Auman, Megan :: Artists ::...

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MEGAN AUMAN resides in Jonestown, Pennsylvania, where she maintains a studio making sculpture and jewelry. Her work explores the floral patterns found in textiles and decorative ironwork. Megan employs a torch welding technique to create her steel jewelry and sculpture. ARTIST STATEMENT Through excessive decoration, I examine the way we perceive domesticity and the contemporary home. The floral patterns I employ in my work are inspired by the patterns that appear on both printed and embroidered textiles. The patterns also borrow from contemporary advances in digital textile production that eliminate the need for repeat patterning. Floral patterned textiles have often played a crucial role in the creation of the home, yet the rise of Modernism relegated these patterns to the margins. The removal of floral patterned textiles from the home parallels the devaluation of domesticity and femininity in interior decoration. However, the recent outburst of floral patterned objects coincides with a renewed interest in the home. By recreating furnishings and pillows using floral patterns rendered in steel wire, I eliminate the need for internal structure. Each object becomes a visual signifier of the ideals of the home, rather than a functional object. The loss of function highlights the tension between comfort and display in the contemporary home. I eliminate conventional indications of comfort such as padding and fabric through the use of steel. While my living room is intended for display, it creates the illusion of an inviting, comfortable space, through the articulation of subtle, curving surfaces. MEGAN AUMAN