Emily Culver. Cranbrook Academy of Art. Selected Graduate 2017

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The Cranbrook Metalsmithing department is focused on questioning the meaning and value of objects, techniques, and materials through the process of making. We see studio practice as an exploration of the significance and possibilities within the familiar material world as the context of both current artistic trends and in relation to the wider context of contemporary society.


In exploring function as metaphor the objects I create reference the familiar, therefore informing their affect. I work to understand the influence that they possess through their communicative affordances; is it we who shape their existence or do they also dictate us? The body activates these “things” as much as they in turn reflect it - they lead and guide in more than just their discovery.  

I think of all materials, surfaces and forms in relation to the body; whether it be by the way that they embody corporeal qualities or in the ways in which they speak to or call for physical engagement. I see skinness in color, texture and metaphorical function, but also in longing for and responsiveness to touch. I wonder if by representing humanness, embodied within inanimate things, can one more fully and aptly experience the humanity within oneself?

What is it that we search for within “things”? Why do we project aspects of ourselves onto and into them? I ask myself if it is like looking in the mirror or looking on the hook, shelf or table. In other words, what can a Still Life reveal; an invitation to engage, a staging for a specific event, an offering on a platter?

Or perhaps simply something about ourselves. / Emily Culver


More works and contact:
Website: https://www.emily-culver.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/emily.culver/
Email: emilyculverstudio@gmail.com

Find out more about the courses and deadlines for applications to Cranbrook Academy of Art