Color is a powerful tool that can evoke an experience. Much like our sense of smell is linked to our memories, I believe color can be used to the same effect. I am constantly influenced by color. A photo, a memory, an advertisement, the clothes that a stranger is wearing: the colors I see around me evoke an emotional response, and my goal is to convey what I felt to the viewer with my art.
I’ve always been fascinated with the prominent colors of the 50s, 60s, and 70s. I especially love vintage cookbook photos, creamy pastel Melmac dishes, and the absurd mix of patterns and colors of 70’s interior design. I wonder what life must’ve been like back then: did everyone have candy-colored rotary telephones and psychedelic patterned curtains in their bedrooms? Was everyone drinking Tom Collins’s from matching tumbler sets and eating perfectly trimmed tea sandwiches? I’m forever fascinated by this time, and wanted to explore the colors of this era.
For this show, I’m using color to illustrate the stories of my mother’s life during these decades. Many of these pieces will be accompanied by a photo that explains the inspiration, but some of the pieces are simply influenced by what she’s told me of her memories and experiences. Fashion and music is a recurring theme, as tends to be the case no matter what decade we’re in. Turns out, my mother DID have psychedelic curtains and bold floral-patterned handmade clothing. Through my use of color, this body of work tells these stories from my mother’s life.
ARTIST & HER MEDIUM:
I’ve been a creator my whole life, but found my voice through paper as a medium. I love how approachable this medium is. It’s inexpensive, easy to manipulate, but with the right skill can create truly intricate and massive design. My work plays heavily on color, texture, and repetition. I think some of the most impressive art can be created from simple objects/techniques but multiplied hundredfold.
As a kid I was fascinated by origami, but found it impossibly difficult and quickly gave up. Now, my focus is primarily with origami. Using one specific folded shape, I’ve created works on canvas, large installations, decorative garlands and hanging decor. Origami is simple, but requires intense precision to really master it. I’ve recently started introducing new origami shapes into my work, and I look forward to expanding these concepts.
ARTIST BIO:
Amanda Witucki is a self-taught artist living in Austin who has been creating consistent bodies of work for the past two years. Her focus is paper sculpture and origami. She graduated in 2010 with a BA in Psychology with a minor in French from the University of Kansas.
