Natasha Bowdoin installing “In the Night Garden,” a site-specific installation commissioned by the Amon Carter Museum of American Art, Fort Worth, 2020-2021. Photo by Paul Leicht
Out now, the publication Wild Eyed documents three recent projects by Houston-based artist Natasha Bowdoin through vivid images and insightful essays. Widely known for her ephemeral installations, the publication preserves them, offering an insider’s look at Bowdoin’s process as well as different curatorial perspectives on her work.
“I wanted a space to show how the work comes together from seed to fruit, and how it’s evolved from installation to installation over time,” Bowdoin said. “Wild Eyed provided a space to do this, and to offer a place for different voices to offer various avenues to understanding and thinking on the work.”
“Wild Eyed” publication. Photo courtesy of Natasha Bowdoin
Broken into four sections, the book opens with in-progress images, an introduction by the artist, and additional biographical information. Each subsequent section, laid out chronologically, highlights Maneater (2018) at MASS MoCA, Sideways to the Sun (2019) at the Moody Center for the Arts, and In the Night Garden (2020) at the Amon Carter Museum of Art, respectively.
“Maneater,” 2018-2020, site-specific installation commissioned by Mass MoCA, North Adams, MA. Photo courtesy Natasha Bowdoin
Essays by Denise Markonish, Shirley Reece-Hughes, and Wendy Vogel provide insights into individual projects, exploring and connecting larger themes throughout Bowdoin’s body of work.
Bowdoin said, “This project has been a major labor of love, emerging from so many collaborations — with the designers, writers, fellow artists, volunteers, students, curators, and puppets — all who helped bring this book and the work to life. I am incredibly excited and humbled that it’s finally here and I get to share it with the world.”
Wild Eyed can be purchased at the Amon Carter and MASS MoCA stores, and from the artist’s website.
