i read an interview with Elizabeth McGrath in Juxtapoz magazine over a year ago (issue #83 from dec 2007) and immediately fell in love with both her and her artwork, and she has been one of my favorite artists since.
i was recently at the Harvard Museum of Natural History to look at the taxidermy, and started thinking about her work again (which is not real taxidermy, but definitely inspired by the art of it), and decided she would be the perfect artist to get back to work on this blog with.
McGrath has not only a talent for making the unpretty pretty and a dark playfulness that i am drawn to seemingly more than anything else in life (which she has in common with Edward Gorey, who she states as one of her influences and was perhaps the most brilliant man ever to live), but also has many thematic elements, or inspirations, that i am also extremely attracted to, such as dollhouses, circus folk, doubles, the cabinet of curiosities, punk culture, and more obviously, taxidermy.
another thing i love about McGrath's creations is that they exist purely for their own sake. she makes a point of saying (several ways in different interviews) that she is not trying to make any statements, political or otherwise, and that she thinks it is very important to make art for yourself and not anyone else, or you will lose sight of why you are making it in the first place. she manages to put into words (you can see interviews with her here and here, but beware, the second one is partly in spanish- though McGrath's answers are in english) exactly the way that i feel about art, which is extremely refreshing, especially since i am currently in art school and am constantly being questioned about why i'm doing things.
for a more expansive collection of her work, as well as cute merchandise such as butcher's knives with little paintings on them, be sure to check out her website!
photos: http://www.elizabethmcgrath.com
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