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Alana Tashjian, born in Chicago, IL, now lives and works in Boston, MA. She currently attends the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University and will be graduating in 2011, receiving a Bachelor of Fine Arts, with a major in Fine Arts and a minor in Art History. She has exhibited work in the Highland Park Art Center and in the Art Institute of Boston. Her work is in collections in the Boston Public Library and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Her design work has been published by the School of International Training after completing an Art History Study Abroad course in New Delhi, India. She has experience as a teacher's assistant for two courses during the Young Artist Residency Program for pre-college students at the Art Institute of Boston at Lesley University, and has held a studio assistantship with a private Boston-based artist.
My subject matter is based in the natural world, and represents a celebration of that vivacity. Each piece produced is about a certain creature and/or a specific detail of their existence that is interesting and compelling. My work thus becomes the appreciation of all life’s little complexities. Much of this intrigue revolves around bugs and insects: creatures I have always found fascinating, but which are largely ignored and considered repulsive by most people. Drawing attention and beauty to these so-called ‘repulsive’ specimens is my way to display the amazing workings of the Earth, in things both big and small.
One theme that has been a constant throughout my work has been life-cycles. My work represents the cyclical nature of time and the Earth, showing birth, death, and rebirth. These define the Earth’s pulse, its natural heartbeat. While it is easy to show beauty in life, there is also a quiet beauty and dignity in death. By defining this beauty, it allows another form of rebirth of these ‘dead’ materials, through being born again into art.
Although an avid supporter of trying new things, my primary methods of working are in printmaking and fiberglass/epoxide resin casting. In this work, I enjoy utilizing natural found materials, such as bugs, animals, and earth. I prefer to work with unconventional materials in conventional methodology. Modifying an existing form of art to make it ‘modern’ is like modifying a recipe: one cannot change the entire recipe and expect it to retain the original character — the trick is to swap out bits from here and there. Through producing work, I hope to continue to perfect my own creative recipe.
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