[image at top] Geoffrey Krawczyk — Laumeier Sculpture Park          

[image at top] Geoffrey Krawczyk — Laumeier Sculpture Park                           Geoffrey Krawczyk’s site-specific installation Recess, 2014, is an interactive space that refers to the decline of the Cahokian culture and the contemporary decay of urban areas in St. Louis. Commissioned for Laumeier’s exhibition Mound City, the room-sized chamber is made from a mixture of new and donated reclaimed red brick from architectural ruins of North St. Louis. The engravings on a number of the bricks are from individuals in the community explaining their thoughts and ideas on the challenges facing St. Louis. The remnants of modern economic and social policy echo the decay of Cahokia 750 years ago. These parallels are drawn through the construction of a deteriorated building; its presence is meant to foster a discussion about adaptation, governance and progress. By combining symbols of the two historical situations with the voice of the contemporary community, Krawczyk hopes to create a “meta-site” that encompasses not only the physical, but also the psychological, marks left behind by societal change.[middle image] Geoffrey was born in Oklahoma in 1978. He was introduced to art at a young age by his father, a professional cartoonist and illustrator and Vietnam vet. Growing up in a family with a disabled veteran gave him an interest in the nature of sacrifice and violence and would greatly influence his art practice. He attended the Oklahoma Summer Arts Institute in 1997, where he would later serve as PR Assistant and Drawing/Painting Liason. In 2006, he completed his BFA in Painting and Printmaking at the University of Oklahoma and received his MFA in Visual Studies in 2010 from the State University of New York - Buffalo. He currently resides in Oklahoma City, OK and teaches art at Southwestern Oklahoma State University. [bottom images]  from” Artistic skulls draw attention at Oklahoma City’s Centennial Land Run Monument” | News OK                                                                                                                                                                                  For mixed-media artist Geoffrey Krawczyk, the run was a sad chapter for American Indians, who had previously used the land.That’s why on June 16, he scattered 39 cast-iron human skulls, some with replicated blood, among the monument’s larger-than-life bronze horses, settlers and covered wagons.“As a white Oklahoman, it has always bothered me how ready the state is to claim its native culture while blatantly whitewashing the actual history of the place,” Krawczyk said. “The land run is a particularly odious example, considering re-enactments are still done in elementary schools across the state. Imagine how horrible Indian kids feel watching that?” -- source link

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