MFA Thesis Exhibit

Erin Hoffman

Sculpture-Dimensional Studies

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Artist Statement

Erin Hoffman is a multidisciplinary artist with a focus in glass. Ideas of language and technology in our continually developing digital culture are explored in her work. She is interested in the complexity surrounding conversation––when text falls short, messages overlap, and meaning is distorted.

What are the effects of communicating through time and space? What happens when words are spoken? When we use words to communicate our desires, intentions, thoughts, and feelings, we are communicating through the nebulous space of interaction. These interactions are rooted in human-centric ways of thinking, with contradictions, and misinterpretations. Highlighting the unpredictability of our interactions is important to show the inevitability of misunderstanding and the impossibility of true communication. More importantly, with miscommunication comes insights, and perhaps a deeper understanding of ourselves.

Glass is the main material used in this work for its malleability compared to language; a language Hoffman has built over time. The work becomes installations containing systems that may or may not be immediately recognizable. By embracing the complex structures of text and technology within our interactions, Hoffman finds opportunities to see new interpretations, creativity in our misunderstanding.