Betty Davis Art

Navigations of the Fantastic: Installation by Betty A. Davis

2011-08-22T13:43:00.000-07:00

Displacement Stories Installation for MACLA by Betty A. Davis, Dimensions vary, August 2011

Photography: Aimee Santos

Floating tents of a crisp white paper are suspended in the middle of the gallery each one with a colorful plume of feathers that peeks out like a bird's behind. Inside each little tent there is an image of an ideal house along with a story that narrates a unique reaction to parting from a dear space, a container of the self. As an example, one of the tents tells the story of a man who bulldozed his house before he let the bank take it from him.

I remember building fortresses and tents as a child; wanting a space only for myself. The feelings of protection that came from being under a built shelter are still very close to me. The need for it and what it provided to me (may it be safety or privacy) were feelings have always been inside of me. The significance of shelter to humans and the strong bond we develop with our surroundings and our land are ideas that fascinate me.

The Earth is Full by Thomas L. Friedman

2011-06-17T14:58:00.000-07:00

"You really do have to wonder whether a few years from now we’ll look back at the first decade of the 21st century — when food prices spiked, energy prices soared, world population surged, tornados plowed through cities, floods and droughts set records, populations were displaced and governments were threatened by the confluence of it all — and ask ourselves: What were we thinking? How did we not panic when the evidence was so obvious that we’d crossed some growth/climate/natural resource/population redlines all at once?"
Read more:
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/08/opinion/08friedman.html

Navigations of the Fantastic, Collective Exhibit at MACLA

2011-05-11T14:14:00.000-07:00

I will be showing my work beside Elizabeth Gomez'! I will be showing three drawings and an installation, come by!

FUERZAS MAYORES (MAYOR FORCES), CONTEMPORARY NOMADS AND NOMADIC ART OF THE XXI CENTURY
Statement of purpose by Betty Davis

I am fascinated with the idea of home and the powerful connection/symbiotic relation that we have with that space. The four walls where we imprint our essence and that contain us. The need for its physical presence and the desire for it when shelter is no longer there.

It was when I left home that I realized the strong need and feelings for it. My work is based on my own displacement story, moving from Mexico to the US to seek a better life and not being able to settle down and attach to a piece of land of my own in order to grow roots. This issue has strongly influenced my perspective towards life, my art and my way of living: always ready to migrate.

The bird houses are like a self- portrait and a product of my daily interactions with the homeless. I was new in the Bay Area with practically nothing and getting around on my bicycle and the bus route 66. It was because of this that I had the opportunity to ride along with the people who lived under the Corie Ct bridge. One evening while on the bus I heard a homeless man say, “this homeless shit is for birds” and that truly inspired me; an explosion of word connections came to happen. I felt for the man and I felt linked to him at the same time. “I feel ya” I thought.

I consider my art Nomadic in every single way, from my materials (making art that is lightweight and portable, easily packed an moved from place to place) to the connections of its concept. Technique wise it is made in limiting and sometimes precarious circumstances. I consider it simple, improvised, leaning towards minimalism in its technique and at times in form (as well as my feelings while doing it, I want to express the most with a limited set of materials). Conceptually I suggest that we are not different from the nomadic people from hundreds of years ago. Our recent generations are always transitioning from place to place, crossing borders (not only the southern US-Mexico border but borders all over the world.) Always in movement because a job, school, family; we transition willingly or unwillingly as Globalization and natural phenomena bump us from place to place.

Natural phenomena is a recurring theme in this body of work. I want to document the recent natural catastrophes or “Fuerzas Mayores” that have been happening constantly, as well as the changes in the seasons and my inability to predict weather these days. I believe these events have a meaning and will be of relevance in the future.

I looked up the word “Tornado” in the thesaurus and what came up was “ Divine act”; an omnipotent, supreme event that is far beyond our earthly and mortal capabilities; something superb and uncontrollable. A “Causa de Fuerza Mayor” is used in Spanish to define a circumstance that acts as a barrier that no one by their own means could overcome, he or she was powerless over the circumstances. A tornado or death itself would be an example. My work depicts my coming to consciousness of the lack of control over life and my powerlessness towards pretty much, everything that is outside of me.

I will keep moving as I pass through life. I exist and that is plenty.


"Hoverers" Mixed Media on paper 40x38 inch

MACLA's 13th Latino Art Auction exhibit

2011-03-08T07:21:00.000-08:00

Exhibition Opens April 15th- May 14th (auction day)

It gives me great pleasure to invite you to the 13th Latino Art Auction where one of my pieces will be auctioned off to charity. The piece is titled Fuerza Mayor or Force Majeure and it is part of my "Contemporary Nomads" series. For those new to it; it consists of a body of work related to my own displacement experience that resulted from moving from my homeland in Mexico to search for a better life in the United States.
Force Majeure or Fuerza Mayor in Spanish means Major Force; an act of God or Nature that nobody has the means to control or understand. Forces greater than any human being that have the power to move or change us willingly or unwillingly. Fuerza Mayor is about the willingness to embrace the storm or change itself.
At the end of a struggle all that is left is us along with what we learned from it; and that is plenty.

