About Me
Artist Statement
My artistic practice focuses on the body and soul influenced by music, nature, spirituality and illness. I combine recycled objects, translucent materials, lights and sound to engage and reference mental, spiritual, and anatomical processes. I share my own journey with invisible illness and spirituality and use research and community conversations to include other voices. Inspiration frequently comes from meditative, reverent spaces and sounds that have strong vibrations, light, natural forces and resonance to engage the soul and spirit.
I utilize ‘alternative’ materials (most times deemed as trash), like broken glass, medical supplies, and recycled plastic, to make my process more accessible and to highlight the rebirth of materials. I’ve used old pill bottles to normalize the act of taking medicine and highlight it’s ‘magical’ capabilities and experimented with stained glass practices to engage a historical and traditional art that displays celestial forces. Transparency, dissonance and color illuminates (oftentimes literally) challenging and divisive topics like religion and disability. My work is therapeutic and generative, creating extensive knots to parallel the pain and confusion of migraines or composing sound art that sparks joy and harmonic peace. It is important for my work to be emotionally provocative so I make my art immersive and responsive to the viewer by using interactive technology. Experimenting with ways of making is significant for my process because it parallels my own constant emotional and spiritual growth, evolving with new experiences and learning from others.
Education
MFA from Pacific Northwest College of Art
MA from Pacific Northwest College of Art
BA from University of Washington
Alexis Neumann has won awards and grants for her research. Her undergraduate education focuses on music, comparative history and cultural studies. Her graduate degrees focus on sculptural installation art, bioart, disability studies, cultural studies and comparative religious studies particularly in relation to art.
September 2019 - August 2022
Graduate Degrees:
M.F.A. in Visual Arts
M.A. in Critical Studies
Laura Russo Memorial Scholarship
PNCA Critical Studies Dual Degree Scholarship
September 2014 - August 2018
B.A. in Comparative History of Ideas and American Music Studies
Certificate in Digital Experimental Arts and New Media
Mary Gates Honors Scholar
Undergraduate Research in the Arts and Humanities Award
Helen A. Reynolds Scholarship in Music
UW Seattle Purple and Gold Scholarship
Dean's List every quarter
Resume- Alexis Neumann 2021
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