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March 09, 2006
Lisa Rockford
Lisa Rockford
i was born in Texas but only lived there until until i was six, when my parents divorced and we moved to florida. The divorce was the result of my dad having left my mom for another woman. i later figured out that this event has largely shaped the themes of my artwork and interest in sexual choices. i did not even learn about the circumstances for my parents breakup until i was 19, going to school for Art therapy at Bowling Green State University, and in the process of my artistic transition from abstract expressionism to increasingly conceptual painting. i figured out that i was more interested in my own art than that of others, added on my Fine arts degree, and went straight on to graduate school at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Here i learned about a greater diversity of contemporary artists and new media, and quickly transitioned the appearance of my art once again. i was becoming influenced by the work of Barbara Kruger, Jenny Holzer, and the Guerrilla girls. my paintings were beginning to look like posters, so the logical option was to take Offset Printmaking, in which i could Mass produce a visual message. i began producing posters and postcards to distribute in public, which seemed a more appropriate setting than a gallery. While at SAIC, i created "Slits, slots & clots," an installation of decorated slotted boxes, hung at pelvis height. Second, i met the pink nun, and teamed up with her to distribute and form my artwork. Also, i took a class called "Propaganda and Decoration," which combined screen-printing with the expression a conceptual message. This class, in which i first designed and printed "Purity panties" for the pink nun, was another important inspiration for my artistic path. By the time of my thesis show, i had created other products, printed packaging and formed a store installation for the final show, in which the pink nun handed out coupons. Since my graduation, my artistic process has included making occasional paintings, mixed media sculptures & collages, and to produce pink nun products, and subsequent performances with the pink nun. Professionally, I teach Adjunct College Art classes, and sell pink nun products and vintage clothes on the side.
Posted by gharp at March 9, 2006 11:48 PM