Anna Matthews will be graduating from Georgia College in May of 2024 with a bachelors in Fine Arts and a minor in Music. After graduation, she will be participating in a summer internship at the Booth Museum in Cartersville. In the future, she hopes to work with children and teach them about art and encourage others to explore their creative sides.
Artist Statement
In a world that has been difficult for me to navigate and understand, I have found ways of carving a niche out for myself as a way to feel a sense of belonging. One of these methods is taking blank space in my everyday life and personalizing it to better represent me. From stickers on my laptop, to posters on walls, to doodles in the margins of my lecture notes, I make sure no area is left empty. From an outside perspective, it seems overwhelming or cluttered, but it makes sense to me. These doodles you see are a representation of who I am. I am songs, memes, moments, people, and a million other things that are depicted in these images. When you see these drawings covering the walls and furniture, it is me claiming space and creating an environment all to myself.
project statement
In taking inspiration from artists such as Keith Haring, Sam Cox, and Barbara Kruger, I aim to completely fill a blank space with my own personal touch. I aim to reject the societal norms of what is considered “good art”-such as artwork that features technical skill and serious imagery. Instead, I opt for a mostly humorous approach in a style of simplistic doodles.
While this project is about reclaiming space, I am also reclaiming furniture. All items in this project are secondhand, including the desk that I had in my room as a child. Growing up, I attempted many times to draw on walls and furniture, such as on this very desk. I want to push past the negative view that comes with scribbling on these surfaces. How will I be able to connect and identify with an unfamiliar environment and make a space my own? How will others view and interact with it?
