Ariel Lavery-Sculptor
Ariel Lavery is a sculptor and
teaches at Watkins College. I visited her on campus and got to see her at work
creating some of her sculptures.
What is the theme of your work?
What my work tries to do is deconstruct and
reconstruct the domestic landscape, specifically in relationship to the kitchy
materials that are used in the American aesthetic, and the vernacular these
materials hold. I’m also interested in iconography, how a strong symbol such as
the American flag is sold back to us as a kitchy product.
As I’m building these pieces, it’s almost like
a drawing process; I
never adhere to initial sketches of the pieces. There is some sketching
out initial ideas, then working through those ideas, then some more sketching,
then working. It’s very organic. The process is more like a “call and response” to found
materials and I develop the pieces as needed. It’s about how things fall apart
because of how cheaply things are made these days, and how we ad hoc the pieces
together in our homes. Of “making do” in
the home. I’m making a statement of the materials’ inability to withstand
time though we have a need for their continued function.
This anxiety is what really drives the work,
the anxiety of the cycle of everyday objects. In the past, we used to have
fewer things but they lasted a longer time because they were made by carpenters
and other handcrafters. Nowadays we have a lot more objects but they don’t last
as long so we have to cycle through them continuously. Something breaks, we
replace it instead of fixing it. Something goes out of style, we go out and buy
something that is more modern. Its no longer about the quality of the object
anymore, it’s about keeping up with the times.
What is the inspiration for your work?
I come from a household where we didn’t make
much with our hands, so I became interested in learning how to build things.
Also as a woman, it’s empowering to use power tools and make large sculptures
when traditionally doing this was a male thing, though that is changing. I also feel like what I’m doing is a universally felt
anxiety/inequality. I like to think that my work functions as
an open possibility for how we relate to our domestic environments regardless
of the sex/gender we are and regardless of our skill set. I’m really kind
of inspired by our universally shared inabilities to interact with our most
intimate spaces.
What are your goals for your work?
It’s very important for me to continue to make
work and to have this work evolve. I hope to start doing outdoor sculpture, and
maybe some public pieces. I would also like to keep showing my work in
galleries and
continue developing national recognition.
What are your thoughts on the Nashville Arts
Community?
I’ve only been here in Nashville for six months but have been pleasantly
surprised at how much is going on in the arts scene. I’ve been really
impressed with the work I’ve seen in the Fort Houston area-at the Packing Plant
and at Seed Space, etc. I feel like the work is very ambitious there, and that
the scene has a lot of potential. Actually, I feel like the scene here is in
its beginning stages. The things I see artists do there are very experimental.
However, there’s not yet an economy of artists that yields
a competitive conversation. I think in some ways it takes a competitive
scene to create an aesthetic dialogue that belongs to a particular place.
I think we are in the beginning stages of an arts scene where
that conversation can start to happen.
You can see more of Ariel's work at https://
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