KoizenMichael KozienSlow Burn: Mud Pies, 2012-13

Statement

Slow Burn: Mud Pies, is a bronze and iron sculpture of child-­‐like mud pies from a continuing

series of work titled, Slow Burn. The Slow Burn series consists of cast bronze, iron, wood, plastic and neon works engaging ideas and accounts of lifelong adult behaviors rooted from childhood development. The objects and images from Slow Burn reflect the nuances of behaviors, customs, processes and codes we learn at a young age and carry with use throughout our adult lives. From how we speak, move, interact, work and play, these behaviors shape our cognitive, physical, interpersonal and communicative landscape creating the system we use to exist in the world.

Slow Burn: Mud Pies investigates the act of play and the value/de-­‐value of the ‘made’ object. As an abstract form created as an avatar from food and delight, the mud pie is dignified as an object of imagination, importance and reverence. Placed on display as a sculpture, the object exceeds the transitory nature of mud and becomes a permanent object. Slow Burn: Mud Pies can be displayed in a variety of sizes, numbers, arrangements and mediums including bronze, iron, wood and plastic. 3D printing allows the form to be easily duplicated and distributed.


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Biography

Michael Kozien, a Chicago-based artist, merges animation, video, sound, photography, painting and installation to create his works. He exhibits his work internationally. Recent exhibitions include: Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts, Grand Rapids, MI, New York University, Korpufsstadir, Reykjavik, Iceland, Chicago Cultural Center, Art in General, NYC, Harvestworks, NYC, Le Musee di-visioniste, Cologne, Germany, Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art, Lake Worth, FL, and the Center for Contemporary Art, Sacramento, CA. Projects and screenings include: a video performance at FUN, NYC and at the Sacramento Festival of Cinema 2002. Michael has been a resident artist at Takt Kunstprojektraum, Berlin, Germany (2011), (SIM) The Association of Icelandic Visual Artists Residency, Reykjavik, Iceland (2010-11) and La Macina di San Cresci Artist Residency, Greve, Italy (2009). His work has been reviewed in numerous publications including The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune and The San Diego Union-Tribune. He earned a MFA in digital media from Stony Brook University and a BFA in painting from Southern Illinois University. Michael is the director of Operation France, a non-commercial creative collective of international artists based in Chicago, USA. Currently, he is a Associate Professor in the Digital Media + Design Department at the College of Lake County, Illinois where he teaches courses in animation, video, sound and digital media theory.

Website: www.michaelkozien.com