Margaret Boozer at American University Museum (pics via camera-phone)

"Art for art sake" is the cliche' phraseology I'll start this next post with (oh, and sorry for taking so long between postings--twas just life, I guess). So with that, along with the creation of Dirt Drawings (the name of the show and a seemingly un-sellable medium), Margaret Boozer creates just that ...art for the sake of making good art. Of course one could possibly delve into the intellectual properties of it all if they'd like.

I'm sure clay-pairing philosophies could somehow be related to the balance of life, the quest for understanding and mending of times ...yada, yada. But, as I'm not a philosopher nor a historian, I'd prefer to keep things (for the most part) focussed on the aesthetic. And Margaret spent countless hours and efforts (assisted by the efforts of others) working to let her true creative spirit run wild in a fairly large & beutiful gallery/museum space--knowing that nothing (well an extremely limited amount of things) could be "sold"--so she should be commended for it. Plus, the show IS rather awe-inspiring.

I admit, when I was told about the show of dirt drawings, I was a bit skeptical. I, of course, had played in dirt and sand growing up--making a few remarkable sketches I might ad--so my fear was that the show wouldn't go much further. Or that the show would resemble Buddhist sand drawings or something similar that I'd seen before. So, shame on me for not doing any research about the artist and almost missing a good one. 

The show Dirt Drawings features large and small scale works, made from various hues and consistencies of clay ...all gathered from the same location--Stancills, Inc. in Perryville, MD. In the show Boozer demonstrates a mastery of her material as she lays, crumbles, pours, and arranges these elements into thought provoking patterns and configurations. The variety of surface qualities she's able to attain is rather remarkable. And while I hate to admit it, I found myself aimlessly staring a bit more than normal ...not even really thinking about anything in particular ...kind of just letting my mind wander as I observed the variety of flows, cracks, and unexpected lines that these sometimes complex clay drawings created. The lines and form she creates simply allow this kind of loose thought to take over.

The sheer fragility of things should definitely be noted amongst the aesthetics as well. If not paying attention, a lot of hard work could easily be lost by a passing kid ..or stumbling student ...or just an ordinary Joe on a mission to make it to the artist talk on time (haha I saw that--no harm no foul though). And this lack of permanence, again, makes me appreciate the work more. Visually, it's light and refreshing at times, while stable and unwavering at others. Yet, the idea that the works should be respected for their delicacies shouldn't be forgoten. Plus when you factor-in the pieces that utilized poured/pumped slip (a soupy consistency of clay and water) and constantly changed as they dry throughout out the show, you have on your hand s an extremely dynamic grouping of works.

So yeah, check out the show when you get a chance. It'll be showing at American University's Museum until August 16th. 4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20016