An artist who projects a political and personal of view that shows pleasure, pin, captivity, vulnerability and injustice through her work. She took something small and made it big. She took glass beads and turned them into works of art. Some critics however do not agree that this is art; they state she is a secound-rate jewelry maker - arts and crafts person, not an artist. On the other hand some critics consider her one of the most original artists of our time. In 2002 she was awarded the MacArthur Foundation "genius" fellowship award and won $500,000.
Liza Lou was born 1969 in New York City, New York. To a mother and Father that by all accounts was not suitable to be so. A story of her life called Born Again is told in an up close setting that is a 50 minute film monologue. It was said that she was tormented as a child and maybe t
hat is what drives her as an adult. She attended The San Francisco Art Institute and studied painting. After wandering into a bead store during her first year of college she thought what a great way to paint. She soon after dropped out of school when one of her teacher told her that what she was doing was not art. She spent two years learning how to work with beads. In 1996 she presented her first piece called the Kitchen at the New Museum of Contemporary At in New York City. The piece took her five years to crate. It was a 168 square foot piece, consisting of 10 million tiny glass beads covering every surface of the s
uburban kitchen. This piece was a message to all women that they had to wash dishes for centuries and now she the artist does not have to anymore. In 1999 she produced Back Yard A piece measuring 600 square feet, contained over thirty million beads, of which 250,000 of the beads were the bleads of grass making up the lawn. This piece was exhibited at Grand Central Stations former main wating room. With her surpluses of work that she has produced she is most famous for Kitchen and Back Yard.
Lous's works of art are made from different types of mediums steel, wood, papier-mache and fiberglass. These are all covered in Czech Republic glass beads that she with the help of her family put on with tweezers. With great work comes great strain. She was diagnosed with acute tendinitis from working on the piece Kitchen.
Lou has moved to Durban, South Africa where she is creating her most recent series of sculptures and relifs. The main reason that she moved to this area was to find another way to produce her work that may help to make a difference to other people's lives. She is working with 30 Zulu artisans in a non-profit centre. She continues with her efforts to develop an economically sustainable project, while producing her own artwork.
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hat is what drives her as an adult. She attended The San Francisco Art Institute and studied painting. After wandering into a bead store during her first year of college she thought what a great way to paint. She soon after dropped out of school when one of her teacher told her that what she was doing was not art. She spent two years learning how to work with beads. In 1996 she presented her first piece called the Kitchen at the New Museum of Contemporary At in New York City. The piece took her five years to crate. It was a 168 square foot piece, consisting of 10 million tiny glass beads covering every surface of the s
uburban kitchen. This piece was a message to all women that they had to wash dishes for centuries and now she the artist does not have to anymore. In 1999 she produced Back Yard A piece measuring 600 square feet, contained over thirty million beads, of which 250,000 of the beads were the bleads of grass making up the lawn. This piece was exhibited at Grand Central Stations former main wating room. With her surpluses of work that she has produced she is most famous for Kitchen and Back Yard.Lous's works of art are made from different types of mediums steel, wood, papier-mache and fiberglass. These are all covered in Czech Republic glass beads that she with the help of her family put on with tweezers. With great work comes great strain. She was diagnosed with acute tendinitis from working on the piece Kitchen.
Lou has moved to Durban, South Africa where she is creating her most recent series of sculptures and relifs. The main reason that she moved to this area was to find another way to produce her work that may help to make a difference to other people's lives. She is working with 30 Zulu artisans in a non-profit centre. She continues with her efforts to develop an economically sustainable project, while producing her own artwork.
Lous has exhibited her art in numerous museums and galleries all around the world including, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York; Deste Foundation for Contemporary Art, Athens, Greece; The New Museum of Contemorary Art, New York, New York; Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo, Japan; Victoria and Albert Museum, London, England; Santa Monica Museum of Art, Santa Monica. California; Los Angeles Country Museum of Art, Los Angeles, California; Minneapolis Institute of Arts Minneapolis, Minnesota; the Smithsonian Institution of American Art, Washington, D.C. as while as many other. She also has been published in books and catalogues including the Leaves of Grass in a 2002 interview with Selene Wendt and Liza Lou, Liza Lou 1n 1998 by Peter Schjedahl and Marcia Tucker, and Liza Lou in 1996 by Robert Pincus, John Natsoulas Press. She has other biblographies in several other magazines.
By: April Gaither
Her work is really amazing because of the transformation she puts the material through.
ReplyDeleteYou raise an interesting question when speaking about the critics that say she is making crafts and not artwork. Her work is sort of craft based since she is using beads that are meant to be used in Jewelry. Jewelry is probably more closely related to craft or design than true fine art like painting and sculpture. Some people would disagree with that. On the far extreme ceramics, jewelry, furniture, graphic design, photography, etc are not considered fine art because their roots are in craft, design, and are utilitarian in nature. They serve a purpose. I think her work is sculpture and is fine art. This is a topic that has been around for years and it will never go away. I think it all comes down to the intent of the creator. If the intension is so make something useful that serves a functional purpose then it is not the same as those that do not have a function.