Before working in wood, I did a lot of work with collage and paper sculpture. I have always preferred dimensional work and work in relief. I am also obsessed with texture. Wood offered me a new texture I wanted to explore.
SAN: What do you think is the basis of your attraction to wood and assemblage as a way of creating art? Is there an idea or emotion there that drives you to wood and assemblage?
SW: While wood was another medium for creating texture and relief, it was more than that: it had soul. It was primal and made me feel connected more to the earth and to my work on an emotional level. I enjoyed handling and smelling it. It also reminded me of my childhood passion of building with tinker toys.
My earliest work was additive in process where I took small wood pieces and gathered them together on a wood substrate to create form. I spent hours in front of my mitre saw cutting up small geometric shapes. After I assembled the piece, I airbrushed the work. The paint visually unified the form. Called Landforms in Wood, this series was reminiscent of aerial views and landscapes.
As my work progressed, I found myself more drawn to found wood. It occurred to me that found wood has a history before it reaches my hand. At that time the entire recycle and upcycle movement heightened my awareness of all the found wood possibilities out there. Wherever I went, I was in search of wood. I once shipped 100 pounds of driftwood I collected on a Florida beach. Found wood fueled my imagination and made me wonder where the wood had travelled. Perhaps it drifted in the ocean for years before coming ashore. Perhaps it was a remnant from an old school desk. Perhaps it was a hand carved artifact made by another artist somewhere far away. I wanted to bring this wood to my work! I did not have to alter this wood very much. I just had to honor it. From that point on, I rarely painted the wood. I allowed its natural color and texture to tell its own story within a contemporary context.
SAN: Shirley, you are a native of Ohio, lived in New York City, and you transplanted to Tucson in 1983. What brought you to Tucson?
Shirley Wagner: My husband was offered a job in Tucson, so we went West! I was nearly 9 months pregnant with my first son Richard at that time and unable to fly. We had to drive across the country. Now that my son is grown, he lives in New York City. I get back to the city often!
SAN: Your website indicates that wood has been the basis of your work for the past 14 years. Were you doing a different kind of art prior to working with wood? Or has wood always been a component in your artwork
SW: I have always been drawn to texture and relief. Before working in wood, I did a lot of work with collage and paper sculpture. I have always preferred dimensional work and work in relief. I am also obsessed with texture. Wood offered me a new texture I wanted to explore.
SAN: What do you think is the basis of your attraction to wood and assemblage as a way of creating art? Is there an idea or emotion there that drives you to wood and assemblage?
SW: While wood was another medium for creating texture and relief, it was more than that: it had soul. It was primal and made me feel connected more to the earth and to my work on an emotional level. I enjoyed handling and smelling it. It also reminded me of my childhood passion of building with tinker toys.
My earliest work was additive in process where I took small wood pieces and gathered them together on a wood substrate to create form. I spent hours in front of my mitre saw cutting up small geometric shapes. After I assembled the piece, I airbrushed the work. The paint visually unified the form. Called Landforms in Wood, this series was reminiscent of aerial views and landscapes.
As my work progressed, I found myself more drawn to found wood. It occurred to me that found wood has a history before it reaches my hand. At that time the entire recycle and upcycle movement heightened my awareness of all the found wood possibilities out there. Wherever I went, I was in search of wood. I once shipped 100 pounds of driftwood I collected on a Florida beach. Found wood fueled my imagination and made me wonder where the wood had travelled. Perhaps it drifted in the ocean for years before coming ashore. Perhaps it was a remnant from an old school desk. Perhaps it was a hand carved artifact made by another artist somewhere far away. I wanted to bring this wood to my work! I did not have to alter this wood very much. I just had to honor it. From that point on, I rarely painted the wood. I allowed its natural color and texture to tell its own story within a contemporary context.
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SAN: A review of your website gallery shows us a series of works you’ve done since 2004. It was very interesting to see references to the work of Louise Nevelson in in your early 2004 series, Landforms in Wood, although your work has always been less formalistic and far more colorful than her work. Do you see Nevelson as an influence in the development of your work?
