Cheri Cowan - all artist images below bio
"ARTIST STATEMENT" Is there an aesthetic school or contemporary artistic movement recognized as “Art of Disaster” – an American oeuvre that emerges after 9/11, Katrina and George Bush? My work contributes to this interpretation by opposing the metaphysics of the self against the bounds and bias of the bureaucracies that fail to respond to urgent calls of distress. I remember the first day business owners were allowed back into New Orleans to check their properties; “just get out before dark” were our only guidelines.
As members of the community return to their beloved city, their hearts fill with rage when they discover her battered soul lying motionless on abandoned war-torn streets. “The Man” strolls by, casually fingering loose coins in his stuffed pockets as he proclaims “We’re gonna make this right,” or “Hey, somebody say ‘Throw me something, Mister.’” The media reports various accounts of his success, yet they fail to mention the time “That Man” lost his crown while pandering more oil-lucrative offers. There is no “ground-zero” in post-Katrina territory because there is, literally, no ground. Locals sift through the debris strewn metropolis, searching for a remnant of that corps quality engineered structure; that “built to code” levee system that was promised to protect them, only to find tomorrows’ issues of Times Picayune being used as filler to patch todays’ visible defects. It’s all the same – words, lots and lots of words.
When I returned to New Orleans, only a month or two after the storm, my friends and I noticed how empty the skies were. There were so few birds, barely a pigeon, which as most visitors know, are typically in abundance down here, scavenging crumbs of french bread and Zapps potato chips. It wasn’t until a good 8 months later that you could step outside and hear melodies of industrious mocking birds and chattering finches busily reconstructing their own nests. I considered the correlation between avian nature, human nature and administrative policy as I developed the core concept surrounding my current body of work. The hopes and desires for absolute recognition of the people of this great city will not be squelched. We join together in a united effort to prove our strength as a civil society comprised of human kind, yet we seek opportunities that fit our individual needs. What works for one family throws the next into peril, so we search for common ground from which all may benefit. Each person, given the opportunity to test the measure of the plumb bob, will find the only “one size fits all” program that will effectively help us rebuild our magnificent melting-pot is the one that first recognizes we are all doing this together.
"ARTIST BIOGRAPHY" As one muse quoted “Cheri sees the world in colors most people don’t even know exist.” A late bloomer in almost every sense, Cheri Cowen did not look or act much like her more laid back Cajun friends. She tried to fit in, but for some reason always stood out from the rest. Much to her chagrin, even the editors of her high school yearbook noted “Cheri Cowen finds being different at Pep Rallies make them more fun.” Ok, so she was wearing hot pink wrap-around punk-rock sunglasses and a headband with stars dancing atop springs while playing the xylophone, what is so different about that?
Bouncing from one curriculum to another, Cowen settled nicely into the Visual Arts Department at McNeese State University, enjoying classes in every concentration the discipline had to offer. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Advertising Design, she found employment as a designer at LSU Medical Center in New Orleans. A higher salary prompted a career change and relocation to Baton Rouge where she excelled in the fast-paced atmosphere of printing production and coordination. After the death of her father, she made the decision to leave full-time employment to pursue her dream of being a self-supportive artist.
With the original intent to work in clay, she began converting her garage into a pottery studio. The day after construction was complete, hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, two weeks later hurricane Rita hit her hometown, Lake Charles. Over the course of 4 weeks, Cowen opened her doors to more than 15 people, 5 pets, a motorcycle and 2 RV’s. She states “Just when you think you have things figured out, the situation changes and you have to rethink everything. The gulf coast, the culture of New Orleans and my career were all in a state of peril. Cowen returned to New Orleans to assist with rebuilding efforts after the storm. The new-fangled flux of social recovery serendipitously unlocked channels of her creative perspective; releasing artistic urges held dormant from years of work in a hectic corporate environment. The experience gave way to the development of the core concept of her current body of work. Opting for a more accessible medium, she began painting.
For the past year and a half, Cowen worked fervently, creating over 16 canvases. Viewers have responded to the development of her first body of work enthusiastically. Preferring to build her larger canvases by hand, Cowen believes knowledge and quality of craftsmanship carry as much value as concept and theory. The scale of her work varies greatly – ranging from five feet high by four feet wide to six by eight inches. Whatever the size, the artists’ use of rich, voluptuous color and texture take the viewer on a journey from urgent expectancy to silent observation of an intimate moment. Ultimately, Cheri Cowen’s work reflects a metaphor of life in the midst of recovery. The passion behind each piece gives you specific insight to a mood or feeling you may not openly admit to.
