Bryant Holsenbeck is a mixed media environmental artist, activist, educator, and author based in Durham, North Carolina.
Bryant Holsenbeck | |
|---|---|
 Bryant Holsenbeck posing next to her installation for the H20 exhibition at the Greenhill Center for the Arts. Photographer Barbara Tyroler. | |
| Known for | Mixed media environmental art |
Early life and education
editHolsenbeck's father was a textile engineer.[1] Holsenbeck earned her bachelor's degree in sociology and her Master of Education from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.[2]
Career
editHolsenbeck uses a variety of both natural and human-made materials to create art out of repurposed items that might otherwise be discarded.[3] Her artwork includes wrapping and weaving techniques, wire sculpting, small animal sculptures, and large-scale installations. Examples of her work include small bird sculptures made with discarded materials and large waterfall installations made of plastic bottles.[4]
Holsenbeck's environmental art conveys importance of wildlife, draws attention to ecological devastation and the abundance of plastic waste in the United States, and promotes environmental stewardship.[3][5][6]
Holsenbeck has exhibited her artwork and taught workshops for both adults and children in the United States, Australia, and France.[7][4] She has received a variety of grants and residencies to pursue her environmental arts career.[8]
In 2010, Holsenbeck took on the challenge of living a full year without single-use plastic.[7] She wrote a book about this experience in which she incorporated environmental reflections and artwork, titled The Last Straw: A Continuing Quest for Life without Disposable Plastic, which was published in 2018.[9]
Holsenbeck was a North Carolina Arts Council Artist Fellowship Recipient for her work in the visual arts in 1997 and 2001.[10]
Holsenbeck co-founded The Scrap Exchange, a creative reuse nonprofit located in Durham, North Carolina.[11]
Publications
editHolsenbeck's book The Last Straw: A Continuing Quest for Life without Disposable Plastic was published by RCWMS in 2018.[12]
In 2019, PBS published a short documentary feature on Holsenbeck, titled "Bryant Holsenbeck: Environmental Artist."[13] Holsenbeck was featured by authors Kristin Schwain and Josephine Stealey in their 2017 book Rooted, Revived, Reinvented: Basketry in America.[14]
In 2009, RCWMS published a fifteen-minute documentary on Holsenbeck created by filmmaker Margaret Morales, titled Blackbirds, Bottle Caps & Broken Records: Environmental Artist Bryant Holsenbeck at Work.[15]
References
edit- ^ Terry, Dana; Stasio, Frank (March 1, 2019). "No Plastic Please: An Artist's Plastic Fast". WUNC 91.5 North Carolina Public Radio (Audio interview). Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ^ "Bryant Holsenbeck: Environmental Artist". PBS. April 9, 2019.
- ^ a b Daniel, Fran (October 8, 2022). "Sawtooth School for Visual Art presents sculpture exhibition "Birds, Bats and Bones" by Bryant Holsenbeck and Nicole Uzzell". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
- ^ a b Wineka, Mark (2016-02-11). "Message in a (plastic) bottle: Waterworks' waterfall carries environmental statements". Salisbury Post. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
- ^ "STUFF: Where does it come from and where does it go?: Bryant Holsenbeck | Turchin Center". Turchin Center for the Visual Arts. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
- ^ "Art Party & Fundraiser for "The Last Straw" by Bryant Holsenbeck". WomenArts. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
- ^ a b Puleo, Danielle (2019-12-12). "Environmental artist visits Nags Head Elementary, brings awareness to single-use plastic". The Coastland Times. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
- ^ "Bryant Holsenbeck | Durham, NC". Blue Spiral 1.
- ^ Terry, Dana; Stasio, Frank (March 1, 2019). "No Plastic Please: An Artist's Plastic Fast". WUNC 91.5 North Carolina Public Radio. Retrieved 2023-04-04.
- ^ "Artist Fellowship Recipients" (PDF). nc.gov. North Carolina Arts Council. 2018.
- ^ Lee, Jason Y. (2011-07-20). "Art and environment intersect at The Scrap Exchange". INDY Week. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
- ^ Holsenbeck, Bryant (2018). The Last Straw: A Continuing Quest for Life without Disposable Plastic. Durham, NC: RCWMS Books.
- ^ MUSE | Bryant Holsenbeck: Environmental Artist | Season 2 | Episode 218 | PBS, retrieved 2023-04-09
- ^ Stealey, Josephine; Schwain, Kristin (2017). Rooted, Revived, Reinvented: Basketry in America. Schiffer Craft. ISBN 978-0764353734.
- ^ "Blackbirds, Bottle Caps & Broken Records: Environmental Artist Bryant Holsenbeck at Work". RCWMS. Retrieved 2023-04-09.