Instructor of Art##

Exhibitions Coordinator, River Campus Art Gallery

MFA - University of Delaware#
BFA - Virginia Commonwealth University##
Campus Email: ebooth@semo.edu#
Campus Phone: 651-2663#
Office: CAC040
 

Bio

Emily Booth hails from central Virginia and holds a Bachelor of Fine Art in Painting and Printmaking from Virginia Commonwealth School of the Arts in Richmond, Virginia. She earned a Master of Fine Art in Painting from University of Delaware.

As current Exhibitions Coordinator of the River Campus Art Gallery, and previous Director of the Truman State University Art Gallery, Exhibitions Coordinator of Perkins Student Center Gallery and Gallery Assistant in Recitation Hall Gallery (both at University of Delaware), Emily is a strong supporter of the accessible, unflinching display of all art forms, from traditional fine art to contemporary street art. She has also been the recipient of several awards and honors, among them the Virginia Museum of Fine Art Professional Painting Fellowship, the National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts CAVA Residency Fellowship and multiple publications in New American Paintings. Emily has participated in a number of programs for special needs, underserved and inner-city youth including Stargate, Growing Tree and The Children's Festival.

In her spare time, Emily hangs out with her spazzy dogs, keeps in touch with two amazing nephews and one incredible niece, follows the exploits of an opera-singing sister, a fun-loving, athletic brother, two brilliant and hilarious parents and a whole bi-coastal host of talented and fascinating friends.

Artists Statement

My studio practice is in a state of deep, terrifying, wonderful flux. Certainly my current work is in direct relation to my recent work, but moving in a different, as-yet-undefined direction.

My recent work, consisting primarily of paintings and drawings, explored the role of the individual within the collective, how we operate within the social institutions we create (mental health systems, educational systems, organized religion, courtship systems, penal systems, etc) and what benefit or detriment such constructs offer. The work was deeply chronologically narrative (first this, then that) and used a kind of semiotic picture-writing with specific emblems or visual elements imbued with specific meaning.  Ultimately I was searching for answers and attempting to place myself to define my role in the great, confusing world.

The subject matter was fairly weighty, the process of examination fairly intricate and after a while, the content became an overwhelming drag. In the relentless searching for answers, for sense, for a feeling of individual placement- I had an epiphany. I would never have a definitive answer for those kinds of questions. I would never know the role of the congregation within organized religion; if there is a need for a mental health standard or if we all need to attain it; why bad, sad things happen and if true love exists in a pure form. There are no factual, prove-able answers to such questions. Whew! What a relief.

During that long process of realization, I became enamored with street art. Street art in all of its clandestine, subversive, loud, bawdy, sneaky, witty, wonderful and unavoidable guises. It is practically the opposite of the private, contained studiousness of my previous work. I began researching different elements of street and public art and began incorporating them into my own practices as well as studio classes I teach. Such a wonderful release! Reacting in the moment or to a location was so light-hearted and immediate compared to the endless, somber examination of a situation; disassembling it, exploring the components, assigning meaning-laden symbols and reconstructing the parts into a manageable, explainable composition. Giving up full ownership, giving up the search for cohesion, looking to the pervasive creativity of the wild world around me, and all the amazing, wonderful, loony, inexplicable creatures in it, was an absolutely liberating move.

This new direction is quite recent for me, scary and awesome. My current efforts are an exploration of crossover ideas, bridging what was satisfying from my previous work with what is satisfying in my new work. It's a series of steps, each a creative endeavor of its own.  In addition to incorporating a new art ideology, I am also exploring collaborative efforts, the definition of ownership, what I can get away with and what art means to me. What a ride!  I'll try to keep everybody posted on how it's shaping up.

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