Artist Statement

I was born in Iowa; I now live with cats in Los Angeles. As a child, the ethos of Midwestern conformity governed my social world. I found my first escape through music. Later, ethnomusicology opened my ears to nonwestern music. While living in LA, first studying at UCLA and later teaching at the California Institute of the Arts, I was exposed to and worked with brilliant avant garde artists, free thinkers, and exceptional intellects who strove to push the accepted boundaries of art.

Following a long, successful academic career in ethnomusicology, I now work as a visual artist, specializing in sculpture, both freestanding and wall-mounted, with an emphasis on textile manipulation. My works are layered with multiple meanings that are often unclear until the work is complete, structures that seemingly create themselves, and media whose juxtapositions are unusual, pretty, startling, or even whimsical. I often incorporate detritus from LA's streets side by side with expensive fabrics to address issues that are part of my world.

I attempt to create work that adheres to its own internal rules, without reference to what was once thought of as "correct" or "proper" in art. I listen to my inner voice, my "big magic," to pursue my authentic self-expression. With each created piece, and each project, I become more free.

Thanks for coming by to explore my work.

Curriculum Vitae

Wanda Bryant
Sherman Oaks, CA
www.wandabryant.com
artbywandabryant@gmail.com  or  wanbryant@gmail.com

Art Education

Art Exhibitions

Art Awards and Honors

Previous Educational Profile

Ph.D. in Ethnomusicology, UCLA
M.A. in Music, UCLA
B.A. in Music Education, Drake University

Work Profile