Laura Davidson
After graduating from Kansas City Art Institute in 1981, I moved to the East Coast and set up a studio in an artist's warehouse district in Boston. My work has gradually changed since that time. I have always made books. After a life altering trip to Italy in 1984, I started working sculpturally as well, using wood and eventually adding elements such as tools, hardware and watch parts. Recently, I have started combining the two facets of my work by creating sculptural boxes that hold a unique book. My limited edition books also have a sculptural "object" quality, through the use of wood covers which hold various objects, and heavy papers.
The influences that figure prominently in my work are art history especially Sienese Quattrocento Painting, book history and architectural history. I am interested in taking images from art history and altering their original intention in much the same way that I have changed the original intention of the found objects that show up in my work. Books, because of the exterior/interior format and sequential ordering, allow me to guide the viewer through a thought process. Books evoke time and journey. They provide a perfect format for my explorations of the various histories.
For the future, I am looking for ways of utilizing the vast technology that is available in computer graphics as a tool for manipulating imagery. I also want to continue to travel. Travel is a way of making connections; it is the search for images and ideas that transcend time, language, and culture.
Vaso.
Boston, MA, 1994.
Book constructed by the artist from wood and paper. A painted tile is fastened to the front cover. 11.5 x 16.5 cm.
Edition of 20.