Shawne Major (born December 25, 1968,

New Iberia, Louisiana New Iberia (french: La Nouvelle-Ibérie; es, Nueva Iberia) is the largest city in and parish seat of Iberia Parish, Louisiana, Iberia Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana. The city of New Iberia is located approximately southeast of Lafayette, L ...

) is an American

mixed media In visual art, mixed media describes artwork in which more than one medium or material has been employed. Assemblages, collages, and sculpture are three common examples of art using different media. Materials used to create mixed media art incl ...

artist, working in two-dimensional mixed-media hangings and three-dimensional mixed media sculptures.

Education

Major was born in

, on December 25, 1968. She attended the

University of Southwestern Louisiana The University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette, University of Louisiana, ULL, or UL) is a public research university in Lafayette, Louisiana. It has the largest enrollment within the nine-campus University of Louisiana System and the s ...

, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting in 1991. She then went on to study at

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

, where she received a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture in 1995. Before attending university, Major had little exposure to the arts, saying "as a kid I didn’t know you could be an artist. I didn’t know that was something like that was an option." She was strongly influenced by

Robert Rauschenberg Milton Ernest "Robert" Rauschenberg (October 22, 1925 – May 12, 2008) was an American painter and graphic artist whose early works anticipated the Pop art movement. Rauschenberg is well known for his Combines (1954–1964), a group of artwor ...

, saying "because of him I can make anything I want." She was also influenced by the paintings of

Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...

and artists such as

Lynda Benglis Lynda Benglis (born October 25, 1941) is an American sculptor and visual artist known especially for her wax paintings and poured latex sculptures. She maintains residences in New York City, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Kastellorizo, Greece, and Ahmedaba ...

Nancy Graves Nancy Graves (December 23, 1939 – October 21, 1995, in Massachusetts) was an American sculptor, painter, printmaker, and sometime-filmmaker known for her focus on natural phenomena like camels or maps of the Moon. Her works are included in man ...

Richard Pousette-Dart Richard Warren Pousette-Dart (June 8, 1916 – October 25, 1992) was an American abstract expressionist artist most recognized as a founder of the New York School of painting.Kimmelman, Michae"Richard Pousette-Dart, 76, Dies; An Early Abstract E ...

, and

Kurt Schwitters Kurt Hermann Eduard Karl Julius Schwitters (20 June 1887 – 8 January 1948) was a German artist who was born in Hanover, Germany. Schwitters worked in several genres and media, including dadaism, constructivism, surrealism, poetry, sound, pain ...

Art

Major's works are assemblages, classified as

bricolage In the arts, ''bricolage'' ( French for "DIY" or "do-it-yourself projects") is the construction or creation of a work from a diverse range of things that happen to be available, or a work constructed using mixed media. The term ''bricolage'' ...

. Her two-dimensional works are sometimes referred to as

tapestries Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike most woven textiles, where both the warp and the weft threads may ...

, though this is technically incorrect, since a tapestry is woven from thread, whereas Major works by sewing found objects onto a base of fabric or poultry netting. To that base, Major sews objects such as toys, clothing, buttons, ribbons, fake fur, jewelry, charms, money household objects such as faucets and fixtures, wire, electronic circuit-boards, and husbandry equipment. Major refers to her two-dimensional works as "physical paintings."

Awards

Major has been awarded a Rauschenberg residency and a Pollack-Krasner Grant.

References

External links

Shawne Major official Web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Major, Shawne Living people 1968 births 20th-century American women artists 21st-century American women artists Artists from Louisiana