Vanessa German, Toaster, 2011, found glass bottle, hand wrought beads, fabric, earth, string, thread, hair, mantle bird, electric outlet, cowrie, buttons, spark plugs, old doll parts, plaster, wood, wood paint, vintage match books, found toaster, framed slave ownership photograph of Delilah, found jewelry, found carved wooden banana, and fabric; Carnegie Museum of Art, Gift of Jason Andrew and Norman Jabaut in honor of the artist. Courtesy of the artist and Pavel Zoubok Fine Art
“I’m fighting to create a sustainable, whole existence for myself; to be safe to use my imagination. In an environment for your body and soul to thrive, the tools, tactics, and strategies of true sustainability cannot be separated from hope, love, creativity, goodwill, and transformation,” says Pittsburgh-based artist Vanessa German. German’s work is rooted in objects she finds in her neighborhood of Homewood, and she uses her art to explore the transformative power of art and love in communities.
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