Conclusion

(Louise Despont and Jeremy Poulin (photographer))

The most important elements of Louie Despont's art is her global influence, goal to archive culture and history and work with femmage. All of her art examines historic event, themes and culture. From the exhibit shown to many others Despont uses her art to tell a story. Her simple tools and the careful piecing together of her art works as a reclaiming of female art. Louise also does a good job making her art accessible. She has a large web presence, especially through her website. On her website you can scroll through her work for the past six year, as well as photos of her exhibits for the past four years. In this way you can virtually tour the archives of her artistic progression. Despont is an excellent example of a modern artist, using the internet to create an inclusive environment for all to view. 

Bibliography

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Despont, Louise. “Drawings.” RSS. N.p., 2011. Web. 28 May 2015.

Heinrich, Will. "'Louise Despont: Tide Fulcrum & The Motion of Fixed Stars' at Nicelle

Beauchene." Observer. N.p., 08 Jan. 2013. Web. 15 May 2015.  

Leffingwell, Edward."Schapiro's Material Girls." Art in America94.8 pg.130,132-133. Web. September 2006.

Miller, Wesley, and Nick Ravich. “Louise Despont Draws Deep.” ART21 New York

Close Up. ART21 Procution, 13 July 2014. Web. 03 May 2015.

Orchard Street, New York, NY September 12–October 24, 2010.” Louise Despont:

Christopher Howard. N.p., 2010. Web. 21 May 2015.

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Arts.”Mosaic : A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature (1998): n.

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Times and Style, 8 Feb. 2013. Web. 03 May 2015.

Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art: A Sourcebook of Artists' Writings. Berkeley: U of California, 1996. Print.

Despont and "Femmage"

Collage is Louise Desponts main medium. Her collage is created by piecing together separate pages into one cohesive image. This art form holds many connotations within the art world. This medium is especially important in the feminist movement. There has been a recent reclaiming of collage within feminist art, working to show the merit of this female task. This is done much like the way Judy Chicago reclaimed plate painting to make an important and historical exhibit. In the article “Beyond Fragmentation” the term "femmage" is explored. Raaberg defines "femmage" as female art claiming. This is a move for female artistes to redefine "classic art." The article explains, “femmage as a strategy, developed in the traditional women’s art activities of handiwork and crafts, which in the past had provided a felicitous method for women with limited access to the means and materials of the “fine arts” to create beautiful and useful art” (Raaberg). By defining fine arts through the use of expensive, classically, materials the pool of potential artists is significantly narrowed. One can see Louise Despont working against this definition by achieving creating art with pencils and stencils. These pieces are huge, and hold a historical significance as Despont captures historical events in her pieces. Despont also, discusses how her style allows her to work on her own time, unencumbered by grants or funding. In this way she further frees herself to explore her art.

A good example of Despont exploring "femmage" is in her piece Edelweiss, 2011. This is a large piece (3ft by 5ft) that to my knowledge has not been exhibited. This piece is a wash of blues and greens showing a mountain landscape. The title hits that this is the mountain range in Austria (from the movie The Sound Of Music). Looking at it in this context one can infer that there is a historical message, about the Nazis invading Austria and the escape found in these mountains. In this way Despont claims history in her work, exploring spheres of safety, land, and home.
This piece also explores femininity. Hidden within the mountains is the figure of a nude woman. By superimposing these images Despont combines femininity and nature. She equates woman and the power of nature in this piece.  

Raaberg, Gwen. “Beyond Fragmentation: Collage as Feminist Strategy in the Arts.”Mosaic : A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature (1998): n. pag. ProQuest. Web. 28 May 2015.

Leffingwell, Edward."Schapiro's Material Girls." Art in America94.8 pg.130,132-133. Web. September 2006.

"Harmonic Tremor"

Harmonic Tremor is Louise Despont's most recent exhibition. In it she explores the volcanic explosion on the island of Krakatou. This volcanic explosion, which happened in 1883, killed 36,000 people and created a sound the reverberated around the world. Despont was interested in the massive exhibit of sound. This is the basis of her piece.  

The Sound Heard Around the World, 2015, shown below, explores this idea of immense noise. Expanding out from the volcano are spiraling words. These words read: "the sound heard around the world" repeated over and over in decreasing size. The use of thin black wiggling lines work as sound waves poring from the volcano. Her use of color differentiates the smoke, green and red, from the white movement of noise. This pattern of smoke mixed with text showing sound, is repeated in this exhibit.

Small Explosion, 2015, shown below is an aerial view of the volcano. The use of depth, and the circular form works both to show the opening of the volcano and the sound exploding out from it. Again Despont uses text to show sound. 

Offering in Gratitude, 2015, juxtaposes with the rest of the exhibit by showing a peaceful calming scene. This work breaks from the volcanic style of the other pieces. Leafs and floral images are repeated without this work, showing life and color. The title of this piece suggests that there is something to be grateful for. When displayed with the works of destruction and noise, the offers a calm break. It also reminds the viewer of life and gratitude. With in Asia culture, where this explosion took place --and an area that Despont is very interested in, gratitude is offered to all live and, especially, monks. This is because Buddhism and Hinduism offer the idea of reincarnation and fate. What happens has a purpose and people accept life.  

Below is the final piece in the exhibit titled, The End of Love, 2015. It is a somber piece depicting an areal view of Indonesia, which is labeled lightly in white. This area was covered in black ash so think it blocked the sun, for three days. The End of Love acknowledges the death and sad elements of this event, while the other show the amazing feats of nature. 

One can also view this exhibit as classifying her as a contemporary artist. She using her art to capture massive historical events. That is also exploring the massive affects of nature. This exhibit also shows how Despont explores history and documents it into her work, creating an exploration of culture and history. Her fascination with travel is rooted in the cultural significance of the places she visits. This is seen through her art, a physical history of location and culture. 

Raaberg, Gwen. “Beyond Fragmentation: Collage as Feminist Strategy in the Arts.”Mosaic : A Journal for the Interdisciplinary Study of Literature (1998): n. pag. ProQuest. Web. 28 May 2015.

Despont, Louise. “Drawings.” RSS. N.p., 2011. Web. 28 May 2015.

Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art: A Sourcebook of Artists' Writings. Berkeley: U of California, 1996. Print.