Page 14 - Florida Sentinel 10-16-15 Edition

Feature
Sculptor Taking 3-D Work To Italy In Hopes Of Winning International Award
BY KENYA WOODARD Sentinel Feature Writer
Look closely at sculptor Kendra Frorup’s work, and it’s easy to find the rep- resentations of her child- hood home, the Bahamas such as bright hues that re- flect the colors of the sea.
“I’m influenced by the sights and the smells,” she said. “I try to get in tune to that kind of stuff.”
Another source of inspira- tion? The chicken, which is ubiquitous throughout the Bahamas, but largely ig- nored as an important part of the island county’s fabric, said Ms. Frorup, an assis- tant professor of sculpture at the University of Tampa.
The animal is featured in many of Ms. Frorup’s works, including a new piece titled “Boxed,” a 3-D screen- printing which debuted this week at the X Edition of the Florence Biennale of Con- temporary Art Exposition in
Florence, Italy.
Ms. Frorup applied to
the Florence Biennale in February and was notified of her selection to participate in May. Her husband, Nor- man, will travel with her to Florence.
“This is pretty exciting,” she said. “I’m honored.”
Ms. Frorup will com- pete with hundreds of artists from all over the world for the “Lorenzo ilMagnifico” International Award which is given to the best artists competing in the different disciplines.
“It’s a long shot,” she said, of winning. “It depends on what their (the jurors) likes are.”
Born and raised in the Bahamas, Ms. Frorup cametotheU.S.in1989to study at Spelman College. After a year in Atlanta, she transferred to the University of Tampa, where she earned a BFA in 1992. An MFA from Syracuse University fol-
MS. KENDRA FRORUP ...Artist on the staff of the University of Tampa
lowed in 1996.
Ms. Frorup said she in-
herited her artistic flair from her mother, who could sew and perform other artistic work. Her sister also is an artist and her brother was an interior designer.
Her father is a retired contractor who worked on the famed Atlantis Paradise Island Resort. After finish-
BOXED
...The sculpture that Ms. Frorup has taken to Flo-
rence, Italy to participate in the Florence Biennale of Contemporary Art Exposition. (Photo by J. M. Lennon of Lennon Media, Inc.)
ing her studies, Ms. Frorup returned to the Bahamas to help her father run his busi- ness.
Initially, Ms. Frorup found some similarities be- tween the construction busi- ness and sculpture-making, such as working in an out- door environment and being inspired by the surround- ings.
The pull of creating art, however, was too strong and the arrangement proved to be short-lived, she said.
“I missed the art of mak- ing something,” she said. “I can’t switch (creativity) off. I’m constantly creating things.”
Ms. Frorup went back into sculpting and in 2005 landed an adjunct teaching position at her alma mater. She achieved tenure two years ago.
Ms. Frorup is a trained sculptor, but all three of her works for the Florence Bien- nale will be 3-D screen print- ings.
Ms. Frorup, who has a daughter, said her decision to use this medium was heavily influenced by her students.
“I teach and found that I had to redesign and reinvent my curriculum,” she said. “I’ve had to be in tune with their interest in technology. It’s their language.”
Additionally, 3-D screen printing allows for more flexibility than sculpting, she said. “You can make proto-
types and create objects that can be adjusted and changed with technology,” she said. “There’s so much more you can do with it.”
Another component to her latest work is the use of augmented reality, or the use of technology – such as a smartphone – that superim- poses a computer-generated image on a user’s view of the real world, offering a view of many different parts.
Using her homeland as inspiration also means Ms. Frorup sometimes bases her work on her family. “Boxed”, a 40 in. by 40 in. collection of colorful boxes, was inspired by her brother who died some years ago in a car accident.
Another work is based on the “gaudy” home of Frorup’s mother. Ms. Frorup said she doesn’t conform to others’ opinions of what her work should or should not represent.
“I create for myself,” she said. “I’m a little selfish that way. I don’t feel pressure to create for someone else.”
In addition to exhibiting her work all over the world and teaching her students how to express themselves, Ms. Frorup also is cultivat- ing the creativity of a special budding artist, her 13-year- old daughter, Alexis.
“I don’t want her to be an artist just because I’m an artist,” she said. “She has a strong interest. I wouldn’t be surprised.”
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