Okay, so doing this every Monday didn’t get off to a perfect start, but if you had yesterday off for President’s Day then you are still getting to see this as you kick off your work week.
Naz Shahrokh, Tree of Life, detail, 2003
594 Glass Jars Filled With Stems, Dried and Pulverized Petals, Leaves, and Metal Wire on Tree
I ran across these really cool art installations by Naz Shahrokh, whose work has a deep connection with the natural world.
Landscape and nature act as important sources of inspiration throughout my work. I consider my work linked in tradition with the Ethnographic arts, as my studio practice is inspired by my direct surroundings, while also to native man’s relationship with nature and the cosmos, and to modern and contemporary artists who have drawn their inspiration from the natural environment.
I strive to reference a harmonious meditative visual experience. Along with the use of detritus, either synthetic or organic or the mélange of the two, I attempt to transform the typically disregarded and commonplace materials into something less ordinary. I am drawn to the tactile process of assembling, collecting, giving new meaning to materials. The process of creating order out of chaos is a meditation and process that is deeply meaningful.
© Ayyub Hamilton
Spice Wall + Detail 2010 collected spices and herbs in plastic bags on wall 287 x 380cm
This is so beautiful. I bet it smelled fantastic. Here is her statement regarding this installation:
This project is site-specific to the palette of the East, as it is an investigation of spices/herbs found throughout the Gulf region, the Middle East, and North Africa. I began the process of collecting these materials in Egypt, but the source of inspiration derives from a visit to Iran in 1995 where I had for the first time experienced the mounts of spices found at the local bazaar in a town called Rascht (where my mother is from).
The process of collection of spices took many years until I was at a place where I could finally begin assembling the work. The formal framework in this project is appropriated from Ellsworth Kelly, as the vertical rainbow is inspired by his work. The plastic bags that house each spice/herb is site-specific to Abu Dhabi (UAE), as these are the bags in which one finds the local spices sold.
Artist Palette (For Agnes Martin), 1999-2001, jars filled with dried and pulverized petals and leaves, rock, gridded paper pad, metal brush, paint tube and feather in metal wooden box. 6 x 14 x 2 ½”
Artist Palette 1, 1999-2001, collected earth pigments, glass jars, rocks, stems, metal brush, paint tube in metal container , 12 x 11 ½ x ¾” © Jennifer Osborne
Artist Palette 3, 2004, collected and assembled materials 6” x 20” x 2 ½” © Jennifer Osborne
These Artist Palettes are my favorite. I find so much inspiration in the colors of the world around me, I love that you can at first glance look at a landscape and think “brown” or “green”, but when you get down into it the shades of colors seem infinite.
Lesley is a painter living and working in Portland, Oregon.
