Artist Statement
My artwork reflects an interest in the role that literature and environmental text have in shaping human perception of the world. From an early age, I fell in love with the plant and animal species that I saw in my backyard in Minnesota and in the Boundary Water Canoe Area during camping trips. With the influence of family hikes and birding ventures, I have learned to practice the art of observation. My fascination with native ecosystems and species continues to grow, and I have turned to ecology books, bird guides, and nature writing to inform my love for natural surroundings. I am inspired by the use of poetic language espoused by environmentalists like Aldo Leopold and Sigurd Olson to communicate a message of ecology. Too often, science and humanities are viewed in society to have little overlap. Bridging scientific and artistic disciplines through mixed media approaches is what I seek to create in my paintings.
The physical presence of books and text in my artwork is an approach to navigate between various planes of understanding. I have always been a seeker of knowledge, grasping at any piece of content that might contribute to my ever-growing perception of the world. Literature, art and science are fields of discipline that inform one another in the search of a greater truth. I am interested in pairing artistic expression of the natural world with the diagrams and charts that are so often used to portray scientific fact. My current work attempts to confront the abundance of resources available today and explore the stitching together of theories that creates a full perception of the world.
Artist Bio: Anna Segner is a mixed-media painter, writer, journalist, and second-year student in the Integrated Visual Arts, Master of Fine Arts program at Iowa State University. She graduated from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in Literature with Writing Emphasis and Studio Art. Growing up in Minnesota and spending summer vacations camping in the Boundary Water Canoe Area, Segner has developed a love for physically and intellectually interacting with the landscape. Segner actively incorporates environmental study in both studio art and writing. After graduation, she worked full time as a reporter for a newspaper in Owatonna, Minnesota. The work of reporting gave her stronger insight to humans’ search for truth in research and study. Current works explore meaningful connection between the land and the written meanings that humans have assigned to it.
