Debra Disman

Artist

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Materiality

Hemp as Material and Muse

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I was thrilled to be contacted by Nadine Avillar,  the art director at Hemptique,  a hemp and natural fiber craft supply company based in San Diego.  Hemptique manufactures a large variety of hemp cords, ropes, twine, paper, fabrics, as well as bamboo and cotton products. They are the  creator of organic apparel, accessories, with a focus on hemp products and supplies.

I use a great deal of hemp cord in my works, often listing it as a primary material.

Nadine contacted me in regards to my piece , “Before the Fall“.  Hemptique was going to be an exhibitor at NAMTA, (Art and Creative Craft Materials, an organization for the creative industry) 2023 and she wanted to use a photo of my work on one of their promotional banners. NAMTA is the publisher of ART MATERIALS magazine and hold a trade show every year.

She said Hemptique has many contributors that work with their products who are more or less “crafters.” She wanted to show how I have used hemp cord in my mixed-media works. Eventually, the owners of Hemptique decided they wanted to use an image of another of my pieces, “Red Notebook” on the banner,

and an image of “Before the Fall” on their promotional postcard.

I was honored to be represented in this way, and also so happy to received boxes of marvelous Hemptique products/supplies/materials, to use not only in my works, but in projects, classes, programs and workshops that I conduct across LA Country. This was truly a win-win situation and I hope to continue the relationship with Hemptique, Nadine and the owners and staff with more collaborations and new ways of presenting, sharing about and promoting their wares.
Long Live HEMP!

 

CONCURRENCIES: Charlotte Salomon and Eva Hesse: The Visitors

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On June 25th, 2022 I held an open studio to share works created for my 2021-22 Santa Monica Artist Project Fellowship:

Charlotte Salomon and Eva Hesse: Genius, Trauma and the Invention of New Forms of Visual Art in Response to the Holocaust

Employing research, artistic production, public engagement, the project investigates, compares and links the lives and the groundbreaking work of Jewish women artists Charlotte Salomon and Eva Hesse on the basis of their shared experience of trauma and loss through the Jewish Holocaust, the remarkably similar intimate traumas of their families (both lost their mothers to suicide), their invention of new forms of visual art through which I posit they respond to and attempt to cope with these traumas,  their early deaths, and the emotional involvement of each with a charismatic and powerful male artist who proved to be influential, even pivotal in the development of their work and artistic/creative breakthroughs.

Themes of the project include being a woman artist, being a Jewish women artist, being an artist during or affected by a profoundly turbulent time in history, the relationship between internal and external turbulence and the creative act and the transformative power of the creative process:  the triumph of the imagination as opposed to the triumph of the will.

On a broader scale, the project examines, through these two geniuses, ways in which the creative process can transform traumatic pasts, and how trauma can elicit the creation of new forms, voices and materials that outlast their makers and continue to reverberate throughout the ages, inspiring posterity.

As part of my Fellowship project commitment, I created a series of works responding to these artists: their oeuvre, their lives, their concurrencies. I was thrilled to welcome friends, colleagues and students to share the works and say hello!  (All images by Steve Hankins Photography)

 




Thank you all, and thank you Steve Hankins, for your beautiful photography and capturing of the event.

CONCURRENCIES: Charlotte Salomon and Eva Hesse: The Works

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On June 25th, 2022 I held an open studio to share works created for my 2021-22 Santa Monica Artist Project Fellowship:

Charlotte Salomon and Eva Hesse: Genius, Trauma and the Invention of New Forms of Visual Art in Response to the Holocaust

Employing research, artistic production, public engagement, the project investigates, compares and links the lives and the groundbreaking work of Jewish women artists Charlotte Salomon and Eva Hesse on the basis of their shared experience of trauma and loss through the Jewish Holocaust, the remarkably similar intimate traumas of their families (both lost their mothers to suicide), their invention of new forms of visual art through which I posit they respond to and attempt to cope with these traumas,  their early deaths, and the emotional involvement of each with a charismatic and powerful male artist who proved to be influential, even pivotal in the development of their work and artistic/creative breakthroughs.

Themes of the project include being a woman artist, being a Jewish women artist, being an artist during or affected by a profoundly turbulent time in history, the relationship between internal and external turbulence and the creative act and the transformative power of the creative process:  the triumph of the imagination as opposed to the triumph of the will.