The Triton Museum of Art presents: Xicana: Spiritual Reflections a collective exhibit

2010-02-02T10:23:00.001-08:00

Collective Show and artist talk at the Triton Museum of Art.

http://www.tritonmuseum.org/exhibitions_Chicana.php

I will be showing my recent prints and drawings. Looking forward to meet you there.

All images below: Copyright © 2009 Betty Davis. All Rights Reserved.

Cultural Disjuncture- A collective exhibit at MACLA

2010-01-12T18:07:00.000-08:00

November 2009-Jan 2nd 2010

Featuring my thread drawings on woodcut print, drawings on paper and a drawing installation.

Three studies

Watercolor, thread and drawing on paper.

March, 2009
Copyright © 2009 Betty Davis. All Rights Reserved.

Three studies on displacement

Watercolor, drawing and stitching on paper

5'x9'

Public Housing
Mixed media drawing on paper
44x32 inch
Copyright © 2009 Betty Davis. All Rights Reserved.

Cultural Disjuncture

Drawing Installation

Thread, charcoal and paint.
Copyright © 2010 Betty Davis. All Rights Reserved.

2009-07-19T01:36:00.000-07:00

Early Drawing- I found this drawing in an old portfolio. It's from way back when I started my studies in art at the Universidad Veracruzana in Mexico. I remember I was sitting on my bed and the sheets were folded in a way that my eye picked up the image of a face. It looked like these two.

Love. Pastel on Paper. 14x16 inch approx. 2002
Copyright © 2002 Betty Davis. All Rights Reserved.

Royal West of England Academy

2009-07-19T01:23:00.001-07:00

I am proud to announce that I have been selected by The Royal West Academy of England (sponsored by Her Majesty the Queen) to participate in their 27th open exhibition! I am truly excited and looking forward to it! The exhibition opens on the 23rd of August.

2009-04-14T22:02:00.001-07:00

Uprooted: Contemporary Nomads BFA Show presented by Betty Davis

This body of work is strongly related to my own ‘nomadic’ experience and to my longing for stable grounds. Like many others I left my home, my land and all that I hold dear to seek a better life in a distant land. I have crossed the southern border, and at the same time people in other places keep crossing other borders.

"I want to depict those who are not there yet, those who are floating as they transition from place to place, and as a consequence are unable to ‘echar raiz’ (grow roots)."

Not only migrant workers but also students who leave their homes,professionals commuting for a job or forced to move because of a job,the homeless and all of those who feel they have been moved by an outside force from their comfort zone.

The little tents or temporary roofs I really enjoyed making because I could put them through diverse situations. First there are those who are being blown away from the trees.The tree is a stable entity, most of the time it sits strong on the ground. I believe the little houses would like to become trees one day, yet they are blown away by forces beyond their power.

The drawings of the roofs and constellations were inspired by my family’s ways of coping with separation. I remember my mother telling me to step out and look at the moon: “I am looking at it too,we are both looking at it, the same moon at the same time.”That is why the constellations are depicted,and in one there is a ladder that unites earth and constellations together.
The thread drawings on wood prints are based on my daily interaction with the homeless. I remember listening to an old homeless man say:“This homeless shit is for birds” and yes, we are like birds, migrating and constantly moving from place to place.
The woven pieces below are landmarks. They do not have any reference to place or time. They serve as a reminder of a failed attempt to settle.

Uprooted: Contemporary Nomads. Pastel and Charcoal on paper. 30x40 inch. March 2009

Constellations. Pastel, Thread and Charcoal on paper. 30x40 inch. March 2009

Detail of This Homeless Shit is for bids. Embroidery on woodcut print. Series of four birdhouses. 9x11 inch each approx.

Attempt to Settle #3. Embroidery on Swedish Lace Weaving. Hand dyed cotton. Series of three. 8x8 inch approx.

Caminos. Mixed media on Paper.22x30 inch. 2009

2009-02-10T23:06:00.000-08:00

Bear Fetus/ Lithography/ 22x30 inch. 2008

Pajerita/Ink and pastel on paper/22x30 inch
2008

2009-02-07T16:16:00.000-08:00

Hi and welcome to my blog...

Soon I will be uploading more images of my work. Mainly my prints, drawing and textiles. Most of my work is based on personal life experiences such as my upraising amongst nuns, my father's death and moving away from my native country. I like to combine mediums and experiment with several techniques; I still consider my imagery quite conservative and academic. I will constantly be updating my imagery so come by often!

If you have any questions feel free to contact me :^)

Image info: Self Portrait as a child

Ink,charcoal and pastel on paper. 22x 30 inch.