71st Annual Juried Exhibition: Marissa Georgiou

Detail image of Four Hour Drawing

My piece in Woodmere's 71st Annual Juried Exhibition is from a series of works called Endurance Drawings. Rather than being images of a subject, these drawings are documentation of the effort that went into their existence.  For these works, I prick the paper with a pushpin for varying durations of time. 

The holes are placed as closely as can be accomplished without destroying the fiber of the paper. Through concentrated effort, these objects illustrate a level of closeness that is just at the edge of mutual destruction. 

For me, Endurance Drawings are meditations on the idea of intimacy, a common theme in many of my projects.  

The piece on view at Woodmere can be seen as a drawing, or as documentation of a performance. Similarly, my recent projects Device for Social Climbing and Intimacy Training Device I have dual functionality as sculptures and objects for physical interaction.
 

Gallery Installation of Device for Social Climbing

Device for Social Climbing, pictured above, is a functional graph of the difference in height
between myself and People Magazine’s Sexiest Men Alive, 1985-present. By standing on these platforms, I can equalize our differences, and place my body in a space that theoretically allows for intimacy.  In this way, an object that functions as a sculptural installation is a literal expression of data, and a figurative expression of longing.

Intimacy Training Device I

 Intimacy Training Device I is designed to mimic the presence of another person in bed. This is the first in a series stemming from the idea that the secret to successful intimacy lies in part in the ability to accommodate another person-metaphorically and physically.  My hypothesis is that by creating objects that stand as placeholders for another person, one can train to be a better partner. Similar to the Device for Social Climbing, this object can stand alone as sculptural work or function as a tool.

Intimacy Training Device I in use

Raised outside of Philadelphia, I studied at Tyler School of Art at Temple University, and went on to receive my MFA at Massachusetts College of Art and Design.  I now live and work in West Philadelphia. I do believe in love.

For additional information on these and other projects, please visit my website: m-e-g.net 

By Marissa Georgiou

Marissa's work is featured in Woodmere Art Museum's  71st Annual Juried Exhibition.

About Woodmere's 71st Annual Juried Exhibition: 

Woodmere's 71st Annual Juried Exhibition, juried by artist Alex Kanevsky, will feature works in a variety of media from 46 artists living within 50 miles of the Museum. Works were chosen to create a cohesive presentation that explores contemporary ideas within the arts of Philadelphia. In conjunction with the juried show, Kanevsky's own work will be on view in the exhibition Alex Kanevsky: Some Paintings and Drawings, and the artist has also selected some of Woodmere's works of art for display in Selections from the Collection.