Artist's Statement by Doré Bodenheimer, 2008:
My extensive study of design (including an MA in Design) has led me to an art form which uses 3-dimensional, pre-formed objects as the basic art elements. This is similar to the use of pigment for the art of painting, or words and phrases for the art of poetry.
Assemblage is, for me, the arranged design of uniquely interesting elements. I am intrigued by tangles of fiber, weathered wood, broken glass, circular objects and crushed metal. Customs officials & airport inspectors at many borders have argued with me concerning my collections: rusted bedsprings from London, pottery shards from Osaka, frayed rope from Veracruz, metal scraps from Bangkok. To these I have added wave-burnished materials found on our ever-replenished beaches.
I am always looking at form. The elegance of simple objects such as tools and machinery, taken out of context, amazes me. Whatever the object I select, it changes in the process of serving me as a design element. You will notice repeated themes of marbles, bones and grids: marbles for their perfect round form and translucency; bones for their graceful structure and color--bleached or unbleached; grids for the concealment and revealing effect of windows/veils--as both barrier and invitation.
These assemblages are concerned with my contemplation of forms and their reassignment, via pattern, balance and color, into creative artworks/ environments. I hope you may find these works evocative of places, thoughts and feelings...both familiar and fantastic.
