Magdolene Dykstra's guest appearances

Magdolene Dykstra

Tales of a Red Clay Rambler: A pottery and ceramic art podcast

Something (rather than nothing)

Natalia Arbelaez

Kyle Carpenter

Tara Wilson

Amy Sanders

Shannon Sullivan

Margaret Bohls

Randy Johnston

Amy Santoferraro

Birdie Boone

Jeff Chown

Josh Deweese

Henry Purdy

Richard Stratton

James Whiting

Andrew Stephenson

OwlTail

Heidi McKenzie

Habiba El-Sayed

“Disrupting the Canon” investigates how four women of colour use their practices to disrupt a predominantly Eurocentric, male art narrative. The goal behind this exhibition and presentation is bigger than diversifying the canon, which can still leave artists of colour and women on the margins. Rather, this discussion is part of the huge project of deconstructing the racist and sexist tendencies of our societal and institutional structures with the aim of building a new foundation of multiplicity. Natalia Arbelaez, Magdolene Dykstra, Habiba El-Sayed, and Heidi McKenzie work to fashion a more egalitarian canon through artistic practices that delve into diverse histories.

“Disrupting the Canon” investigates how four women of colour use their practices to disrupt a predominantly Eurocentric, male art narrative. The goal behind this exhibition and presentation is bigger than diversifying the canon, which can still leave artists of colour and women on the margins. Rather, this discussion is part of the huge project of deconstructing the racist and sexist tendencies of our societal and institutional structures with the aim of building a new foundation of multiplicity. Natalia Arbelaez, Magdolene Dykstra, Habiba El-Sayed, and Heidi McKenzie work to fashion a more egalitarian canon through artistic practices that delve into diverse histories.

Episode 93 - 'Disrupting the Canon' w/ Natalia Arbelaez, Heidi McKenzie, Habiba El-Sayed and Magdolene Dykstra

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Magdolene Dykstra. Her raw clay sculptures depict a shifting biosphere of cells morphing to fill the environment they inhabit. The work highlights both the micro and macro effects of overpopulation and centers around the question “What is the role of the individual within the horde”? In our interview we talk about the concept of Polyanthroponemia, building large scale works with press molded parts, and using ceramic pigments for works on paper. Magdolene just finished a Visiting Artist in Residence at Concordia University and is now based in St. Catharines, Ontario. To see examples of her work visit www.magdolenedykstra.com.   This interview is part of Canada Week, highlighting Canadian makers in the run up to the Ceramic Congress. Canada is the host country for this international online conference, which is happening May 27th- 31st. You can register for the five-day conference for only $10 at www.ceramic.school/the-ceramics-congress. I’ll be interviewing Greg Payce and Katrina Chaytor on the main stage on Thursday May 27th at 7pm EST. I’d love to have podcast fans in attendance for this online gathering, so I hope to see you there.   Hey Red Clay Rambler fans, it’s May, which means we are celebrating the 9th birthday of the podcast. To help celebrate I’m asking you to contribute $9 to support this season of the show. You can get involved by making a donation through the Pay Pal donation portal at www.talesofaredclayrambler.com/donate or you can make a monthly pledge at patreon.com/redclayrambler. If you join Patreon today you can access perks like t-shirts, water bottles, and other podcast swag, as well as having access to the Patreon exclusive Tales from the Vault podcast, which features remastered episodes that are no longer available on major podcast apps. Thanks for listening and being part of the Red Clay Rambler community! With your support I can keep this show rolling into its 10th season.

Today on the Tales of a Red Clay Rambler Podcast I have an interview with Magdolene Dykstra. Her raw clay sculptures depict a shifting biosphere of cells morphing to fill the environment they inhabit. The work highlights both the micro and macro effects of overpopulation and centers around the question “What is the role of the individual within the horde”? In our interview we talk about the concept of Polyanthroponemia, building large scale works with press molded parts, and using ceramic pigments for works on paper. Magdolene just finished a Visiting Artist in Residence at Concordia University and is now based in St. Catharines, Ontario. To see examples of her work visit <a href="http://www.magdolenedykstra.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.magdolenedykstra.com</a>. This interview is part of Canada Week, highlighting Canadian makers in the run up to the Ceramic Congress. Canada is the host country for this international online conference, which is happening May 27th- 31st. You can register for the five-day conference for only $10 at <a href="http://www.ceramic.school/the-ceramics-congress" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.ceramic.school/the-ceramics-congress</a>. I’ll be interviewing Greg Payce and Katrina Chaytor on the main stage on Thursday May 27th at 7pm EST. I’d love to have podcast fans in attendance for this online gathering, so I hope to see you there. Hey Red Clay Rambler fans, it’s May, which means we are celebrating the 9th birthday of the podcast. To help celebrate I’m asking you to contribute $9 to support this season of the show. You can get involved by making a donation through the Pay Pal donation portal at <a href="http://www.talesofaredclayrambler.com/donate" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">www.talesofaredclayrambler.com/donate</a> or you can make a monthly pledge at <a href="http://patreon.com/redclayrambler" rel="noopener nofollow" target="_blank">patreon.com/redclayrambler</a>. If you join Patreon today you can access perks like t-shirts, water bottles, and other podcast swag, as well as having access to the Patreon exclusive Tales from the Vault podcast, which features remastered episodes that are no longer available on major podcast apps. Thanks for listening and being part of the Red Clay Rambler community! With your support I can keep this show rolling into its 10th season.

