ART 1180: Visual Literacy: Art Star: TARA DONOVAN

THE GENIUS OF LITTLE THINGS

(b. New York)

Education:

1987-88 School of Visual Arts, New York

1991 BFA--Corcoran College of Art and Design, Washington, D.C.

1999 MFA at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU)

Before attending VCU, Donovan tended bar and waited tables for six years, and didn't quit her day job until 2003, when her first New York solo show, at the Ace Gallery proved a breakout success.

Donovan's work uses everyday manufactured materials such as Scotch tape, Styrofoam cups, and drinking straws to create large scale sculptures that often have a biomorphic quality. Her sculptures must be assembled and disassembled carefully, which sometimes involves an extremely tedious process. With regards to her artistic process, Donovan explained that she chooses the material before she decides what can be done with it. She noted in an interview that she thinks "in terms of infinity expanding.”

TOOTHPICKS