Jody Oesterreicher

Description Representation Experience

I am a writer and visual artist. Language and materiality are central to my art. I am interested in the verbal and visual nature of thought; the mysterious relationship between language and consciousness; the interplay between conscious and unconscious knowing; and the origins and evolution of language. My artistic practice is an ongoing exploration of the relationships among word, image, idea, body, and object. Wordplay creates linkages between image and word, as well as between the unconscious and conscious mind, and is an important aspect of my artistic practice.

All aspects of the human experience provide the subject matter for my work. I draw directly from my own emotional history and its tangled roots in family, biology, society, culture, time, and space.

The media and tools I use to make art is the stuff of everyday life: Cardboard boxes, sheets and blankets, needles and thread, pencils and paper, scissors and glue. Though the subject matter of each work may vary, inherent in my use of vernacular media is a validation of the creative potential in the ordinary and the age-old tradition of comingling art and everyday life. My techniques speak to the significance of touch and "d...

EDUCATION

Northern Illinois University
DeKalb, IL
MFA

Columbia College Chicago
BA, Art and Design

Northwestern University
Medill School of Journalism
Evanston, IL
MS, Journalism

Columbia College Chicago
BA, Journalism