Press Release and Chapter Discussions

MSUB                         Northcutt Steele Gallery

Montana State University Billings                                            For Immediate Release

Press Release

Shayla Fiscus

A Process of Fiber Installation

April 2^nd - April 15, 2017

Artist Discussion: Monday, April 10^th from 11:40 am – 12:40 pm

[*Free and open to the public]

      This is an in-process art exhibition displaying the planning and process making of MSUB student and artist Shayla Fiscus. Utilizing her sculpture background Shayla translates connections between fiber, tools, and human nature. The process of idea making and planning coincides with the installation planned for her Senior Capstone exhibition. 

     Through sculpture and installation Shayla Fiscus discusses a conversation that is shared between the thread of material and the thread of technology in relation to the user and the wearer. The connection of fiber and human nature translates a tactile physicality and a sensory memory.

Shayla Fiscus, A Social Thread,

thread, metal screen, spools, 

needle, wood, pulley system, 2 ft. x 2 ft. x 6 ft. 

Shayla has devoted her life to art intellectually and physically on various levels and continues to aspire her goals of becoming an art educator and an exhibiting artist after graduation, as well as acquiring a gallery space to manage of her own.  The sculptural installation proposed in A Process of Fiber Installation will be constructed within the Northcutt Steele inner student gallery in the fall of 2017 as Shayla’s Senior Capstone exhibition. During the fall of 2017 Shayla will be student teaching within the Billings Public Schools to complete her art education degree. Ms. Fiscus graduates in the spring of 2018 from Montana State University of Billings; obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Art Teaching k-12 Degree and a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Sculpture.

     An artist discussion will be held on Monday, April 10^th beginning at 11:40am to 12:40pm located on the 1^st floor in the inner student gallery of the Liberal Arts Building, MSUB. The artist discussion and exhibition is free and open to the public.

     The Northcutt Steele Gallery is located on the 1^st floor of the Liberal Arts Building on the MSUB campus and is open Monday-Friday from 8am to 4pm, and by appointment. For more information visit: www.msubillings.edu/gallery and www.facebook.com/northcuttsteelegallery .

Liberal Arts Building 1^st Floor

Inner Student Gallery

1500 University Drive

Billings, MT. 59101

Telephone: 406.657.2903

Fax: 406.657.2187

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Prompt #1 Chapter 4: “For Your Consideration”: What is provenance and why is it such an important issue in the art world? The Universal Leonardo project, launched in 2005, focuses on the techniques and processes used by Leonardo da Vinci rather than claiming to determine attribution. Why do you think this shift has taken place?

     Provenance is the recording of information related to an artwork that documents ownership. It is vital within the art world because it identifies the history of the artwork such as: artist or workshop verification, ownership history or documentation from archaeological excavations, records of sale, exhibition history, and citations in exhibition catalogues or art historical writings about the work. These records are available for the owner of a work or when an artwork becomes donated. Provenance historicizes art and keeps it alive in many ways.

     Attributions are vital in art because we have come to value the link between art and artist. The world has come to value the artwork of Leonardo da Vinci intrinsically and extrinsically do to his creativity and talent. Society has created a ‘lasting’ image of this historical artist; the monetary value of the work could decrease if people found out that the artist did not create a work identified with da Vinci. Rather than claiming to determine attribution the artworld is shifting towards the identification of techniques and processes which creates an umbrella that covers all works influenced or created by a master or student practicing the same process. The work is still valued, examined, and appreciated instead of being rejected do to attribution value. Once the ‘lasting’ image has been made it is difficult to change that image because of its intrinsic influences on the artworld and society.

Prompt #3 Chapter 9:

“For Your Consideration”: Review the information presented in Ch. 8 on Marcel Duchamp’s work called Fountain (see Fig. 12). If you had been on the committee that decided what could and could not be exhibited at the American Society of Independent Artists, where Fountain, was first exhibited, would you have allowed this work to be in the show? Why or why not? What would have been criteria for acceptance or rejection?

     I would like to think that I would have allowed Duchamp’s Fountain to be exhibited in the American Society of Independent Artists, because the artist’s interpretation and intent pushed the boundaries of what art is, has been, and could be. I can say that it would have been difficult to interpret and understand Duchamp at first but keeping an open mind to art is key in accepting art. However, the expectations and guidelines of the past played a huge role in ‘what’ art is and I feel that they overshadowed the voices created outside of these guidelines. If the artist’s intent wasn’t given I believe the work could have just become misconstrued and rejected. I am uncertain how I would put parameters on accepting or rejecting art. I think having information about the artwork such as its influences, the techniques and processes, and the artist’s interpretation is influential in considering art on a deeper level. There are times when an artwork can be seen differently after learning how it came about making that connection between the art and the artist.