Creating art that promotes environmental conciousness is significant, a Houston-based artist said during an artist talk at the Visual Arts Center on Oct 7. 

Masumi Kataoka’s collaboration with Marshall University fibers professor Miyuki Akai Cook opened in the center with combinations of textile and jewelry pieces.

In Cook’s artist statement, she describes textile techniques, like knitting, weaving and crochet, as repetitive tasks that can serve as “metaphors for our daily lives.” 

“The process of transforming familiar materials into meaningful objects excites me,” she said.

Cook is very passionate about the next generation of children. She questions if the next generation will have the same advantages as the current generation and if they will have a safe environment. 

“My goal with this current project is to increase awareness of our impact on our environment, the effect on our species and the effect on our young generation’s well-being,” she said.

Both Kataoka and Cook use animals as the main focal point of the exhibit.

Kataoka’s work is inspired by mythical creatures, which she said “have symbolic meaning and embody our longing for what we don’t have or what we wish we did.”

Cook transforms animals that are used to help children learn concepts like shapes and colors into “monster-like creatures” known as yokai, which are “legendary ghosts, monsters and spirits” used in Japanese folklore.

“The designs should remain recognizable animal characters with some twists to emphasize the problems they are facing,” Cook said. “I hope to increase the viewers’ curiosity and want them to learn more about the animals.”

Kataoka, who was born and raised in Japan, defines art as “elements that can move you.” 

“I know that when I see something that I like, something changes mentally,” she said.

She uses very unusual objects in her art, like human hair, body parts, intestines and rawhide. 

When talking about her use of human hair, she said, “I like how hair as a material can be used in artists being worn and how it can blur the line between the object and the body.”

Her work uses insect parts, which she said is “transformed into copper through electroforming and then enameled.” 

Her reasoning for using insect parts is to be used metaphorically, being compared to animals in childrens’ stories.

Kataoka also gets her inspiration from 18th and 19th-century artifacts, where friends would exchange hair to make jewelry. 

“I created rings featuring gemstones made from hair, transforming this material into something precious,” she said.

She also tried using makeup as an ornamentation. 

“I focused on products like foundation and blush, seamlessly blending them, which I find very intimate,” she said.

When speaking about her use of body parts in her work, Kataoka said, “I find it interesting that our body parts can become an art piece once they are separated from us.”

Jordan Ooten can be contacted at [email protected].