On a broader scale, the project examines, through these two geniuses, ways in which the creative process can transform traumatic pasts, and how trauma can elicit the creation of new forms, voices and materials that outlast their makers and continue to reverberate throughout the ages, inspiring posterity.

As part of my Fellowship project commitment, I created a series of works responding to these artists: their oeuvre, their lives, their concurrencies, some of which I share here: (All images by Steve Hankins Photography)

Working title: “Concurrencies I“, 2022, repurposed denim, linen thread, gold thread, hemp cord, varnish


Working title: “Concurrencies II“, begun, 2022 (unfinished), repurposed denim, linen thread, gold thread, varnish , to be developed


Working title, “Finally“, 2022, canvas, burlap, acrylic paint, hemp cord


Working title, “Finally“, 2022, canvas, burlap, acrylic paint, hemp cord, (details)


“I Can’t I Won’t I will I Do“, 2022, repurposed cotton table runner, hemp cord, acrylic paint


“It’s Not Black and White“, 2021, Bookboard, mulberry paper, repurposed typewriter tape, canvas, hemp cord, (exterior)


“It’s Not Black and White“, 2021, Bookboard, mulberry paper, repurposed typewriter tape, canvas, hemp cord, (exterior/interior)


“Forest Through The Trees“, 2021, bookboard, hemp cord, watercolor paper, acrylic paint, wood, canvas, repurposed typewriter tape, lace, (exterior)


“Forest Through The Trees“, 2021, bookboard, hemp cord, watercolor paper, acrylic paint, wood, canvas, repurposed typewriter tape, lace, (detail)


Working title: “Charlotte Salomon-Eva Hesse: Concurrencies“, 2022, repurposed family album, burlap, linen thread, collage/paper,  (exterior)

Studio Notes: Texture Tactility Tactile Textile

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Today I am sharing some explorations into “tactile textiles,”, a term coined, as  understand it, by Anni Albers, tactile textile artist/weaver!

Such works and materials become spaces, places, rooms, lands, terrain, forests…tactile explorations into the unknown, guided by, among other things, the sense of touch, a tactile sensibility.

 

Detail of “Forest Through The Trees”, book board, hemp cord, wood, canvas, acrylic paint, used typewriter ribbon, ribbon

Test piece/sample, paper, jute cord

Detail of “It’s Not Black or White”,  book board, mulberry paper, used typewriter ribbon

Detail of “FruitFull” (in process), textile samples, hemp cord

Stacked pieces of “to the trade” folded textile samples


Stacked pieces of repurposed and folded denim cut from jeans

Material III at the D’Art Center

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I am thrilled to be showing in MATERIAL III at the D’Art Center, “an exhibition of original fiber artworks from across the country highlighting the quality and variety of artworks utilizing fiber as a major component, including non-functional, 2D, 3D, fine art, and fine craft in fiber including mixed media works, in a variety of styles, co-curated by gallery manager Amanda Bradley and exhibition juror, Ryan Lytle.”
Kudos to Amanda for hanging my piece, “Before the Fall”  in such a great way!

I am honored to be honorably mentioned!

Congratulations to our award winners:
Honorable Mentions
Debra Disman from Los Angeles, CA for her fiber art sculptural book, Before the Fall.
Statement: Inspired by the book, my work has evolved into a focused material exploration driven by a visceral relationship with cloth, thread, cord and string. I engage the actions of folding, stitching, tearing, cutting and gluing in a continual effort to build and create, tear and break down, heal and repair, as a way of navigating the tension of opposites. While referencing the book as structure, the work has moved progressively into other conceptual realms where devotion to material labor and a passion for the haptic become powerful motivators and themes.

See the Live, In-Person AWARDS EVENT HERE!

Exhibitionista: Material III at d’Art Center

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I am thrilled to be showing in MATERIAL III, an exhibition of original fiber artworks from across the country highlighting the quality and variety of artworks utilizing fiber as a major component, including non-functional, 2D, 3D, fine art, and fine craft in fiber including mixed media works, in a variety of styles, co-curated by gallery manager Amanda Bradley and exhibition juror, Ryan Lytle.

I am showing “BEFORE THE FALL“, a sculptural book that is hung!

See the Live, In-Person AWARDS EVENT HERE!