Amanda Barr : Real Talk Catastrophe

Amanda Barr
Real Talk Catastrophe

March 2015

“This series of paintings has been a long time coming. My dad and grandfather were painters, and I’ve always painted but been inspired and distracted by the idea that one can use any material they want, so I got away from painting a series. It’s been like having a long dinner with an old friend creating these. Where I’m getting inspiration is Oaxaca, Mexico in construction and the resourcefulness I see there. A lot of color.

There is a frantic feeling I almost always have of rushing and stopping and constant moving, on the go lifestyle that I and most people I am around have. A hectic rush rush, and then the need for peace and calm but not really knowing how to achieve it. I like to call this phenomenon machine gun meditation. We are bombarded with stimuli from all over the place, and news of violence and unrest. So I guess in a way being in the studio for several consecutive months has been a type of calm I have been searching for.

The sculptures in this show have been especially fun. They are characters and like buddies recently. Almost no material was left out, I used cardboard, various tapes, aluminum foil, cedar branches, feathers. I especially found all the old bar rags helpful to adhere ultracal on to, I have also used a woven basket from Oaxaca Market in a piece, and a lumpy stucco method style that I’ve seen in Oaxaca on one of the sculptures.” –Amanda Barr

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