Bonnie Smart
Selection of Works from 2020
"COMMUNITY POOL" SERIES, 2020
"Utility House - Progress Shot 1", 2020. Screenshot from Sketchup model.
"Utility House - Progress Shot 2", 2020. Screenshot from Sketchup model.
"Crouched", 2020. Vector rendering from Sketchup model in combination with photo editing software.
"Announcement", 2020. Vector rendering from Sketchup model in combination with photo editing software.
"RoofTop", 2020. Vector rendering from Sketchup model in combination with photo editing software.
"Community Pool - Overview", 2020. Vector rendering from Sketchup model.
"Utile", 2020. Felt pen and pencil crayon on isometric graph paper.
Extended Statement
For this project I was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Falling Water. I kept finding out that my heroes in pop culture and architecture were being unmasked by sexual assault allegations. This is not a new discovery, but it can cause us to question our own morality. I burnt the books of one of my first architectural influencers - Paolo Soleri, when after his death his daughter came forth about his abuse towards her. On the other hand, I watched Mike Tyson fight Roy Jones Jr. this weekend, when I know about Tyson’s convictions.
During a recent guest lecture from artist Dr. Sherry Farrell-Racette called Facing the Monument, she asks: “What if there are no heroes?” This really struck me and made me assess my own reactions to how I process information and connect it to my values.
I thought, Wright must have been involved in scandal. The readings I found brought back to life this influential man and the characters he surrounded himself with. Philosophers like George Gurdjieff, who believed to have the power of mind control so intense that he could make a woman orgasm from across the room. The stories I found involved many different women as well as Wright and his wives’ abilities to lure people into their larger-than-life utopias that took place within his work. But these worlds that longed for something better, did not come without consequence. One of the stories even involves murder and arson.
What Soleri and Wright had in common was that they were genius thinkers, and everyone around them wanted a piece of that, and to be a part of their communities. They had the power of cult.
Cult became a theme in this work, and I wanted to reflect both the good and bad. I thought about everything from pool parties to baptisms, celebrations, and rituals. I am trying to overcome depression, anger and I am recovering from substance abuse, to suddenly find out I am pregnant.
Life is everything all at once. I wanted to find a way to show my many skills, personalities, and afflictions: because this aspect is true to life. I felt I could get as carried away as possible into a fantasy realm, so long as there was something about the work that remained tangible and honest.
The irony about Community Pool is that I am the only one there. If you isolate yourself, you cannot get hurt. But being alone does not feel as human. As artists we are told to document everything. Then, the question becomes: What do I do with all this? I tried to create a new practice with collage for this series: parody and autobiographical; 2D and 3D.
Artist Statement
Covid-19 restrictions lent an opportunity to think outside the box or rather, within the screen. In staging, traditional galleries have us consider the confines or the vastness of a room.
Working in the realms of installation and performance,
I found myself in a virtual space while still trying to adhere to a physical one.
Utility House is a 3-dimensional environment where I shot a series called Community Pool.
The series involves sketching, garment making, architectural design and collage.
The undertaking was to stage an editorial fashion shoot, but it became a piece about being at odds with oneself, within a simulation.
The bounds of my creativity were pushed, while embracing the desperation of isolation.
"not so serial" SERIES, 2020
"Whipped" from "Not So Serial" series, 2020. Digitally altered sketches and photography.
"Topsy" from "Not So Serial" series, 2020. Digitally altered sketches and photography.
"Settle" from "Not So Serial" series, 2020. Digitally altered sketches and photography.
"3-legged race contestant", 2020
Artist Statement
3-Legged Race Contestant is both playful and perverse. A comfort toy, that is sure to bring discomfort and joy. From the side view, it looks like a reclining nude. It is a bit offensive, but that is not entirely my fault. Leaves you guessing: who are the other contestants?
"3 Legged Race Contestant", 2020.
"3 Legged Race Contestant", 2020. Hand-knit sock monkey arms and leg, sewn to Nickelodeon’s stuffed doll heads from children’s slippers, polystyrene stuffing & coat hanger.
"break you in half", 2020
"Break You In Half". Pencil on Bristol; 22″ x 30″. Oct 6, 2020.
Artist Statement
(TRIGGER WARNING: Abuse/ Sexual Violence)
I was 12 or 13 years old, the first time anyone showed sexual interest in me. A neighborhood kid (about 4 years older than me) looked at me in a crazed and deranged way, telling me he wanted to “break me in half”. My best friend reiterated to me, “that means he wants to have sex with you”.
My first sexual experiences were often met with violence, threats, and abuse. I got it in my head from an early age that people wanted to hurt me, in the most loving way possible.
A lot has transpired over the last few months. This summer, upon leaving a detox program for substance abuse – I decided to write a letter to my rapist. The events that I described took place between he and I when I was 16 years old, and he was 24. To summarize, I let this man know that he raped me before I ever had a chance to fall in love. I believe this to have been one of the many abusive situations that left me with a negative image of myself.
Upon creating this piece, I realized many things:
- It had been 13 years since I bought myself drawing supplies. I was not valuing myself, or my artwork enough to put money into something I loved – to achieve something better.
- I had not drawn noticeably male figures in my work, since the last time I was severely abused by a man (7 years ago)
Although this work may read as a piece about toxic masculinity, it means much more to me than that. It is about breaking free – the phoenix rising from the ashes, so to speak. The idea of contrived masculinity may be a factor as to why some men hold onto anger. The lack of control in their own lives, leads them to taking control of someone they perceive as being weaker.
I just think to myself: they could not be more wrong about me.
No one can ever take my resilience.
best of sketchbook, 2020
