Janet Kozachek: Mosaic Artist and Poet-Painter Janet ... · allusions to Persian painting or...

JanetKozachek:MosaicArtistandPoet-PainterJanetKozachek’sworkconcernsitselfwithvastarcsofhistoryand

transnationalissuesofrepresentation,posingquestionsatoncelocalizedintimeandspaceyetresistanttoeasycategorization.LivinginOrangeburg,SouthCarolina,shemakesmosaics,poems,paintings,andmusicalinstrumentsthatspeaktomulticulturaltraditionsofcreativeexpression,thatmemorializepasteventsandstories,andthatcommentoncontemporaryissuesofsocialjustice.Hershow,Homestead–APictorialTaleofAbandonmentandLessonsfromtheGreatDepression(2009)forexample,supportedhistoricpreservationeffortsinSouthCarolina.Andyet,hermessagesabouthome,belonging,andformitself,transcendboundariesofnationandculture.

Kozachek’smosaicpanelsrecallarchaeologicalsitestheartistvisitedin

Pompeii,Herculaneum,OstiaAntica,andChina.Eachworkunfoldswithmultiplereferences,oftenwithdetailsintheChinesecalligraphyorwithinter-textualallusionstoPersianpaintingormasterpiecesofWesternart.Eachmosaicpresentsapuzzletodecipher,aneducationinallegoriesandcodesfromourglobalculture,andrhythmicharmonies.Piecesincorporateancientsubjectmatterwithcontemporarymaterialfromcastawayobjectstopreciousgems.Incertainexamples,segmentsofcomputerhardwareframefolkartreferencesinoneoftheoldestmodesofgraphicexpression:themosaic.

EachmosaicKozachekconstructshasastorytotell.InBinomialSikinnis,forexample,shebuildsupapalimpsestofsemioticsystems,ananti-élitistdancesatirizingapoliticalsituation,portrayedinceramictile,enclosedinbitsofmotherboard.

Sikinnistranslatesas,“bothadanceandaformofsatiricalmimodrama.Itburlesquedthepolitics,philosophyanddramaofthedayandwassaidtocatertothetasteofthecommonpeopleforvulgarityandsensationalism"(http://www.carnaval.com/greece/dance/ ). ThecentralglazedtileofBinomialSikkinispicturesamaenaddanceraffiliatedwithDionysus.Theartistexplains,

Usingcomputerpartsinthismosaic,Iamsatirizingtheexcessesoftheinformationhighway.Thematerialsinthemosaicare,liketheinternetitself,jewelsinjuxtapositionwith,andsometimesembeddedincommonsubstances:pearlsfilltheholesintheplasticcircuits,24Kgoldembellishesordinaryglass.(2009)

Thismosaicasimagenotonlytellsastory,butalsosignifiesinwaysthatdonottranslateintolanguage.Themotherboard,forexample,framesthedancer,evokestechnology,andfunctionsdecorativelytoemphasizetheflatsurfaceandabstract,geometricpatterning.Consequently,thisbitofcomputerhardwaresignifiesbothitselfandwhatsomewouldcallpureformalordecorativequalities.Intheoverallcontext,the“madeinJapan”and“madeinTaiwan”imprintsdeconstructmeaning,asthemosaicwasactuallymadeinSouthCarolina,US.TheartistthusappropriatesfoundobjectsinawaythatcreatesameetingofEastandWest.

BinomialSikinnis

(2007)

Kozachek’sattentiontogeographicdistancesandperspectivalshiftsindicatesthesensitivitywithwhichshebothlivesinandrenderstheworldinart.Severalyearsago,shebeganfashioningdouble-sidedmosaicmasks.ShelikenedthisdevelopmenttothatofAfricanAmericanmemoryvesselsinwhichtheinnersurfaceisasvaluedastheexteriorone.Sheexplains,“theothersideofthemaskwasacaveinwhichobjectscouldgrowlikestalactites.Itwasayintotheyangoftheface.Itcouldbeametaphoricalother–thethingsthatareinthebackofthemind”(Kozachekart.blogspot.com).

lueRakuMask(Front)

BlueRakuMask(Front)

Kozachek’sexperimentswithmedialboundariesbetweenwordandimagecomethroughmostobviouslywithhercollectionsofpoemsandvisualworkssuchasMyWomen/MyMonsters(2013).Thesepoemstendtowardsthehighlydescriptive,revelinginwordsasrhyming,rhythm-inducingelements.In“DiamondsinSerpentEyes”shewrites,WarmnightsbroughtbejeweledsnakesfromtheboughsoftreesAndoutofthedepthsofstillwatersSerpentscomingnottofeedbuttoinformBellydancingthroughthereedsandrushesGlidingbywithdiamondsintheireyesFacetedtocatchthesunlightanddisperseitattheirpleasure.Kozachekthuscollectsandassembleshighlyevocativewords,asshedoesthebrightesttesseraeofhermosaics,rhymingcolorsandechoingsoundsinasynaestheticdisplay.Asinherpaintingsandhermosaicwork,onefindsacombinationofdescriptivemeditationandformaldynamismaspartscoalesce.

BlueRakuMask(Back)

Kozachek’smulticulturalartspeakstodiversecommunitiesandfortheunderrepresentedgroupofthoselivingwithchronicillness.AsanAmericanwithDisabilitiesherself,sheoftenevokesthemesofbodilyhealthinherworks.Inmosaicsincluding“TheOtherSideoftheBellCurve”and“ANewPerspectiveonVariousRatesofGrowth,”shehastakenonsubjectsrelatedtomedicaltreatmentandtherealityoflivingwithphysicaldisabilities.TheInterstitialCystitisAssociationjournalfeaturesherwork(Summer2008).

Theartist’sformaleducationtookplaceonthreedifferentcontinents.

Consequently,herinfluencesaremultitudinousandherstylenearlyunclassifiable.ShestudiedartandscienceatDouglassCollegeinNewJersey,andobtainedherMasterofFineArtsdegreeinpaintingfromParsonsSchoolofDesign.Inbetween,shespentsevenyearsinChinaandEuropewhereshestudiedChinesepaintingattheBeijingCentralArtAcademyandceramicsculptureattheStateAcademyofAppliedArtsinMaastrict,Holland.

Kozachekmadeasubstantialcontributiontothedevelopmentofmosaicarts

intheUnitedStatesbyestablishingtheSocietyofAmericanMosaicArtists.Mostrecently,shecreatedahighlyoriginalBookofMarvelousCats(2015),ahand-boundvolumeofillustratedrhymesaswellasapoetryvolumeMomentsinLightandShadows(2015),accompaniedbyherownpaintings.Inaddition,Kozachekperformsonceramicmusicalinstrumentsshehasfashionedherself,includingocarinasofvarioussizesandanudodrumwww.janetkozachek.weebly.com.JanetKozachek’simaginativevisionsandthematicconcernswithnon-standardparadigmsofrepresentationallowhertospeaktoandforlocalcommunitiesinSouthCarolinaandbeyond.Asanartistwhoinspiresherviewerswithaunique

WomanRecliningWithGarFish(2008)

perspective,wroughtinstones,gems,ceramic,paint,andlanguage,Kozachekputsfortharchaeologiesofthehumanmind,digginguppastrelicstoilluminatethepresent.