My friend Amber Boardman is one of the most amazing all-around artists that I've ever met. For a show four years ago, she produced an amazing body of (obsessive and elaborate) ballpoint pen drawings along with animations elaborating on the themes from the drawings. She was able to parlay that into a job with Cartoon Network, animating for shows like Squidbillies. For somebody with a demanding full-time job, I've always been blown away with how prolific she is.
She's back with a vengeance with a clutch of new work that is playful, funny investigatory and.... deliciously naughty. To the left is Cum Shot Quilt, a new quilt that is the offspring (oooh... bad pun, sorry) of a photographic project that involved photographing ejaculate on a woman's torso. The photographs are almost topographic in nature, and their ethereality has helped translate the photo into other media. Amber is interested in the possibilities created by creating multiple representations of an image that function differently according to their respective environments.
Her other recent work, including abstract(ish) animations drawn from "found video footage" of "bodies inside of each other" is similarly playful, yet serious. Amber embraces her subjects with humor and gusto, yet she is able to frame her investigations inside of serious artistic considerations. Tonight, those considerations will extend to performance and community, as she leads a "quilting bee" at The Contemporary in Atlanta (where the Cum Shot Quilt is part of the "Talent Show" exhibition). The Quilting Bee is tonight (July 5th) from 6-8 pm. No sewing experience is required, and participants are encouraged to bring old clothing and saucy stories.
