Rebecca Casement: Strength & Fragility
Rebecca Casement’s visually striking installations, often composed of sculptural forms made from clay, wire and discarded materials, explore themes of strength and fragility. Her recent installation, “Reclamations,” invites the viewer to contemplate and raise questions about the human experience.
Tell me about your background and where your creative journey began.
I have always been a maker. Growing up I was continuously finding discarded materials to create with. At 36 I went back to school to become an art teacher as a means to support my two daughters. While I didn’t believe myself to be an artist, my love for teaching and making made it seem like it would be a good fit. As time went on and with the support and encouragement of exceptional educators, I began to see where I fit in the art world a little differently. I switched my major to studio art and then went on to earn an MFA. During that time, I learned the importance of good craft and how to think and explore art making as a maker. I also learned how to take my skills and focus them into conceptual thinking. I began to focus my practice on how the people and experiences we encounter affect and alter us. How we interact with each other is at the conceptual core of my work. I am often showing the results of the negative interactions, but I balance that with a call for community, humanity, and care. I’m thankful for the people along my journey who have demonstrated these qualities so beautifully in my life.
What led you to focus on sculpture and installation work?
During my first semester of undergrad, I took a 3D form class and fell in love with sculpture. It seemed to come naturally to me. I was able to just make what I was feeling without the self-induced demand for perfection. I leaned into the imperfections and used them to emulate life. The installation work began about 5 years later. I was interested in the challenge of it. I like that I can create a space that envelopes the viewer both physically and emotionally/psychologically. It has proven to be a natural progression to the stand-alone sculptures that I create.
How has your work shifted and evolved over time?
I began working almost exclusively in ceramics. I love the texture and fragility of clay. It records touch in a way that allows me to mimic physical interactions between people. But I found, in my practice, that there were limitations in only using clay. I needed to broaden my visual vocabulary and the scale of my work. This pushed me to move outward into many different materials. I still utilize clay regularly, but I now create with a focus less on what I can make with a particular material and more on finding which materials work together the best to create a cohesive visual dialogue.
What inspired you to create the "Reclamations" series?
In Reclamations, I was seeking to express what happens after the proverbial moment of impact of a life altering event. It explored the complexity and fragility present in personal trauma along with the subsequent silence and isolation that accompanies pain. I wanted to create an immersive installation that explored the effects of empathy and community on those who have experienced trauma.
To visually represent this, I needed to express the present and the past, the internal and external, the touchable and untouchable. I created gestures with the sculptural forms that held like a body in pain and suspended them to create a sense of immobilization and capture a moment in time. Bent and manipulated bandsaw blades were suspended throughout the sculptural forms. They were restrained in their manipulated forms with only wound thread to create a sense of vulnerability and menace. Collections of spheres were below each group of sculptural forms and in opposite corners of the gallery. Some were rested on broken ceramic platforms; some were upside down. These invoked questions of importance and expendability, strength, and fragility. Finally, an audio recording of my shuttered breathing inserted the human element into the installation and built a sense of intimacy, vulnerability, and commonality.
Which experiences have impacted you as an artist?
Growing up without a lot of money in rural Michigan fostered a creative experimentation in me. We didn’t have a lot of extra resources, so I had to be smart about what I used and how I used them. I still have that mindset now. I try not to throw away much and find new ways to use the “cast offs” of one project for another one. Not only is it material conservation conscious but it is also a great built-in challenge that fosters even more creative thinking.
I think, to my benefit, I didn’t know the “rules” of art school and the art world in general before I set out on this journey. This has allowed me to do things in a way that feels authentic to me and not get too caught up in what is the “right” way.
What does a typical day in the studio look like for you, and how has your art practice grown or changed?
I find that I work best in the morning and early afternoon. I always start with cleaning my studio. It helps to clear my mind and focus it on the work that I need to do next. My sculptures often utilize layering of materials, so I begin with applying the next layer to whatever I have already been working on. After that, I start new work. By then, my mind is sharp and focused on not only the physical work but also the intellectual and conceptual part of it. I used to push myself to work until it was time to go to bed, but I’ve found over time that this isn’t beneficial to me. I am learning to nurture the whole person. Now I take the evenings to relax and read something that I really enjoy or spend time outdoors.
How has Instagram impacted your art career?
It has forced me to become more comfortable sharing my work. I think many creatives struggle with insecurities about the quality of their art and if it fits into a specific ideal. Instagram could reinforce that, certainly, but I think that if you really look at the variety and beauty of the individual artists and their creations, it becomes clear that it’s more about being authentic, encouraging one another, and just going for it. Instagram has allowed artists to get their art seen by a much broader range of people than ever before. I think that has really opened up the art world and allows for more variations in the paths of artists.
What are your future goals and aspirations?
Always to keep making. I would love to do more large-scale permanent installation work. I really enjoy working on a project for a long period of time and then seeing it come to life around me. There is always that element of suspense and uncertainty because there is no way to see how it will look in the space until it is there. Being able to work on something like that from conception through installation is exhilarating.
Follow Rebecca on Instagram: @rmcasement_art
Website: www.rebeccacasement.com