ARTIST STATEMENT
I define give-and-take as an act of exchange between humans, their objects, and physical materials that ultimately result in compromise. Giving up something you want is often the difficult yet simple part. A greater search is required to find exactly what you need to take to be satisfied. That something becomes quite specific and complex. My work in the studio functions as needs based whether done so intentionally or not. Creating has become a method to meet needs that have been left unmet. These needs range from explicitly personal to more universal needs of all human beings. I frequently reference Maslow’s Extended Hierarchy of Needs where they are divided into the following categories: biological, safety, belonging, esteem, cognitive, aesthetics, self-actualization and transcendence needs with the understanding that the set hierarchy itself can and does remain fluid. I found that I was able to create objects and experiences with materials that could partake in this act of give-and-take alongside myself. Eventually finding ways that the work was able to give-and-take on its own without my careful attention and control.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Hanna Seggerman (b. 1996), a multidisciplinary artist and educator currently residing in Knoxville, Tennessee, was born in Blue Springs, Missouri and raised in rural Kingsley, Iowa. She is currently attending the University of Tennessee, Knoxville as a Master of Fine Arts candidate expecting to complete her thesis and graduate in May of 2023. Hanna is a Graduate Teaching Associate with the School of Art and serves as an Instructor of Foundations and Sculpture. She completed her undergraduate studies at the University of Northern Iowa in 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in K-12 art education and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in sculpture with a minor in art history. Hanna is the current Director of Gallery 1010 the University of Tennessee’s student-run non-profit exhibition space that schedules weekly programming throughout the school year. Her public artworks exhibit across the nation. Current exhibitions include the CityArt Walking Sculpture Tour in Mankato, Minnesota and the Mathews-Sanders Sculpture Garden Biennial Exhibition at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi. Her gallery work has recently been shown in group exhibitions at The Emporium Center, Wavelength Space, and the Ewing Gallery of Art + Architecture.
© Hanna Seggerman