SW: Louise Nevelson has absolutely had an influence on my work. When I saw a retrospect of her work at the Jewish Museum of Art in New York City, I cried in her wedding chapel. What I most enjoy about her work is the form, texture and monumental quality. Her references to light and shadow always intrigued me. Other artists who have influenced me are Robert Rauchenberg for his combines and Joseph Cornell for his "cabinets of curiosity". SAN: Nevelson is viewed as having had a strong feminist influence on the art world of her time. According to her bio in Wikipedia, “Nevelson challenged the vision of what type of art women would be creating with her dark, monumental, masculine and totem-like artworks.” Have you had to contend with your artwork being questioned because you are a woman working with wood? SW: Absolutely. I am so glad you asked this question! Often people look at my work and say "YOU did this?" My work is strong and bold and requires a good degree of physical strength. I do all my own work and have learned to master all the power tools required to complete my vision. I guess it just looks like it was done by a male artist! On a side note - men are very drawn to my work. The greatest conversations about my work are usually with men! I have always found it difficult to enter a big box store and discuss my needs with a salesperson. No one took me seriously and it got to a point that they would run when I entered the power tool department! By the way, in high school I wanted to take shop classes with the boys to learn how to use tools and build a box. I was forced to take home economics because I was a girl. In home ec, I was given several yards of red checked fabric...ugh... to make an apron. Instead of making an apron, I ripped the fabric into strips and wove a wall hanging! My home ec teacher just let me alone to do my own thing. I remember feeling so bold and emblazzened to do that. I only regret that I do not still own that piece! When I went to college I was finally able to learn how to use power tools and learn how to weld. Sculpture was my favorite subject! |
SWagner_Tsunami_ 2009
SWagner_Continuity in Space_ 2015
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(click on all images to enlarge)
SAN: Tell us about your Human Vessels series. (below left) These works seem to speak to the human experience in a deep way and yet with some humor and whimsy. Was that your intent?
SW: Since my work involves a great deal of physical dexterity, I was delighted to hold a wooden bowl in my lap to create the Human Vessel series. I played. My inspiration came from admiring the inside of a large geode and I approached this work very lightheartedly.
SAN: Your Small Works series seems to have found a way to explore abstract imagery in a colorful and vibrant way. Most of these are only about 10” on the longest side. What is the experience for you of creating these assemblages in a smaller format?
SW: The Small Works series are actually maquettes or studies for larger work. I created them as studies and never expected to sell them so well. When I meet a new collector, they usually invest in a small work and eventually come back to commission me for a larger piece.
SAN: Your works in recent years have included other types of materials: pieces of metal, wire, fiber, and even some mineral stones (and geodes?) There are some works that even have collaged papers included. What made you decide to move in this direction and start including these new materials in your works?
SW: While I will never totally abandon wood in my work, my work has become more content based over the years. I searched for more materials that that when combined, stimulate thought. As I say in my artist statement: "My assemblage work is both simple and complex at the same time. It is born from simple material choices that evolve into complex narratives that reference history and time."
SAN: Tell us about your Human Vessels series. (below left) These works seem to speak to the human experience in a deep way and yet with some humor and whimsy. Was that your intent?
SW: Since my work involves a great deal of physical dexterity, I was delighted to hold a wooden bowl in my lap to create the Human Vessel series. I played. My inspiration came from admiring the inside of a large geode and I approached this work very lightheartedly.
SAN: Your Small Works series seems to have found a way to explore abstract imagery in a colorful and vibrant way. Most of these are only about 10” on the longest side. What is the experience for you of creating these assemblages in a smaller format?
SW: The Small Works series are actually maquettes or studies for larger work. I created them as studies and never expected to sell them so well. When I meet a new collector, they usually invest in a small work and eventually come back to commission me for a larger piece.
SAN: Your works in recent years have included other types of materials: pieces of metal, wire, fiber, and even some mineral stones (and geodes?) There are some works that even have collaged papers included. What made you decide to move in this direction and start including these new materials in your works?
SW: While I will never totally abandon wood in my work, my work has become more content based over the years. I searched for more materials that that when combined, stimulate thought. As I say in my artist statement: "My assemblage work is both simple and complex at the same time. It is born from simple material choices that evolve into complex narratives that reference history and time."
SWagner_Raising the Bar_ 2010
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SWagner_Urban Composition No. 5_ 2011
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SWagner_Streak_ 2014
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SWagner_Etude_ 2014
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SWagner
SAN: What direction do you think you will be going with your art in the future?
SW: Well, in the last two months I have turned my attention to jewelry as an art form! It is an extension of my formal work that continues my lifelong interest in sculpture, layering and form. This work takes my art making practice to a new level because I am using regional materials native to the desert including turquoise, agate, obsidian, petrified wood and bone. By altering the scale of my work so that it relates to human form, I bring my own contemporary aesthetic to this new field.
SWagner_Exude_ 2014
SAN: What do you think would make life easier for artists in southern Arizona?
SW: There is a large community of contemporary artists in our community doing excellent work. I wish locals supported the contemporary arts as much as snow birds do! In general I wish that living artists would be supported more.
See more of Shirley Wagner's work at ShirleyWagner.com
SW: There is a large community of contemporary artists in our community doing excellent work. I wish locals supported the contemporary arts as much as snow birds do! In general I wish that living artists would be supported more.
See more of Shirley Wagner's work at ShirleyWagner.com