As members of the community return to their beloved city, their hearts fill with rage when they discover her battered soul lying motionless on abandoned war-torn streets. “The Man” strolls by, casually fingering loose coins in his stuffed pockets as he proclaims “We’re gonna make this right,” or “Hey, somebody say ‘Throw me something, Mister.’” The media reports various accounts of his success, yet they fail to mention the time “That Man” lost his crown while pandering more oil-lucrative offers. There is no “ground-zero” in post-Katrina territory because there is, literally, no ground. Locals sift through the debris strewn metropolis, searching for a remnant of that corps quality engineered structure; that “built to code” levee system that was promised to protect them, only to find tomorrows’ issues of Times Picayune being used as filler to patch todays’ visible defects. It’s all the same – words, lots and lots of words.
When I returned to New Orleans, only a month or two after the storm, my friends and I noticed how empty the skies were. There were so few birds, barely a pigeon, which as most visitors know, are typically in abundance down here, scavenging crumbs of french bread and Zapps potato chips. It wasn’t until a good 8 months later that you could step outside and hear melodies of industrious mocking birds and chattering finches busily reconstructing their own nests. I considered the correlation between avian nature, human nature and administrative policy as I developed the core concept surrounding my current body of work. The hopes and desires for absolute recognition of the people of this great city will not be squelched. We join together in a united effort to prove our strength as a civil society comprised of human kind, yet we seek opportunities that fit our individual needs. What works for one family throws the next into peril, so we search for common ground from which all may benefit. Each person, given the opportunity to test the measure of the plumb bob, will find the only “one size fits all” program that will effectively help us rebuild our magnificent melting-pot is the one that first recognizes we are all doing this together.
"ARTIST BIOGRAPHY" As one muse quoted “Cheri sees the world in colors most people don’t even know exist.” A late bloomer in almost every sense, Cheri Cowen did not look or act much like her more laid back Cajun friends. She tried to fit in, but for some reason always stood out from the rest. Much to her chagrin, even the editors of her high school yearbook noted “Cheri Cowen finds being different at Pep Rallies make them more fun.” Ok, so she was wearing hot pink wrap-around punk-rock sunglasses and a headband with stars dancing atop springs while playing the xylophone, what is so different about that?
Bouncing from one curriculum to another, Cowen settled nicely into the Visual Arts Department at McNeese State University, enjoying classes in every concentration the discipline had to offer. After receiving a Bachelor’s degree in Advertising Design, she found employment as a designer at LSU Medical Center in New Orleans. A higher salary prompted a career change and relocation to Baton Rouge where she excelled in the fast-paced atmosphere of printing production and coordination. After the death of her father, she made the decision to leave full-time employment to pursue her dream of being a self-supportive artist.
With the original intent to work in clay, she began converting her garage into a pottery studio. The day after construction was complete, hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, two weeks later hurricane Rita hit her hometown, Lake Charles. Over the course of 4 weeks, Cowen opened her doors to more than 15 people, 5 pets, a motorcycle and 2 RV’s. She states “Just when you think you have things figured out, the situation changes and you have to rethink everything. The gulf coast, the culture of New Orleans and my career were all in a state of peril. Cowen returned to New Orleans to assist with rebuilding efforts after the storm. The new-fangled flux of social recovery serendipitously unlocked channels of her creative perspective; releasing artistic urges held dormant from years of work in a hectic corporate environment. The experience gave way to the development of the core concept of her current body of work. Opting for a more accessible medium, she began painting.
For the past year and a half, Cowen worked fervently, creating over 16 canvases. Viewers have responded to the development of her first body of work enthusiastically. Preferring to build her larger canvases by hand, Cowen believes knowledge and quality of craftsmanship carry as much value as concept and theory. The scale of her work varies greatly – ranging from five feet high by four feet wide to six by eight inches. Whatever the size, the artists’ use of rich, voluptuous color and texture take the viewer on a journey from urgent expectancy to silent observation of an intimate moment. Ultimately, Cheri Cowen’s work reflects a metaphor of life in the midst of recovery. The passion behind each piece gives you specific insight to a mood or feeling you may not openly admit to.