Iowa State MFA Exhibit

LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY

Artist Statement: Jasmine Beul

I see my ceramic works as sculptural vessels. They are inspired by historical vessel forms, but without the functionality. The utilitarian function is removed by making the forms asymmetrical, and exaggerating the scale and perforations. When utilitarian nature is removed what remains is an exploration of formal elements.

With my paintings, I was interested in creating a fragmented view of a landscape to be somewhere between realism and abstraction. In these close up views, there is never a sense of the surrounding scenery, but instead, the confrontation of a vertical surface. This close inspection tells the partial story of a place, but obscures the whole truth. It hints at a layered history, but in this extreme close up only a specific part of a story is being told. It becomes a metaphor for the way we retell stories, remembering only certain details, and maybe failing to see the complete truth behind a narrative. 

Artist Biography: Jasmine Beul

Jasmine Beul is grew up in Denver, Colorado, and is currently a first year graduate student in the Integrated Visual Art program at Iowa State University. She graduated from the University of Montana in Missoula in 2017 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and creative writing. Her emphasis with her BFA was in ceramics, an interest which started in high school and she decided to pursue further in college. She also spent a year as a post-baccalaureate student at Montana State University in Bozeman, MT from 2017-2018. Her work has been influenced by living in these places, as well as travelling. This is her first solo exhibition of work in the state of Iowa.

Artist Statement: Manatsa Mazimbe

Art curator and Afrofuturist, Ingrid LaFleur, quotes, “Afrofuturism is an intersection of imagination, technology, the future, and liberation.  I generally define Afrofuturism as a way of imagining possible futures through a black cultural lens.” My work will be a series of digital, traditional, and animated works based on an afro-futuristic setting where Africans and African Americans live in a thriving utopian society. It is an optimistic view of the combination of both cultures in the future through the lens of a character named, Mana.

Artist Biography:   Manatsa Mazimbe

I am currently a third-semester M.F.A graduate student majoring in the Integrated Visual Arts with a focus on Illustration for Animation. I attained my B.F.A in Animation from an enriching education at the Savannah College of Art and Design. The combination of both areas of study has allowed me to expand my work and offer a complete design and storytelling experience.

My time as a student-athlete for four years helped me become disciplined in my work and to appreciate challenges, allowing for continuous focus and diligence. I also had the privilege to work on an Annie nominated film called, Frog Legs, which was directed by an old colleague and friend, Katie Tamboer. Coming from an African background with no knowledge and experience with technology prior to college, this was a satisfying accomplishment.