8/22/2016 Interview with Artist Molly Dilworth(Paintings for Satellites/561 Grand, Infrared-Reflective Coating on Roof, 2010, 6000 sq. ft. Aerial photo of rooftop painting at 561 Grand Avenue, Brooklyn, NY in conjunction with CoolRoofs NYC. The image represents the NYC harbor after a 7 meter rise in sea levels. The blue is the water as it is today, the brown is the land that would be left after such a rise and the white is the new water line.) AHC: Can you tell us a bit about your process, themes & inspirations? Molly: I'm curious about things that invisibly motivate our actions. My specific interests range from phenomena in the physical world - hydrogeology or weather patterns - to human-built structures such as trade routes or new technologies. This began with making Paintings for Satellites, paintings on rooftops and street surfaces to be seen on Google Earth when it was a new tool. (Oakdale/Carver pool, Masonry paint on concrete, 2012, 40,000 sq. ft. Painting for the Oakdale Pool, once a segregated public swimming pool, with an inlaid outline of the Carver Pool, the once all black pool in Salina. ) In the beginning I needed to get a handle on making something on a large scale, and understand how materials would behave exposed to the elements. After I understood how to do that I began thinking about the history of the sites I was painting. For a long time now I’ve been looking at traditional mostly textile patterns as method to investigate and communicate these histories. In the past couple of years I’ve been thinking a lot about global trade, both in how it shapes human behavior and in the materials it generates. Although it’s very efficient, all this production generates a lot of waste that, here in the U.S. ends up in landfills. I’ve been using those excess or obsolete materials to create sculptures with vernacular techniques – braiding, whittling, sewing – to establish a personal link to this system of global trade which at this point is so pervasive that it’s impossible to avoid. It’s a way for me to understand the world. (Fort Industry, Masonry paint on cinder block, 2015, 20,000 sq. ft. Mural project for a city park department building to be viewed from I-280 in Toldeo, OH. An updated version of dazzle camouflage, used to disguise ships in World War 2, combining patterns from the Bauhaus school with historic Native American decorative motifs from the Ohio Valley. The design gives a nod to close ties between Toledo and European industrial production, but is built on the visual architecture of pre-European traditions.) There is really no short list of inspiration for me, but recently I’ve been thinking a lot about the 2013 exhibition Interwoven Globe: The Worldwide Textile Trade, 1500 – 1800 which is a beautifully researched education in how trade was established. I just saw a very nice Shelia Hicks show at the Joslyn Museum in Omaha and I’ve always been a Stuart Davis fan so his show at the Whitney was a pleasure. (A to Z, 2016, dimensions variable (work in progress) A series of sculptures to develop a taxonomy using vernacular techniques with materials from the waste stream.) AHC: What first drew you to art? Was there a specific moment in your life or turning point where it became clear to you that you were being called to create? Molly: I grew up in the Midwest making a lot of crafts, studied art as an undergrad and at some point decided to go to grad school for art. There was never a eureka moment, it was more of an interest that grew deeper the more I studied and worked, combined with a disinterest in choosing a more pragmatic life. (Ghost Acre, Masonry paint on concrete, 2013, 8’ x 2’ x 60’. Pillar in the garden of The James Hotel, New York, NY Painting for the pillar in the garden at The James Hotel. Named for extraterritorial land annexed for production, the work incorporates iconography from the site (Avenue of the Americas at Canal St.) and Caribbean countries whose land contributes to the GDP of the U.S.) AHC: Who are some of your influences? Molly: My influences are a combination of contemporary artists and works from history. If I’m feeling stuck I can go to the Met and look through thousands of years of human problem solving. I really love the work of the sculptor Virginia Overton, and am a huge fan of Ann Craven. I could look at Kuba textiles from the Congo for the rest of my life and never be bored and I’m currently fascinated by this very uncharacteristic Morris Lewis painting at the Philbrook Museum in Tulsa. (Time Present, Painted aluminum, 2016, 10’ x 50’ x 3’Sculpture for the 40th and Airport light rail station, Denver, CO Inspired by contemporary nanoscience research at Colorado School of Mines and experimental dome building in Trinidad and Gardner, the metal relief sculptures for the 40th & Airport station honor the experimentation, innovation and future problem-solving that are critical to the culture of Colorado.) AHC: Where do you find the inspiration for your pieces? Molly: My work is always a feedback loop between the research I’m doing and the work in the studio. Sometimes the research starts with a location, and sometimes with a topic that leads to a location. Often one body of work bleeds into another when research from one project becomes relevant to the next. (Flag State / Greenwood, installation) (Cool Water, Hot Island, Ride-a-Way on street surface, 2010, 5 blocks/50,000 sq. ft. View looking south from the 47th Street. The color palette of cool swirling blues alludes to the historical geography of midtown, especially the Great Kill stream that once flowed near contemporary Times Square. The cool colors were chosen to make the plazas more calm and comfortable for pedestrians, and to contrast with the reds and yellows of the neon billboards.) (Flag State / Greenwood This project, to be installed between the anniversary of the May 31 Tulsa Disaster and Juneteenth 2016, will mark historically significant sites with flags in the Greenwood District of Tulsa, OK. The 1921 Tulsa Riot, often referred to locally as the Tulsa Massacre, saw the complete destruction of one of the wealthiest African American neighborhoods in the US.) AHC: Do you have any upcoming exhibits or new projects you'd like to tell people about? Molly: This year I installed my first permanent sculpture in Denver, at the 40th & Airport light rail station. Some of my Flag State flags are installed at the Oklahoma Contemporary Showroom at 11thand Broadway in Oklahoma City through the end of October. The flags will also be at the I Dread to Think exhibition at the Boston Center for the Arts in January 2017. In September 2017 my permanent installation for the Portland State University School of Business will open. My painting Ghost Acre can always be seen on the column of the James Hotel on Canal and 6th Avenue in New York. (Studio wall painting, acrylic, gouache and colored pencil, 2016, 12’ x 20’ (work in progress) Painting for the wall of my studio in the Tulsa Artist Fellowship based on signage of businesses destroyed in the Greenwood District of Tulsa during the 1921 Tulsa Massacre.) (Flag State / Red, collaged sailcloth, braided cord, fiberglass pole, 2015, dimensions variable. Installation at Respond, Smack Mellon, Brooklyn, NY. Made from excess materials that are the byproduct of modern production, these flags are both abstract compositions that refer to symbolic forms of language and resistant co-optations of signs of state and corporate power. The flags are installed to mark temporary autonomous zones where discussions of state power, ethics and labor are encouraged.) (mall pattern paintings 2014 – 2016, gouache and acrylic on photo paper, 4” x 6”each A series of paintings researching non-gridded decorative patterns, to be used in future commissioned work.) (Small pattern paintings detail)
To find more of Molly Dilworth's work and for further information visit her website at www.mollydilworth.com Comments are closed.
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