Big Girls in Rogue
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Big Girls and Bad Air Coos Art Museum Vaughn Gallery Coos Bay Oregon December 11, 2020 - January 30, 2021 The Bad Air series consists of nine large charcoal drawings and is continuation of the triptych, Big Girls. Each piece portrays a solitary female figure. Each woman is isolated in her own space. This work is about the trials of 2020. This work is also an examination of all the bad stuff we have all been breathing for years. These nine large women show the effects of negativity with their facial expression and awkward posture. They are isolated and frustrated. My body, again, was used as the model for this work. This work was created during the time of Covid, the Oregon wildfires and social unrest. This work was made for the Coos Art Museum, specifically for the Vaughn Gallery. Location is an important part of my research. The space in which my work dwells is part of the process. I visited the museum, the City of Coos Bay, and Sunset Beach. I modeled on the beach and the surrounding areas. I was exhausted when I arrived. The photoshoot felt like an encapsulation of the trials of 2020. At first, I was disappointed with the images. However, I began to understand that my exhaustion had to be part of the work. Covid and other chaos of 2020 had affected me in ways I had not fully processed. It took me seeing images of myself, so unbelievably spent, to truly understand how to move forward with these nine women. When I returned to my studio, I knew I wanted the work to be about the year we have all experienced. At the same time, I knew the work had to be a continuation of Big Girls in order for the work to share space in the Coos Art Museum. The Oregon fires were raging, filling the valley where I live with smoke. Apocalyptic smoke. It was hard to think, let alone create. All over the news were warnings about breathing the toxic air. The bad air felt like a metaphor for the toxic atmosphere of our culture. I have been breathing the bad air of hypocrisy and lies. Sexism and racism hang over our country like a toxic cloud. This work confronts the bad air of societal injustices. Each piece illustrates an immediate reaction to the negativity of long term hardships and faulty constructs. The drawings reference various sources that include direct observation and photographs of my body. Three major influences for this work are Lisa Yuskavage, John Currin and Fernando Botera. The work takes on the abstraction and absurdity of Lisa Yuskavage and John Currin, while embracing the bigness of Botera. Big Girls consists of three larger-than-life charcoal drawings. Each piece portrays a monumental female figure. The contrast of marks and black charcoal on a field of white paper add a dramatic distinction between the body and the space that surrounds each woman. The indeterminacy of place suggests both sanctuary and confinement. Each figure presses up against the edges of the picture plane contemplating their conformity. I am both the artist and the model in these drawings, which adds to the diaristic approach in each piece. Each panel features a foregrounded female figure. Her physical mass touches every side of the rectangle. These drawings are not a rebuke of thick thighs or large breasts; nor are they about sexualizing the body. Rather, this work investigates how women dwell in space. The women, with their doll-like hands, stable their mass, as they touch the Earth. The triptych is about confrontation, contemplation, and confinement. The drawings reference various sources that include direct observation and photographs of my body. Two major influences are Michelangelo's Sibyls and the Madonna of the Doni Tondo. Both the Madonna and Sibyls are large, muscular women who occupy the space they dwell with confidence and knowledge of their self-worth. Another influence was Henrik Ibsen's play, The Doll's House. The play centers around the transformation of one woman from a doll to a real woman. The women in Big Girls are in a state of transformation as well. They are in a place of waiting as they contemplate their worthiness and how they are allowed to dwell in their allocated spaces. M. V. Moran earned her MFA in Visual Studies from Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon. Moran has a BFA in Painting from the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. After several years of working at the UO in Student Services, she resigned from her position and began her dream of becoming a professional artist. Moran is also an Adjunct Professor of Art at Bushnell University in Eugene, Oregon and is an Artist-in-Residence for the Lane Arts Council. M. V. Moran  The transportation costs for this exhibition was made possible by a grant from the Oregon Arts Commission. Image: Bad Air: Passive, charcoal on paper on panel, 24"x80", 2020. $1090
