Bernadette Vielbig

Solo Exhibition, Objects of my Affection; or How a Sculptor came to Terms with Teaching Color & Design.  Chase Gallery @ City Hall, Spokane, WA 2006

“ I Love myself when I am laughing… and then again when I am looking mean and impressive.”

                                                                                                Zora Neale Hurston

I have consistently addressed notions of the domestic interior with a current interest in creating reliquaries or iconic objects.  These works are very contingent upon what I find in my daily quest for things.  Combining the found with the fabricated addresses my love for the processes of collecting and creating.  The final results are usually heavy with irreverence and irony, from a humorous point of view.

This particular body of work is based out of a notion I entertained while designing this body of work.  I knew I wanted to collect and catalogue objects for this venue (Chase Gallery @ City Hall in Spokane, WA), but I struggled with what and why for some time until I had an idea that changed my approach to creating.

For 10 years I taught a course in color & design 9 months out of the year.  I had success with this class- however I needed to come to terms with the idea of painting color wheels for the next decade. I am also a full time artist that deals with sculpture and the inherent color of things- not applied color.  So I decided to hire someone to dye my hair into the 12 point color wheel and ended up looking like a rainbow bright doll for three days. That act inspired me to find the theory of color and pigment mixing in our consumer based identities.  With the assistance of several wonderful people, collecting, cataloguing, and cleaning piles of monochromatic refuse I amassed hundreds of thousands of objects.  From holiday décor to furniture and everything in between, thousands of cast offs are being catalogued into the science and form of man made color.

The collection of objects led to the final realization of the hair I had dyed and cut off.  The tree I used for the paint-brush hair swatters fell in my yard late winter.  The magazine clipping collages were started with student donations and recycled magazines.  And my favorite the cast off icons were all purchased at local resale shops…note the price differences between region of origin.

I see this work as not only a thoughtful task - but as a portrait of my community, completely local materials.  Found not fabricated.  Given back to the community in which it came.

Bernadette Y Vielbig

Coming to terms with the fact that I teach Color & Design. Final image after dye job.  

Things Cherished; A monochromatic cataloguing of non-recycled found trash from this community based on the 12-point color wheel.  Found objects.  Cleaned & sorted.

All items were available for purchase for $1.00 each and were signed by the artist. Essentially I sold my community back its’ garbage.

1960's globe, sequins, adhesive, ribbon.  Collection of Pamela Erickson Lowe

Some happy shoppers receiving their delivered times after the close of the exhibition.  * it took the artist over 3 months to hand deliver all items not picked up the day we struck the show.