MatriArt – Master of Fine Arts Thesis Exhibition (2002)
MatriArt was the result of two years of study at University of Cincinnati DAAP. With her first studio efforts directed at perfection of figurative imagery, Jan was discouraged by faculty who wanted to see something else. However, her preoccupation with mothering (given new status as an empty-nester and bereaved daughter of recently deceased parents) was not to be diminished. She abandoned her paintbrush, conte sticks and fine papers, turning instead to boxes full of stuff salvaged from closets and basements of her forebearers. The resulting assemblages leavened by costume design courses at UC’s CCM were bolstered with investigations in clay. The whole production gave opportunities to exercise a variety of materials and techniques, meditating through Jan’s enduring interest in art history, anthropology, spirituality, psychology and current events.
The exhibition MatriArt interprets Jan’s impressions of mothers’ collective experiences in the mid-twentieth century. The gallery was separated into two realms – the Head and the Heart – with the Mandala installation in the center, serving as a compass. In the Head are things observed, facts of life, and in the Heart are things hoped for, believed, and often deferred.
