A conversation with David R. Harper
As part of New + Now, an exciting new celebration of contemporary ceramics and their makers, we commissioned a twelve-part installation by Toronto-born artist David R. Harper, entitled Zodiac, to be revealed on Thursday November 15 at our New + Now Gala. Inspired by the signs of the zodiac, the twelve installations will be displayed throughout all three floors of the museum—from the lobby to our permanent galleries—transforming the entire museum into a celestial wonderland as we enter into the home stretch of 2018.
We first met David as one of the finalists of the 2014 RBC Emerging Artist People’s Choice Award, and are thrilled to welcome him back for this museum-wide exhibition four years later. We chatted with David about his relationship to astrology, the ways individual zodiac traits inform the respective installations, and where he sources the unique materials found in his works.
What’s your sign?
I’m a Libra, but a Virgo/Libra cusp. I undoubtedly have the typical traits of both, and think about them often as they relate to my work and personal life.
Can you tell us about the inspiration behind the exhibition?
I was commissioned by the museum to make twelve new works, and I have in the past referenced imagery of the zodiac and astrology in my work so thought it would be a great opportunity to fully explore the idea and make the complete zodiac—twelve pieces, twelve signs. I’m interested in the relationship between the object and viewer, and how one’s own personal history can shift an object’s meaning—so this project was especially challenging because I was tasking myself with making objects that “are” the viewer. I want people to be able to see themselves, based on their zodiac characteristics, in some way in the work.
Each of the twelve installations are such a unique reinterpretation of the traditional zodiac symbols. Can you tell us a bit about your creative process for this project?
I created a map for each object based on one or two people that I know personally and started to pull out their traits. My goal was to create a particular visual, not based on what we typically read for a certain sign but how those characteristics translate into the world. This process allowed me to take even the traits that may be seen as negative and reframe them. For instance, Libras are indecisive, and it’s infuriating to try and pick a restaurant with a Libra! However all the Libras I know use that indecisiveness to take great care in their lives—whether it’s the work that they do, or how they see their decisions impacting others. Looking at both sides of a sign allowed me to be more intuitive with my aesthetic choices, nothing was fixed, and ultimately it was about how to care for each other without expecting them to change. All my friends who are Scorpios are all powerful and intense, but they also need protection and nurturing, so softer personalities are drawn to them.
All the pieces changed and evolved through the making process, I worked on all of them at one time, not in any order—which allowed for moments to reveal themselves. Material decisions were made based on the successes or failures in experimentation. Those successes and failures informed other choices, and the whole process became generative. There is a lot of material crossover, because I want to relay that connection between seemingly incongruent signs.
Your work synthesizes a variety of traditional and non-traditional materials including embroidery, ceramic, and casting materials such as salt and charcoal—can you speak to some of the materials used in these sculptures, and where you sourced them from?
Trying new methods and discovering materials is an important tenet of my practice. In my studio, I have a library/archive of materials and material experiments so I can keep track of the different ways a material can be used. I am constantly thinking about processes—both historical (stained glass, tapestry, embroidery, ceramic) and non-traditional (rubber coating, suspending organic materials in synthetics). The “taxidermy” is all handmade—the goat for Capricorn takes hours to sew wefts of synthetic hair together and then inserting those into the animal form. Its horns are made from casting a suspended ground willow charcoal in a water based resin to achieve a very matte finish. I start with an idea in my head of how I want something to look and then I take time choosing the right materials to make those visuals come to fruition. The butterflies actually came from a lepidopterist just outside of London, Ontario.
Human hands make a recurring appearance throughout your artwork, including the zodiac installations—what significance do they hold in your practice?
The imagery of the hand and arm has made several appearances. It’s become a happy obsession. For anyone who uses their hands to create thing day in and day out, especially with materials that require a lot of manipulation—like clay and embroidery—you are constantly noting the presence of hand. I think about the relationship my hands have with the work that I touch, the people that I touch, the food, plants, animals that I touch. I think about how they are always tired but ready to work, I think about how we use them to communicate, to give or receive something. They are just really important to me. I make a lot of molds and castings of friends’ hands in the studio both for reference and to use in work.
What other projects do you have coming up?
I have a large exhibition opening in summer 2019 at The Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum in Milwaukee. It’s an old Italianate mansion that overlooks lake Michigan with a lot of amazing architectural and decorative elements. I’ll be transforming the entire museum into an installation titled “A Mouth Shaped Room.” Another larger installation of mine that I did in 2016 for the John Michael Kohler Art Center called “My Own Personal Ghost” will begin traveling to several other museums in the U.S. shortly after the show in Milwaukee closes. The Museum of Arts and Design in New York has one of my larger embroideries “Encyclopedia of the Familiar” on display through March as part of their permanent collection exhibition, The Future of Craft.
David R. Haper: Zodiac opens on Thursday November 15 at our New + Now Gala and will be on view throughout the Museum until January 6, 2019.
All photos by Rich Maciejewski, courtesy of David R. Harper