Judith has a rather unusual canvas and that is insects. She uses insects to portray sculptures made out of real-world insect bodies.
She started working with insects in the year 2005, at first the road was pretty bumpy for her and her work received some strong negative reactions from the people. Under such situations, some artists tend to lose their morale but artists like Judith took it as a challenge and persisted. According to her, "It struck me as tragic that our cultural phobia could blind us so effectively to such exquisite delicacy. From there I became interested in examining what other small beauty was lost to us through prejudice or oversight."
In order to create these wonderful artworks, Judith doesn't kills insects but she and her friends collect them from her surroundings. "For some of the more obscure insects, I purchase from scientific supply companies. I have always been the person who rescues the bugs from under people's feet and bring them safely outside."
Apart from using insects to create artwork, Judith also uses other things like baby tooth, nail clippings, oreo and other food items, etc.
To know more about Judith and her amazing work, read on our exclusive interview with her.
Happy reading!
1. Hello Judith, please introduce yourself to our readers. At the outset, I would like to compliment you on your vast repertoire of artwork.
Why thank you! My name is Judith Klausner, and I'm a mixed-media sculptor from Massachusetts. I've always enjoyed making things out of the objects in my environment, from sewing with leaves and pine needles on the schoolyard to playing with my food.
2. Lets start with your Swarovski studded Meclofenamate pill bottle and red Albuterol inhaler. What gave you the inspiration to decorate these two mundane objects of use?
Issues of health and medication have been a major part of my life for a long time. Medical ephemera is simultaneously mundane and incredibly loaded. A huge population of us live with these objects everyday, and yet there are serious taboos in our culture about discussing them or letting them be seen. I think one of the places art has real power is to take the mundane or hidden and bring it to the forefront. This is my goal in using the visual vocabulary of fashion and opulence to transform these objects.
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| Meclofenamate |
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Red Albuterol Inhaler |
3. Your Gummy Stained Glass looks very ornate. What materials and techniques did you use to create it?
The Stained glass piece took almost a year to complete, and uses gummy candies (bears, worms, coke bottles, green army men - there are gummy versions of almost everything!), licorice chewing gum (for the leading), and poured resin to encase it all. I worked with the gum and gummies on a piece of acrylic glass, cutting the candies into teserea like in a mosaic, and layering colors and textures like they did in the old Tiffany stained glass windows.4. The Oreo Cameos are one of a kind piece of artform we have seen ever. What was the incentive to create these. What tools did you use to intricately carve out the figurines? Do each of the figurines represent a real world person?
To form the cameos, I use toothpicks and sewing pins (I've always been a fan of using what happens to be around), as well as one sculpture tool (it's basically a very small ball on a stick that's useful for smoothing.) I found that I had a hard time separating the cookies so that all of the frosting ended up on one side, so I use very thin wire and slice them apart the way you'd cut off a lump of ceramic clay from a block. The figures are not predetermined or based on real people; I start sculpting and see who emerges!
Most of the Cameos are based on the Victorian style of cameo, although #3, #9 and #14 are more inspired by classical Greko-Roman cameos.
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| Cameo 9 |
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| Cameo 14 |
5. Your Condiments Wallpaper has ingredients that would otherwise smear. How did you stabilize the ingredients on the paper? Was this just a concept artwork?
The Condiment Wallpaper is actually quite stable once it dries (I am actually looking at it hanging on the wall as I write this.) Many pigments have traditionally made with natural ingredients, as with those the colors mellow over time. |
| The Condiment Wallpaper |
6. Some people would find your Flora Dentata, floral arrangement pretty gross as its made of nail clippings and baby teeth. What inspired you to create it and what was the thought process behind it?
The piece was done for a show titled "Historical Interpretations" where artists were invited to make contemporary pieces responding to an object in the Peabody Historical Society's collection. "Flora Dentata" was made as a companion piece for a Victorian hair wreath. I am deeply intrigued by how hair was considered an acceptable material in Victorian fancywork, but is now thought of as disgusting. Unlike most other body parts, its presence separated from the original source body does not imply any harm to the person. We cut our nails and throw away the trimmings weekly, and exchange our baby teeth under our pillows to a mythical creature for a quarter (probably more now, I think even the Tooth Fairy is subject to inflation), yet so many people find using these things to make art so upsetting.My work with nails and teeth explores our changing cultural views towards both materials and bodies. The Victorian idea that bodies (particularly women's bodies) were both decorative and dangerous is one I find worth analyzing.
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| Flora Dentata (Tooth & Nail) |
7. Another interesting project of yours is “Off With Their Heads” where you want to portray that female mantises decapitate their mates mid coitus. Does this mean you hold a keen interest in insects and Entomology? BTW both the artworks look menacing!
I am a big insect fan! I think they are fascinating and beautiful, and I am often surprised by the reactions of fear and disgust people have to them. The "Off with Their Heads" series is intended to instill a bit of whimsy into the subject matter, as well explore the human tendency to anthropomorphize. |
| Off With Their Heads |
8. The music box project is an entirely different project in its genre. It seems to be a very benign project compared to some of your other projects. What motivated you to create it?
It is a very early project; it was actually done for an assignment my Junior year of college. I liked the idea of swapping out this very fluffy pink ballerina for a slightly darker (but still beautiful) figure.9. When you are not working on your artwork how do you like to spend your spare time? What do you find most relaxing?
When I am not working on art, I spend a good deal of time working on The Mµseum, the (probably) smallest art museum in the world and a labor of love for which I am co-founder, curator, education director, PR manager, and a whole bunch more hats. The Mµseum is a space for showcasing masterful, engaging, and innovative work on an intimate scale with a focus on art being produced in New England. We work to make art physically and psychologically accessible by presenting it in a familiar, low-pressure environment, while bringing a sense of wonder to the urban landscape.
As for relaxing, I love spending time with friends, low-key things like hanging out and watching a movie or eating a meal together. Good food makes me very happy.
10. What other artists do you look up to? If you could collaborate on a project with one other artist who would it be and why?
In the world of insect art, I have long been a big fan of Tessa Farmer. She creates these beautifully crafted little worlds with a wonderful dark streak. As another artist who re-contextualizes the mundane, I really look up to Tara Donovan, whose work I always find inspiring and beautiful.
11. What are your future plans as an artist?
I've just started out on the series with the medical ephemera, so I have plans to expand on those ideas with a variety of materials. Stay 'tuned for updates!
12. What advice would you like to pass on to budding and aspiring artists?
Do the work you feel inspired to make. It sounds silly and cliche, but your emotional wellbeing and your art will suffer if you're trying to force work that doesn't excited you. (A warning: this approach pretty much guarantees the need for a day job to pay the bills.)
Judith, thanks for such an extensive interview. It was a great experience learning about you. Wish you good luck!
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