Lisa von Koch
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| Pollination Performance The Pollenatrix, performance in field of gourds south of Phoenix, AZ, 2009. Photo by Joshua White |
My work deals with the constant negotiation I find between my allegiance to nature and my allegiance to culture. In my explorations of the impact of nature on humans, and human impact on nature, I find myself always making compromises and facing hypocrisy. As a human, an American, and an artist, I have come to a point where I must acknowledge the fact that I am an obsessive consumer of materials. It has become imperative that I find a way to adapt my art/life practices to be more sustainable. Because the decadent way of life that I enjoy is terminal, it is crucial that I make strong, urgent work using gentle, sensitive materials. The forms and materials I use speak of accumulation and abundance, while simultaneously revealing the inherent fragility of living organisms. The ephemeral nature of performance work also serves this agenda, while offering a direct and compelling form of communication.
Currently, my body of work deals with the issues surrounding the Bee Colony Collapse Disorder.Using bees as a model for a sustainable way to live in the world, and calling attention to the plethora of human error that has allowed for their impending demise has given my work drive and focus. In an effort to be a sustainable artist, I have switched to using renewable, natural, and found materials to create the work.Like a bee, I forage for usable material in my immediate environment, and the resulting forms become evidence of the human environment that I love and despise, reject and need.In the end, though the struggle is apparent, the work must be beautiful, if unbalanced; thought provoking, if inconclusive.
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| Beeswane Installation Beeswane Installation, Harry Wood Gallery, Tempe, AZ, 2009.
DImensions variable, Photo by Joshua White |
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| Public Pollination Performance The Pollenatrix, performance on Mill Avenue, Tempe, AZ, 2009. Photo by Joshua White |