Trying to Grow Kudzu

I am pretty sure I am the only person in the world that actually wants to grow Kudzu. And its actually really hard to do!

Here is a picture of my cross with its base, and standing at its full height of around 8 feet tall! I went to Hollywood Cemetery
http://www.hollywoodcemetery.org/
and got a big chunk of root but have not got it growing yet.

 

The Vine that Ate the South or Kudzu Cross

This is the first major piece I have been working on in Grad school at VCU. It is going to be a cross that is covered with the vine Kudzu. You can learn more about it here: 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kudzu
But basically it is a vine that has infested the Southern united states and covers everything in its path. For this project I will be taking at least one picture each day to monitor the growth of the Kudzu. Here is a picture of the cross without its base or the Kudzu planted on it. Without the base the cross stands about 7 feet tall and with the base it will be about 8 feet tall. It is about 5 feet wide.

Hello!

My name is Amanda Briede and I am a Graduate student in the Glass area of the Crafts and Material Studies Department at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. I received my BFA in May of 2009 from the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. The following are images from my BFA show at the University of Louisville.

Shard Event 4

For this piece, I made close to 300 glass shards and put them in envelopes with a set of instructions. Visitors were instructed to take on of these envelopes and to then leave the shard behind somewhere and post on a website where they have left their shard. Be sure to check out where some of them have left their shards at www.shardevent.wetpaint.com

Apothecary Jars

For this piece I gave each participant an empty apothecary jar with the instructions to find something that someone else has left behind and to fill out a data sheet about what they found.

Collection Jars

For this piece I asked each participant to give me something that they wished to leave behind.

Evidence Bubbles

In this piece I secretly collected a piece of evidence from each participant. These pieces of evidence include: hair, saliva swabs, cigarette butts, and finger nails. I then presented each participant with this evidence and allowed them to take the evidence or leave it with me.

 

Here is the statement that accompanies this work:

 

My work is about things left behind by people and what they say about the person who left it behind. It deals with the subjects of forensic science and archaeology and embraces both those things that were intentionally and unintentionally left behind. In either case, it is through these things left behind that human existence is preserved into physical data. It is the only physical proof we have of the people that existed before us. The documentation and collection of these things turns artifacts and evidence into data.

In dealing with these topics, I use irony in my work. None of my pieces are possible without me creating the parameters of the piece; however, I remove myself from the work by having participants play a major role. At the same time, my work is about things left behind by people and all it appears I am leaving are things that other people have left behind.

            All of my work has at least three dimensions and often includes elements of time and space in the form of the event. Glass has been a consistent part of my work because it visually evokes the sense of biology or chemistry labs full of jarred specimens. While my glass containers may not always look like scientific instruments, the glass acts in the same way one of these containers would. However, it is the anonymity and universality of my work that raises questions of permanence and ones own existence while drawing attention to the mundane.

 Thank You, and please check out my site often as I will be updating with the new work that I will be making as I embark on my graduate school journey!