Visions In Clay 2023
Amanda Barr (she/her)
Amanda Barr is a habitual nomad, having lived in six states and four countries in the past 14 years. She holds an MFA in studio, an MA in art history, and an MA in modern languages. She recently joined the art faculty at University of Northern Iowa to teach ceramics and art history, and lives in Waterloo, Iowa with her cats. Amanda founded the non-profit We Aren’t Invisible in 2016 to highlight the work of marginalized artists and push for more equity and access for under-represented and oppressed populations in the arts.
I use my own history of trauma, abuse, and disability to create objects that are at once culturally recognizable and highly personal; it is my hope that each viewer will recognize the overarching themes and identify them within their own experiences, thus encountering a moment of reflection, empathy, or even catharsis. My work is meant to be uncomfortable, to evoke a sense of anxiety or disquiet. Trauma is a disruption, so my work is created to be eerily beautiful, delicate and fine porcelain and glass formed into shapes with unsettling evocations. Society may prefer we not address this, but only by confronting and addressing them can we move forward.
"Lost in Translation" addresses the issues that trauma can create in communication; whether that be a physical trauma that damages ability to speak, think, or understand language, or mental and emotional trauma that significantly effects abilities to process, connect, and manage interpersonal relationships. My work is my voice, and a way to help others connect, to feel heard, and to even help them begin to communicate.
Dasvidaniya (Goodbye)
Porcelain, slip-dipped burnout elk skull and arrowleaf balsamroot flowers, resin, dye, cone 6
11x12x5”
2020
$350