Title: Neural Graft A Multiple Block Woodcut Monoprint By Artist Judy Bird
Shipping: $29.00
Artist: N/A
Period: Contemporary
History: Art
Origin: North America > United States
Condition: Excellent
Item Date: 2012
Item ID: 6323
"Neural Graft" is a multiblock color woodcut monoprint created by the internationally renowned artist, Judy Bird. This exquisite woodcut is not merely an artistic creation; it serves as a visual narrative inspired by Judy's personal journey and is an integral part of her compelling series, "Rewiring the Brain." Guided by her unique visual language of metaphor and symbol, Judy invites viewers to witness the curative power of nature. Whether healing the human body or tending to an injured tree branch, nature, in its wisdom, aligns with our efforts to heal, albeit on its own temporal terms. Judy Bird herself is a survivor of acquired brain injury, a testament to resilience and the indomitable human spirit. Beyond relearning her printmaking skills, she has essentially reconstructed her entire artistic process. Her art-making journey is a perpetual cycle of "re," reflecting her adaptability and commitment to artistic evolution. The intricate printmaking process Judy employs is notably memory-intensive. To navigate this challenge, she meticulously records each step on whiteboards, allowing her to imprint her personal journey and current position in the creative process. Memory loss and procedural amnesia make editioning a demanding task, prompting Judy to limit editions to 3 to 5 impressions, with a preference for the authenticity of original monoprints. The creation of "Neural Graft" involves up to 8 carved wood blocks strategically positioned and oriented to capture the essence of Judy Bird's artistic expression. It stands as a testament to her artistic vision, perseverance, and the profound connection between art and the intricate workings of the human mind.
Judy Bird was born in 1953, in San Jose, California. Bird graduated with her BA in liberal arts with a concentration in studio arts, in 1998. Her desire to enhance her skill set, and further develop concept inspired her to apply to graduate student at the Academy of art University in San Francisco, she was accepted as a non-figurative painting major in 2005, and graduated in 2012 with an MFA in fine art, printmaking.
Bird is an acquired brain injury survivor who struggles to manage her various amnesias. A critical illness in 2009 nearly took her life, and she has had to “re” learn much of what she learned. So it is not surprising to find some 13,000 words that start with “re” handwritten” in her work. She has to record each step she makes in the studio on wall boards in order print an edition of prints. The struggles, are suggested when the work is formally recorded, each step of the way in editions, in contrast to the freedom of the impulsive, intuitive and spontaneous approach she enjoys in her hybrid one of a kind forms and paintings. She contrasts the delicate cellular and neural images along with her organic autobiographic marks and words. This is then contrasted against a more universal, graphic and iconic visual language.
She creates forms, of which some are two dimensional and others become hybrids, integrating two-dimensional and nontraditional prints into three-dimensional forms that interact in time and space with the viewer. One such form is her recent scroll that also includes her worksheets. Her rehabilitation worksheets are an important element of her art; the hand written marks over the grid like structures helped her to reclaim her personal and professional life.
Bird continues towards an interdisciplinary approach to the arts and continues to add new technical skills and substrates to integrate and challenge the concept within the framework of nontraditional printmaking and paintings.
