Alexandra Friedman (BA ’24) (she/her)
Obsidian
This project centers on how artists define success within glass art, and how ideas of successful or beautiful art are impacted by capitalism and colonialism through using obsidian and glass to create art inspired by geology and volcanism. This is an important question given the lack of knowledge in glass practice of premodern and early modern glass shaping, specifically with obsidian, by the Mayans and later Aztecs. This project is an interdisciplinary study of history, geology, volcanology, anthropology, material studies, and glass art creation.