The Arts
Angie Newman Johnson Gallery
TIME STILL MOVING: February 25 - March 31, 2019
Steve Wanna
Reception: March 19 at 6:45 p.m.
Reception: March 19 at 6:45 p.m.
Time is a byproduct of change. The pieces in this show relate to time in three different ways: fixed works representing a single moment in time, fixed works that are the result of a long process, and works that are still unfolding and continually changing. We relate to each differently, as we experience time differently. The dripping installations invite a meditative state as one observes the slow, almost imperceptible change that results from each drip. The resin works, despite being frozen, have tremendous energy and movement because they capture the very instant a seemingly cataclysmic event occurred. The concrete pieces reflect a long process that unfolds largely unnoticed on city sidewalks as leaves, dampened by rain, leave ghostly imprints of themselves that range from the whimsical to the heartbreaking.
Steve Wanna is a multi-disciplinary sound and visual artist whose work includes music, sound design for dance collaborations, sculpture, video installations, photography, and works for mixed media. Born and raised in Lebanon, he immigrated to the United States with his family as a teenager, eventually receiving a doctorate in Music Composition from the University of Maryland in 2004. His compositions have received national and international performances and his artwork has been presented in galleries and venues across the United States. His approach to making art is guided by a scientific-like curiosity for experimentation and discovery. Most of his work involves varying levels of relinquishing control to some process that allows the work to unfold within certain parameters. He generally works in one of two broad categories, both informed by the principles of emergence as defined in systems theory, swarm intelligence, and Buddhism: under the right conditions, great beauty can emerge even without direct intervention. The first category includes works that capture the moment of their creation, a process permanently frozen in anticipation of the potential of unfolding. These are usually mixed media and draw on experimental techniques that use various materials in atypical ways. The second includes works that are in constant flux—perpetually in states of becoming rather than being. These tend to utilize various electronic components driven by software of the artist’s design to create controlled randomness, which imbues the works with a sense of autonomous life.
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Steve Wanna is a multi-disciplinary sound and visual artist whose work includes music, sound design for dance collaborations, sculpture, video installations, photography, and works for mixed media. Born and raised in Lebanon, he immigrated to the United States with his family as a teenager, eventually receiving a doctorate in Music Composition from the University of Maryland in 2004. His compositions have received national and international performances and his artwork has been presented in galleries and venues across the United States. His approach to making art is guided by a scientific-like curiosity for experimentation and discovery. Most of his work involves varying levels of relinquishing control to some process that allows the work to unfold within certain parameters. He generally works in one of two broad categories, both informed by the principles of emergence as defined in systems theory, swarm intelligence, and Buddhism: under the right conditions, great beauty can emerge even without direct intervention. The first category includes works that capture the moment of their creation, a process permanently frozen in anticipation of the potential of unfolding. These are usually mixed media and draw on experimental techniques that use various materials in atypical ways. The second includes works that are in constant flux—perpetually in states of becoming rather than being. These tend to utilize various electronic components driven by software of the artist’s design to create controlled randomness, which imbues the works with a sense of autonomous life.
