Literature, Nature, and Materiality

Valerie Constantino's gallery show in the Else Gallery at Sac State had many questions that were answered during her artist talk on Tuesday February 7. A deeper understanding of the materiality and literature involved are necessary to fully understand what Constantino was striving for Crossing Sublime: After Nature. Constantino explained that she finds great joy being in nature and interacting with wildlife. She's an avid reader and an amazing writer as well. She works with the materiality of textiles and emphasized the metaphoric visual language of textiles. She was highly influenced by Anni Albers of the Bauhaus. Albers talked about listening to the materials and work together with them to make art. Constantino said that it was like a marriage, there are compromises made and a sort of give and take relationship.

Constantino's poems modelling Sebald's format

Constantino believed in looking at one's self as a material being. Approaching the body of work with appropriation, she modeled the show after a book by W.G. Sebald that has three parts: two strangers, described as if known very personally and then one's self. The linearity of the narrative drove the project. When talking about her concept, she said, "That was always the anchor." She explained that the research was done prior to the proposal so all of the ideas were there so when it came to the execution, she was able to manage her time. She also funnily exclaimed, "I have absolutely no social life!"

After Anne Ryan 2 (left)
After Anne Ryan 3 (right)

One of the people Constantino chose was Anne Ryan who was an abstract expressionist and a writer. Ryan did collage so Constantino worked very similarly with her textiles to create a collage in her style. She resisted working large because smaller works are very internal and personal while larger works are very expansive.

The addition of audio added a more immersive experience.

Each chemical was represented by a colored dot
on the grid by the percentage it made up air.

The other person chosen was Valentina Tereshkova who was the first woman in space. Constantino discovered by chance that Tereshkova originally worked in textiles as well, sparking a bigger connection between the content and the medium. She talked about air like it was matter, contributing to the chemical composition of air in Constantino's square piece titled After Valentina Tereshkova 4. Tereshkova's voice recording of her in space reporting back, "It is I, Chaika (seagull)." Constantino portrayed that moment by sewing feathers that appear to be flying above the Earth in a very whimsical and magical manner. The addition of the audio also gave a very synesthetic experience and she exclaimed how exciting the discovery of the audio was for her. She explained that it was similar to air in that it is an unseen material that affects us.

Constantino's love of adventure and nature is highly
apparent in her work.

Crossing the Sublime

For the final part of Constantino's story, she utilized her love for adventure and nature in her textiles. She researched the undergrowth of trees and the spilling of light, relating both to the verticality of the piece with silk gauze titled Crossing the Sublime. Constantino chose silk gauze because she said that it almost does not exist. She explained that it was difficult to manipulate because it kept moving but it gave off a feeling of the sublime despite the introverted and quiet nature of the material.

Constantino (center) with me and a few classmates

Waiting for the talk to begin