375: Canada Week: Magdolene Dykstra on her raw clay sculptures

You are really going to enjoy this deep dive into profound questions with Canadian Artist MAGDOLENE DYKSTRA. Her work with clay prompts the viewer to consider profound questions of ecology, elementals, growth, decay, the climate and art. I really love her Artist Statement that helps to describe the sheer profundity of her project . . .A desire to understand my place in the universe drives my work. Using sculpture and installation, my work meditates on the unfathomable multiplicity of humanity. My compositions are inspired by microbiology, finding lineage in the Romantic artists of the 19th century who used their paintings to evoke the sublime by reminding the viewer of their diminutive status in relation to grand landscapes. In contrast to macro landscapes, I site the sublime in microbial terrain. In a time of environmental endangerment, my aesthetic of cellular accumulation references the vast numbers of the human race, swarming beyond what is sustainable. I compose my work using primarily unfired clay, imparting these roiling masses with precarity to reflect on the fragility of our collective existence. Whatt is the role of the individual within the horde?My sculpted paintings merge my interest in the foreign terrain of microbiology with an examination of what Barnett Newman called the “abstract sublime”. These works reference Abstract Expressionism’s use of immense scale to evoke feelings of transcendence. Within my work, each individual is absurdly insignificant except for its interconnectedness to everything around them. Gathered en masse, these lifeforms overwhelm the structure upon which they grow. Drawing on the ephemeral works of land artist Richard Long, my Interventions contextualize the microbial forms in the landscape. Despite the accumulating number of cells in each Intervention, they cannot withstand the elements, ultimately returning to the earth.Just as prehistoric artists recorded their presence using pigments of the earth, I use clay to explore my relationship to the earth and the universe. Sculpture, installation, and drawing allow me to make the unseen tangible. Using clay connects me to rituals and cultures throughout human history. This primordial material bears the memory of the earliest artists, all the way back to the cave of Le Tuc d’Audoubert in France, where a bull and cow sculpted in raw clay have lain for about 15,000 years. I am one of many makers throughout human history who uses this material to explore my link to the rest of the universe. Instead of relying on the ability of fired clay to withstand time, I use raw clay in order to embrace ephemerality. Impermanence enhances preciousness. The things that don’t last demand more careful attention.http://magdolenedykstra.com/

You are really going to enjoy this deep dive into profound questions with Canadian Artist MAGDOLENE DYKSTRA. Her work with clay prompts the viewer to consider profound questions of ecology, elementals, growth, decay, the climate and art. I really love her Artist Statement that helps to describe the sheer profundity of her project . . .A desire to understand my place in the universe drives my work. Using sculpture and installation, my work meditates on the unfathomable multiplicity of humanity. My compositions are inspired by microbiology, finding lineage in the Romantic artists of the 19th century who used their paintings to evoke the sublime by reminding the viewer of their diminutive status in relation to grand landscapes. In contrast to macro landscapes, I site the sublime in microbial terrain. In a time of environmental endangerment, my aesthetic of cellular accumulation references the vast numbers of the human race, swarming beyond what is sustainable. I compose my work using primarily unfired clay, imparting these roiling masses with precarity to reflect on the fragility of our collective existence. Whatt is the role of the individual within the horde?My sculpted paintings merge my interest in the foreign terrain of microbiology with an examination of what Barnett Newman called the “abstract sublime”. These works reference Abstract Expressionism’s use of immense scale to evoke feelings of transcendence. Within my work, each individual is absurdly insignificant except for its interconnectedness to everything around them. Gathered en masse, these lifeforms overwhelm the structure upon which they grow. Drawing on the ephemeral works of land artist Richard Long, my Interventions contextualize the microbial forms in the landscape. Despite the accumulating number of cells in each Intervention, they cannot withstand the elements, ultimately returning to the earth.Just as prehistoric artists recorded their presence using pigments of the earth, I use clay to explore my relationship to the earth and the universe. Sculpture, installation, and drawing allow me to make the unseen tangible. Using clay connects me to rituals and cultures throughout human history. This primordial material bears the memory of the earliest artists, all the way back to the cave of Le Tuc d’Audoubert in France, where a bull and cow sculpted in raw clay have lain for about 15,000 years. I am one of many makers throughout human history who uses this material to explore my link to the rest of the universe. Instead of relying on the ability of fired clay to withstand time, I use raw clay in order to embrace ephemerality. Impermanence enhances preciousness. The things that don’t last demand more careful attention.<a href="http://magdolenedykstra.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">http://magdolenedykstra.com/</a>

Episode 23 - Magdolene Dykstra