Central College welcomes the sculptural still-life photography artist Jody Boyer to the Mills Gallery from Nov. 6 to Dec. 9. Boyer’s exhibit is titled “Ice Works.”
An artist’s reception will be at 1 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 6, in the Mills Gallery. The gallery is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Boyer’s new series of works began at the start of the pandemic and is tied to her identity as artist-researcher-mother-teacher. Creating these works and sharing them has become part of her daily practice of living.
“While I sheltered in place with my family, I found myself reflecting not only on self-care but also on the roles and responsibilities of how we tend to each other, our shared communities and our shared humanity,” Boyer says.
“In my kitchen while I prepared food for my family, I began to explore creating ephemeral sculptural objects,” Boyer says. “As artists, we can problem solve and remain creative even in times of crisis, with little to nothing on hand. The science of ice, food coloring and my freezer became my artistic tools and my kitchen a photo studio. I used decaying leftovers from flower bouquets bought to brighten our domestic space. My children and I also began foraging in our neighborhood as a way of thinking about place and sustainability.”
The work investigates domesticity and physical change on a metaphoric and visceral level — decorative glassware designed for celebration, a world frozen, loss, the fleeting existence of fragile cut flowers, grief and the passing of time — are all embedded in the eye-candy of sculptural still-life photographs.
Boyer is an artist and educator who aims to make art every day. In her studio practice, she explores the broad interdisciplinary possibilities of traditional and new media with specific interests in personal and collective memory, domesticity, climate change, care and the natural world. Her artwork has been shown in more than 85 exhibitions across the country.
She received her B.A. in studio arts from Reed College, an M.A. in intermedia and video art from the University of Iowa and an M.S. in secondary education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She teaches in the School of the Arts at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and at Norris Middle School. She is a doctoral candidate in educational leadership at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.
