From exaltation of religion to what some call "Heresy", we move onto to a sculpture artist also based in Atlanta, GA. Sharon McCusker's work caught my eye on my way to class one morning. Her work was among 20 or more sculpture pieces on display in a wing of the Georgia State Art building. Her pieces were by far the most details and demonstrative of a talented sculpture artist. I spoke with Ms. McCusker about her work last week in her studio.
From a southern Georgia city, where religion and football reign, Sharon McCusker began to formulate her artist identity in sculpture. Working with clay, Sharon is currently working on her upcoming grad school show, set for April of 2009. Incorporated in her line of work is a common thread, religion.
Inspired by the book The Woman with the Alabaster Jar, by Margret Starbird, as well as her southern baptist roots, Sharon is producing a show that is two-fold. Her first series is a dedication to Mary Magdalene called, "The Different Identities of Mary Magdalene." Her second series focuses on the seven deadly sins, as laid out in the Bible, and the seven social sins, as recently defined by the Vatican. Those include, gluttony, greed, wrath, lust, envy, pride, and sloth, as well as, bioethical violations (use of birth control), morally dubious experiments (stem-cell research), drug abuse, pollution, dividing of rich and poor, excessive wealth, and creating poverty.
Her current sculptures are a mix of three dimensional and flat clay works. The 14 sins will be displayed in the flat clay works, while the Mary Magdalene line is a mixture. She has already created a few pieces for each of the series. She told me, when we spoke, that she had a new idea for gluttony, I won't give it away, but it has to do with Ronald McDonald. Her greed piece includes a portrait of, who else but Donald Trump? While her work is far from finished, she allowed me to take some pictures of her upcoming pieces.
When I asked her, "Why religion?" her response was worth taking note of. She explained that religion has been the basis for wars and art for centuries, and there is no reason to pretend that it doesn't exist. She said, politicians get up on stage and won't talk about their religion, they say there is a separation of church and state, when in fact what you believe drives you to your decisions.


Is the foundation belief system so fragile that you don't want to talk about it.


Her mother, a devout Christian, is coming to terms with her upcoming show, though she has yet to see some of her more risqué pieces. Sharon's mother gives both her daughter and the onlooking audience something to really contemplate when viewing works such as this. She says, "If it offends and bothers people, maybe their not as strong in their beliefs as they thought." Sharon McCusker's work will definitely offend and bother some, while, at the same time, it will be celebrated for it's controversial content. Keep and ear and eye out for her show next year, to be held in the Ernest G. Welch Art Gallery at Georgia State University.
For more pictures of her current work visit my photobucket album.