VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

DiverseWorks ArtSpace presents My Life as a Doll: Tara Conley & Tria Wood. On view November 11-December 17, 2011. Opening Reception: Friday, November 11, 6-9pm.

My Life as a Doll is an immersive art encounter combining rhyme, candy-colored environments, and fantastical sculptural elements to establish a life-sized residence where each room is defined by a pair of pages from a gigantic book. Seductive aspects of this fantasy world slowly give way to reveal the perils for a woman living her life as a doll.

By inviting viewers into the personal spaces and narrative elements of this character’s life, sculptor Tara Conley and writer Tria Wood facilitate a complex and compelling dialogue about power structures, societal pressures, childhood expectations, and gender distinctions that take root early in life and continue to shape us as adults.

This ambitious project includes:

• A documentary film by Sharon Ferranti
• A color catalog with an essay by Susie Kalil and photography by Felix Sanchez
• A panel discussion of current social, cultural, and artistic issues raised by My Life as a Doll on December 3rd at 2:00 pm. Panelists include:
  • Kimberly Davenport, Director and Chief Curator, Rice Gallery
  • Dr. Elizabeth Gregory, Professor and Director of Women’s Studies, University of Houston
  • Dr. Nels P. Highberg, Associate Professor and Chair, Department of Rhetoric, University of Hartford
• “Artist Talks and Tours” with Tria Wood and Tara Conley
• Creative workshops with artist Thedra Culler-Ledford, writer Tria Wood and sculptor Tara Conley

A sculptor working across many media, Tara Conley creates curious biomorphic forms by employing innovative approaches to materials such as cotton, metal, and fiberglass. Her sculptures represent a cast of fantastic characters, each with distinct attributes and attitudes. By bringing her imaginary creatures into three-dimensional space, Conley explores issues of posture, physical space, personality and sexuality, always with a distinct sense of humor and wonder. She enjoys mixing media, and challenges herself to use materials in ways unfamiliar to the viewer. Conley is also intrigued by found texts and overheard phrases, using them to create word-based sculptures. Throughout her work, she demonstrates her fascination with the ways we form relationships with others. Originally from Bath, New York, Conley lives and works in Houston, Texas.

A native Texan, Tria Wood is a writer and English professor who also works with children through the Writers in the Schools program in Houston, Texas. A lifelong fascination with museum tableaux and cabinets of curiosities inspires her engagement with installation art. Wood earned her M.A. in English from Texas A&M University and her M.Ed. in Art Education from the University of Houston. She also served for several years as Visual Arts Editor for ArtsHouston magazine. Her poetry, fiction, art criticism and reviews appear in a variety of publications such as SPOT, Snowy Egret, Concho River Review and Arcadia. Her recent poetry and fiction explores the varied and complex ways we negotiate distance and desire, and comment on the way power structures shape personal life.

Sponsored by KUHF (88.7FM) / KUHA (91.7FM) and Saint Arnold Brewing Company.