Marie Watt is a multidisciplinary artist who lives and works in Portland, Oregon. Born in 1967 to the son of Wyoming ranchers and a daughter of the Turtle Clan of the Seneca Nation (Iroquois / Haudenosaunee) Watt identifies herself as "half Cowboy and half Indian." Formally, her work draws from indigenous design principles, oral tradition, personal experience, and Western art history. Her approach to art-making is shaped by the proto-feminism of Iroquois matrilineal custom, political work by Native artists in the 60s, a discourse on multiculturalism, as well as Abstract Expressionism and Pop Art. Like Jasper Johns, she interested in "things that the mind already knows." Unlike the Pop artists, she uses a vocabulary of natural materials (stone, cornhusks, wool, cedar) and forms (blankets, pillows, bridges) that are universal to human experience (though not uniquely American) and noncommercial in character.
Marie Watt is represented in Portland, Oregon by Jane Beebe at PDX Contemporary Art and in Seattle by Greg Kucera Gallery.
Posted on 16 Jun 2008
We're in Jackson Hole, Wyoming this week installing a slightly smaller version of the Blanket Stories: Almanac exhibition shown in 2006 at the Nicolaysen in Casper. It's a smaller space, so the work has been thinned out a bit; Braid had to go back to the Eiteljorg, so we've included Threshold from last year's Tread Lightly show at PDX Contemporary Art. While I'm here, I'll also be doing a little bit of teaching – local students who haven't yet had the chance to get used to summer vacation – as well as conducting a sewing circle on Saturday. If you're in the area, stop by and hang out.
Posted on 15 Jun 2008
Last night was the grand opening of the first Contemporary Northwest Art Awards. True to form, we were sewing more or less up until the caterers arrived. The first Schnitzer Prize was taken by the gentlemanly Whiting Tennis, who is so tall he makes my 6'3" husband look like a normal person. I'm very happy with the studio's contribution (Forget-me-not: Blossom and Forget-me-not: Mothers and Sons), but that aside, I have to say this is a very strong show; kudos to Jen Gately for her whip hand, and also to Mr. Tennis, Dan Attoe, Cat Clifford, and Jeffry Mitchell for kicking out some awesome work. Also, in spite of the usual anxiety of installation, I had a great time: there was enough overlap among our various personality types to make for some real Mickey-Rooney-Judy-Garland-hey-kids-let's-put-on-a-show camaraderie. Sure, there was a prize at stake, but for artists, making art is not a competitive sport. All week, Jeffry wore a button reading "Everyone is a winner", and these people certainly made me feel like it.
Posted on 09 Jun 2008
It feels a little redundant announcing a new Web site on the new Web site itself, but: we have a new Web site, designed and implemented by the Portland brand development firm Pinch. We're still pushing content – which means Emily is rooting through our stacks of CDs and slide folders and trying to get a handle on what we have documented – but the current CV is up, we have a fairly complete collection of pieces folks have written about us, and maybe about 20% of documented work posted. We'll keep at it; and though we're switching over to a faster host next week, keep in mind that the only way to look at art online is by using largish pictures, which can take a while to load if you're on a slow connection.