Artist Statement : Sandra Ginter , Sculptress

Artist Statement

"Through the use of clay I have developed a strong desire to address the issues of touch. However, it is not just the touch which is transmitted by the fingertips that intrigues me, but the feeling of being surrounded and transformed. Large or small, we all want space. We are surrounded at every moment of every day by space, but we are seldom consumed by it.suit (detail)

I am currently working on a series of single chamber "suits." These suits are constructed primarily out of clay. The images I draw from are airplanes, shark's and the human body. Airplanes and sharks resmbel the human body's basic form, but they contrast it in their nature.



The human body's suit is its' skin, it is soft supple organic and sensitive to the environment around it. Because of this, we often need additional shelter. This shelter not only protects but often furthers our boundaries. For example, we design hard, metallic airplanes so we may fly with speed and power. Similar to airplanes, sharks have speed and power, but they are also stereotyped as fearless eating machines with wet, leathery suits.

I have chosen these three images not only for their basic resemblance in form, but for the metaphors I am able to draw between them. As an airplane, you may attempt to climb inand fly away. As a shark, you are invited to possible change your persona, feeling sharper, stronger, harder, or fearless. One may not always view the texture covering the interior as a safe haven. However, once you have climbed inside you've become shielded, and if only for a minute, you are consumed.

I want my work to create a space that lures the viewer in, entwining them with the sense of touch....

http://www.saintmarys.edu/~events/Calendar/MoreauGalleries/faculty/ginter/ginter1.html



It is interesting to compare this self-statement, with a reviewer statement. Clearly the reviewer must have gotten their facts from the artist. But the description becomes more explanatory rather than the almost metaphysical tone of the artist statement.



"Ginter, who received a MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and currently teaches at Saint Mary’s College in South Bend, Ind., uses her work to satire issues that surround being a mother and living in the Midwest and examines bits of Midwestern iconography with the piggyback perspective of a busy, working mom with three small children. She uses color and symbolic form to create small narratives that are all part of a larger tale in which cows and pigs hold particular significance. Larger issues are hinted at, such as genetic cloning, the significance of the individual and the ritualistic nature of living day to day."

http://www.iwu.edu/CurrentNews/newsrelease07/art_MayTermShowings_407.shtml
October 9-November 6, 2008:

Hammes Gallery goes….PINK! A ceramic sculpture exhibition curated by Prof. Sandi Ginter and Helen Otterson. Featuring work by: Tom Bartel, David East, Jeannie Hulen, Lisa Conway, Erin Furimsky, Sandi Ginter and Helen Otterson.

Hammes Gallery is located in the Moreau Center for the Arts at Saint Mary's College in Notre Dame, IN. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 10am-4pm; closed campus holidays