Introduction

Research Summary

When I first looked up the works of Tara Donovan, I was blown away by how simplistic, yet complex her pieces were. What I liked so much about them was the fact that they were all made out of materials that are found in everyday life - things that I had used or seen before. I loved how she took materials that were so simple and created something so large and interesting, and I wondered why I hadn't ever thought to do something like that.

The other thing that amazed me was realizing how much time must be put into each of her pieces. Although I know she has a group of people to help her set up, each piece is built on site and must be taken down after the exhibition. This amazed me, as I had not though much about having to do something like that. I began looking up reviews of her work, and found one that mentioned some of Donovan's work processes. The one that interested me the most was about how she made one of her untitled pieces that was a cube made of layers of shattered glass. This glass had nothing holding it together but friction and gravity. I thought it very interesting that after the show had ended, such a beautiful piece was then knocked over, swept up, and tossed away.

I became very interested in Tara Donovan's character, as she seemed to be a very fun person from all of the interviews I had read. I wondered what she was like and how much she really enjoyed her meticulous work. I wanted to find out more about her family, and wondered what her house looked like, especially since she did a lot of installation art and happened to be married to an architect.

One reviewer mentioned some artists that Tara Donovan got her inspiration from, so I decided to check our some of their artwork as well. The named artists were Robert Irwin and James Turell. I found out that they also did some installation art, and that what their work had in common with Donovan's was the way that the art was designed to fit the room that is it in, using the room's lighting, shape, and space to make the piece dynamic. I liked the idea of responding to the space in the room. Most of the time, artwork is just made for itself and is then fit in a room with similar pieces to achieve a desired atmosphere, but these pieces speak to the walls and floors of the room itself.

I did some research on the background of installation art and then I wanted to know more about the materials Tara Donovan had chosen. I knew they were all common household items, but I had never thought about researching their history. I found it fun to look up how and why all of these items were invented and them compare their common uses with the way Donovan had chosen to use them. Probably not what the inventor had thought they'd be used for.

After all of this, I did some research into the schools Donovan had gotten degrees from. It was interesting for me because they were all schools that I knew of, and some that I had even visited and gotten into before. This inspired me to take ahold of my education in art and find great things to do with it just as Tara Donovan did. Her pieces make you want to go home and make a sculpture out of whatever you can find lying around the house. This researched project introduced me to a wonderful artist and a new way of seeing and creating art.