Cheryl Gross

TheBrassRing from cherylgross on Vimeo.

This project was sponsored and completed at The Eileen Kaminsky Family Foundation (ESKFF) Residency Program, Jersey City, NJ.

Extinction to Duplication addresses how we will remember our world and what will be lost through duplicating their images using toys, carousels and fabrications. The images at times may appear playful, but are actually cryptic in message.

TheBrassRing: When I think of my early years, the most common form to remember something is through dreams and spoon-fed fantasies via television. We carry these visions and as we reach adulthood, aspiring to become a version of what we remember. That is why we document what will soon become a memory, whether it be an animal, an object, a habitat or a dream.

The Cowgirl alludes to dreams and fantasies that are specifically dominated by a male oriented profession. Can you imagine if The Lone Ranger was portrayed by a woman?

Extinction to Duplication: For Posterity’s sake The problems of this world are only truly solved in two ways: by extinction and duplication. -Susan Sontag Extinction to Duplication addresses how we will remember what will be lost through duplicating their images using toys, carousels and fabrications. The images at times may appear playful, but at times are cryptic in their message. To help…

MASKS 2020 from cherylgross on Vimeo.

Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought we would be living in a sci-fi film. To be one of those poor people in some futuristic shit show where global warming has finally taken its toll and/or a nuclear holocaust has eviscerated half the planet. The other half sits and waits for the aftermath. That about sums up our lives at the moment.

I’m a big fan of science fiction, but not a fan of living in The Twilight Zone. I myself have written a book that employs socio-inequities as well as chromosome manipulation. All of which to my amazement has proved factual. I assume this is due to my being part our collective consciousness. Regardless of how much my life has been transformed (hopefully temporarily) I still need to walk the dog, get groceries, tend to my job, deal with my students and of course make art, which brings me to my project titled: MASKS 2020.

Wearing masks has become law as well as a necessity. Some masks are pure fashion statements while others are more practical in appearance. Many of my drawings are based on actual masks, but yield to artistic license. I have repurposed items such as car lights, coffee filters, bubble wrap and sanitary napkins, to name a few. MASKS 2020 is a sketchbook, filled with drawings, pen and ink, graphite, color pencil.

Much like the baseball cap, masks may become a permanent part of our wardrobe. A quote by Joni Mitchell always stuck with me, “Everything comes and goes, marked by lovers and styles of clothes.”* I think it says it all.