148 - Centripetal Forces: Change of Directions (LBJ) by Star Varner

Color etching on grey Rives BFK paper with sawdust from the Cabinet Oak Tree with black and white horse hair. Unique etching (not editioned). 44" x 30" x 3." The rope spinning that made the initial marks on the printmaking plates alludes to the equine ranch life experienced around the Cabinet Oak, and the circular marks may call to mind the centering leadership of President Johnson as he drew his cabinet to Texas where, as if by centripetal force, they spawned culture-changing ideas that spun out into the world from the shade of the great oak tree outside the Johnson family home. In the print, there is a dividing line where the marks change directions 180 degrees. On one end, white horse hair projects from the paper and on the other, black horse hair trails downward. The colors may suggest many interpretations. Both bundles of hair were purchased from a Native American company, which also acknowledges the Native American equine cultures and their presence. Victoria Star Varner's paintings, drawings and prints range from classically-inspired figural work to process-driven conceptual art, most recently investigating places of historic shifts and transcendent power in culture-changing times and places. She holds degrees from the University of Missouri and Indiana University, Bloomington, studying with Wendy Calman, Marvin Lowe, and Rudy Pozzatti.