-012 Zoe Schwartz
If there is one thing that you can change in a previous project of yours, what would it be?
In general, I believe my successes and failures are dependent on one another. I would not have my current practice, which I love, if I did not make mistakes and learn from them. However, for the purposes of this writing exercise and with the hope it’ll help someone - I will reflect upon what I consider my biggest blunder - my thesis.
During my bronze age, I worked at the New York Art Foundry and learned every step of the bronze casting process from mold making to metal finishing. It was a fabrication studio based on straight and efficient forms of perfect reproduction. When I wasn’t making sculptures for clients, I was creating a series of bronze underwear that resulted in my acceptance to the Rhode Island School of Design’s Sculpture Master’s Program.
In Advanced Critical Studies with Gordon Hall at RISD, we read Ursula K. Le Guin’s Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction. We assume the first tool was a spear, but how would we reconsider writing and art if the first human tool wasn’t a weapon, but a container “the carrier bag.” How would we create if we examined the connections between the things we gather out of love and care instead of the linear finality of a hero’s journey. I couldn’t help but draw parallels both literally and figuratively between my bronze age and the spear. It changed the way I thought about my art practice, but some evolutions take time.
Once I had a large studio of my own, amongst over two hundred graduate students I wanted my work to shine. My final thesis employed defense mechanisms: humor, deflection, pageantry and self deprecation with little vulnerability. There were micro moments of sincerity scattered around the mirrored platform, but the macro was a spear.
In the end, the thesis did what I wanted it to do - it was placed in a prominent spot in the Dunkin’ Donuts Center. A memorable spectacle, but I couldn’t help but feel embarrassed. It stood out but, perhaps, for all the wrong reasons. When I graduated and made the move to New York City, I left the things I could not carry.
. . .
A little over three years later, I’m sitting in my apartment with a dear friend and emerging artist who dreams of making something big. When I ask, “Why?"
They respond, “I want to stretch my skill to see if I can do it, but I don’t have the funds, or the space or the time.” In their voice, I heard echoes of my younger self.
“It is natural to have that inclination…however, I have no doubt you have the skills to accomplish your vision and elders who can help you achieve what you do not know. I wasted a lot of time and resources wanting to go big. There are so many works that will never see the light of day because once I made the thing that was the end. There were no surprises or discoveries to lead me somewhere new. My humble advice? Do what you can, now. Make tests, learn the equipment, and ask questions. Collect as much as you can, everyday. You’ll surprise yourself with how full your carrier bag can become and by extension, your art.”
About Zoe Sarah Schwartz:
Zoe Sarah Schwartz is an American artist based in New York City. She graduated with a BFA in Studio Art from the University of Michigan, 2016 and a MFA in Sculpture from the Rhode Island School of Design, 2022.
Over the past two years, she was deeply engaged in spearheading the founding and launching a new Glass Department at the School of Visual Arts which specializes in stained glass and glass fusing techniques. She researched, planned and built the program from the ground up, and created a curriculum and begun teaching BFA Fine Arts students with the help of Shiny Sparkle Studios.
Zoe plays with glass, metal, pearl, performance, light, sound and reflection. She and her practice cycle though the negative and positive; individual and collective; hypervisible and invisible; real and ephemeral; somatic and cerebral; resilient and fragile.
www.zoeschwartz.me
All images courtesy of Zoe Schwartz