Looking Out / Looking In
2021 Member's Exhibition

 

Marcus

Claire Marcus

ClaireMarcusFineArts.com
Claire Marcus holds MFA and BFA degrees in painting and a BA in architecture from the University of Pennsylvania. She has a special interest in landscape’s power to evoke memory and narrative. Born and raised in New York, she has lived in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania since 2003, where she has access to industrial, rural, and urban subjects. Her work in book formats and mixed media is created with photography, printmaking, drawing, and textile techniques. It reflects her background as a fifth generation fiber artist, synthesizing family heritage with training in painting and architecture.

SAFETY FOLLOWS WISDOM

SAFETY FOLLOWS WISDOM: A concept expressed on a relief sculpture I discovered when pandemic protocols changed my errand routine. A concept that was questioned in debates about preventive measures, despite the rising death toll. The yellow printing refers to the road markings on the wide avenue in my childhood neighborhood, denoting a pedestrian safety zone.

4" x 3" x 22"
Digital photographs, relief prints, accordion structure, Strathmore paper masu box
2020

FEARLESS NEWS

While pandemic restrictions kept us sheltered at home, mail art and Zoom helped us connect and form new connections with each other.

FEARLESS NEWS acknowledges both strategies: I participated in virtual workshops (including one for the artists' stamps here) and virtual exhibits hosted by Cincinnati Book Arts Society, making new  friendships and exchanging ideas across the miles. Found objects and papers proved their value during limited in-person access to supply sources. The masu box functions as a traditional postage stamp container.

4" x 3.5" x 102"
Collaged artist's stamps on relief printed Hahnemuhle Ingres paper, found spool, found text, Strathmore paper masu box
2021

SAFETY FIRST

SAFETY FIRST: A reminder that guided and influenced our pandemic routines. It is also repeated advice at industrial sites, like the Steamtown rail museum and its workshops. 

I took these  photographs there a while ago, but their message is pertinent today. My thanks to Lackawanna County for an Arts and Culture grant and the National Park Service for permission to explore Steamtown behind the scenes.

3 5" x 3 5" x 15"
Digital photographs on silk, stitched, relief prints, butterfly accordion structure, ribbon closure
2015

Steel Windows

Observations taken of and through the evolving Bethlehem Steel site, taken over several years and assembled into a composite structure. Reflections on the resilience of a neighborhood landmark, from a  brown field to a buddleia meadow and cultural center.

8" x 11" x 8"
Papercuttings of digital photographs stitched with photographs on silk, accordion structure tunnel book.
2021