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despondent Group Exhibition Maude Kerns Art Center Eugene, Oregon February 21, 2020 - March 20, 2020 Opening Reception Friday, February 21, 2020 6 pm - 8 pm Artists' Talk Saturday, March 14, 2020 1:30 pm - 3 pm The Three Ladies consists of three large scaled mixed media drawings. The women are despondent and each are named appropriately, Disheartened, Discouraged and Dispirited. Each large panel portrays a female figure in a swimsuit. The location in time and space is not known by the women or the viewer. The building's history was a major influence for this work. The building was once Fairmount Presbyterian Church. The congregation aged out in the 1950s, and then the building became the art center it is today. The knowledge of a congregation aging out nagged at me. I knew of church bodies growing out of a facility, but not one that had closed. The fact that people no longer wanted to be part of the Gospel was saddening. I wondered if the congregation relocated and what happened to their descendants. The building once offered a place of sanctuary for the sinful, Sunday School classes for children, then no longer. I took this idea of aging out and applied the concept to my own body and my own faith. I am the model and the muse for these drawings. The drawings were also influenced by Lucas Cranach the Elder's Three Graces and Botticelli's Three Graces of the Primavera. The three women stand in 1950s styled swimsuits modeling their outfits in an old church. They are a bit too fat to be lazily standing about in swim wear. As if transported from a dressing room to the panel. Their location is not the beach or a hotel pool. The women do not have sunglasses, sunscreen or a drink. They are to be viewed. They are purposely created to be on display. But, for whom? They are not the graven images of the icon, nor the pin up girls of the 1950s. These women are somewhere between the virgin and the old hag. Author Edwin Mullins in his book, The Painted Witch states, "the good woman can be classified in declining order of excellence, the four-star virgin, the three-star wife, the two-star deflowered martyr and then finally the repentant wanton." Therefore, a woman’s value is based on societies view in that place and time. These women do not fit into the categories above. They are purely three woman. The central centered figure is the only woman who looks out to the viewer. One looks to her sister with sadness, the other appears to be judging the two. Dispirited's eyebrows are lowered and her gaze is focused completely outside the picture plane. The women have large breasts, round and full of life. The palette of black, white and gray reinforce the solitude. These women stand awkwardly, childless in their own confinement, are embedded into the panel. They cannot move, but are eternally stuck in their isolation. Circles and spheres float about, some seem to move in and out of the middle ground, but the women are completely adhered. Their bellies are flat, one with the panel. No life exists in these bodies only regret and dismay. M. V. Moran earned her MFA in Visual Studies from Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon. Moran has a BFA in Painting from the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. After several years of working at the UO in Student Services, she resigned from her position and began her dream of becoming a professional artist. She exhibits extensively and has been invited to show new work at the Coos Art Museum in 2020. Moran is an Adjunct Professor of Art at NCU in Eugene, Oregon and a Lane Arts Council Artist-in-Residence. M. V. Moran Image information: The Three Ladies (detail) Disheartened 36"x80" mixed media 2020 $1100 Primarily Solo Exhibition The City of Auburn Events and Community Gallery Auburn, Washington November 21, 2019 - January 8, 2020 This newest exhibition, Primarily, is a combination, a continuation and an opportunity to expand the ideas of my anxious circles series. This work is a response to that sense of hopelessness in humankind. A response to the lost cause, the forgotten person and the lonely figure. This solo exhibition is about the continued research into relationships, loss and the primary force that keeps each of us in Hope. My work is consistently about a response to loss, reconciliation and my relationship with God. The writings of C. S. Lewis has inspired much of my work, including this body of work. Lewis' book, A Grief Observed was a major influence for Primarily. In his book, he writes of loss, love and continuing to live without the love of his life. He writes about humans being like circles who touch and complete each other. The way C. S. Lewis writes about his loss and the great love he shared with another person, holds a truth that I want to experience in my own life. I want that kind of openness with others. The circles dance about searching for each other, hoping to be transformed by love and truth, even if loss is inevitable. This work has also been inspired by Wassily Kandinsky, Sonia Delaunay and the collection of Russian Icons that are part of the permanent collection at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. The palette was highly influenced by the Russian Icons, while the shapes and sense of play came from the works of both Kandinsky and Delaunay. M. V. Moran earned her MFA in Visual Studies from Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon. Moran has a BFA in Painting from the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. After several years of working at the UO in Student Services, she resigned from her position and began her dream of becoming a professional artist. She exhibits extensively and has been invited to show new work at the Coos Art Museum in 2020. Moran is also an Adjunct Professor of Art at NCU in Eugene, Oregon. M. V. Moran
