Vanessa German of Pittsburgh, PA is best known for her black-female sculptures accessorized with smaller vintage items that provide saturation and pop. Over the years, she’s added to her own statue with her spoken word performances, outspokenness on gun violence, and recent expansion into print. This particular show is a combination of 18 months of growth.
Collaborating with Artist Image Resources, Vanessa German has put together a gallery showing with her traditional tropes modified for repeating patterns. A few statues placed in the center of the white walls of the AIR’s Gallery on the second floor. They act as a tethering point for the work and exhibit as the screen printing process is seen as an addition not the main feature.
Warhol’s influence shines bright. The image of German herself has been incorporated in the artistic process. AK-47 grips sets up the mixed media and messages for the exhibit. To the artist they represent the dizzying amount of violence in modern media. She expresses how sickening the cookie cutter cycle is. The “AK-47 Prayer” and drops of oil seen in “Fill Your Guns” lets the viewer get lost like news stories on mass shootings.
The artist talk was a Q&A with German speaking on average 10 minutes per question. There were no surprises and most of the commentary mirrored her artist statement at AIR.
For future reference, I asked Vanessa German if she had heard recent rumors surrounding her work. She denied them. Then she denied ever meeting me… I’ve known her for years… even saw her at last month’s Gallery Crawl.
¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I might revisit this later.