Primarily yellow number seven acrylic on canvas 24"x48" 2019 $850 Big Girls Umpqua Valley Arts Association Roseburg, Oregon May 15- June 30 Artists' Reception Friday, May 17 5 pm - 7 pm My work is about response, a response to an event, a moment in time or an observation. My largest scaled work, Big Girls consists of three larger-than-life charcoal drawings. Each piece portrays a monumental female figure. The contrast of marks and black charcoal on a field of white paper add a dramatic distinction between the body and the space that surrounds each woman. The indeterminacy of place suggests both sanctuary and confinement. Each figure presses up against the edges of the picture plane contemplating their conformity. I am both the artist and the model in these drawings, which adds to the diaristic approach in each piece. Each panel features a foregrounded female figure. Her physical mass touches every side of the rectangle. These drawings are not a rebuke of thick thighs or large breasts; nor are they about sexualizing the body. Rather, this work investigates how women dwell in space. The women, with their doll-like hands, stable their mass, as they touch the Earth. The triptych is about confrontation, contemplation, and confinement. The drawings reference various sources that include direct observation and photographs of my body. Two major influences are Michelangelo's Sibyls and the Madonna of the Doni Tondo. Both the Madonna and the sibyls are large, muscular women who occupy the space they dwell with confidence and knowledge of their self-worth. Another influence was Henrik Ibsen's play, The Doll's House. The play centers around the transformation of one woman from a doll to a real woman. The women in Big Girls are in a state of transformation as well. They are in a place of waiting as they contemplate their worthiness and how they are allowed to dwell in their allocated spaces. Big Girls was first exhibited in Portland, Oregon at the Museum of Contemporary Craft in August 2016. The thesis exhibition was the last show before becoming the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education. Big Girls has been invited to show at the Umpqua Valley Arts Association in Roseburg, Oregon in 2019. Big Girls was supported by a grant by the Oregon Arts Commission. The Commission awarded a transportation grant so that Big Girls could be transported to UVAA. This work could not have been transported without the funds from the Oregon Arts Commission. M. V. Moran earned her MFA in Visual Studies from Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon. Moran has a BFA in Painting from the University of Oregon. She is originally from the Umpqua Valley area and now lives in Eugene, Oregon. M. V. Moran The transportation of Big Girls was made possible by a generous grant from the Oregon Arts Commission. Thank you.
Figuratively Speaking At Liberty Arts Collaborative Bend, Oregon Spring Exhibition March 6, 2019 - May 31, 2019 First Friday Art Walk and Reception April 5, 2019 May 3, 2019 Artists' Talk May 4, 2019 11 am The triptych, Just Us Three, now installed in Bend, Oregon at the arts collaborative gallery, At Liberty, is about solitude, solidarity and self-awareness. The large scaled drawings are exemplified by stylized women isolated within societal constructs. Each work is "42x96." Each woman is contained in her own space. The women confront the viewer with their gaze, their stance and their massive size. The charcoal on paper add to the drama by the contrast of black and white. Tension was added by the juxtaposition of the fragility of the paper and the strength of each woman.
My work consistently revolves around the female body. The human body fascinates me in all of its complexity; humans as physical, emotional and spiritual beings. I use my own body in my work to add a sense of understanding and empathy. My work is not a rebuke of thick thighs or voluptuous breasts. Rather, I am researching what it means to be in this body. Exaggerations allow me to see that all bodies have flaws and flaws are not the issue. My interest in how society expects too much from these frail, flawed forms. On average, human bodies only last about seventy-some years and they go through so many changes in that time. Therefore, a chance to research this journey of the body is a necessity I could not ignore. Investigating, research and experimentation are an important part of my work. Drawing is research. And, drawing large allows me to experiment and work on a drawing for an extended amount of time. Investigation consists of working from life, pictures or my own reflection in the mirror. External matters such as how I am feeling, words said to me or certain events affect my work. My work takes on internal and external factors and I am their filter. Edvard Munch, Rick Bartow, and Jim Dine were a major influence for this body of work. Each of these artists where highly prolific and were constantly experimenting with materials, concepts, and design principles. M. V. Moran earned her MFA in Visual Studies from Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon. Moran has a BFA in Painting from the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon. She currently works in Eugene, Oregon. M. V. Moran Image: M. V. Moran Just Us Three: Halt charcoal on paper 42"x96" 2016 $500 Please contact At Liberty Arts if interested in purchasing this work at (458) 206-3040. |
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