Mirror Fence
Presentation by Georgia, Alyssa,
Jordan, and John
Alyson Shotz
• Born in Glendale Arizona in 1964
• Lives/works in Brooklyn NY.
• Has a BFA from Rhode Island school of design and
an MFA from the university of Washington
• She was recently included in exhibits
• -The more things change, at the san fransico
museum of art
• -New perspectives, storm king art center
• -Living color at hirshorn museum
She was recently included in
exhibits
• -The more things change, at
the san fransico museum of
art
• -New perspectives, storm
king art center
• -Living color at hirshorn
museum
Solo exhibits
-The Wexner center of the arts in Columbus OH
The Nasher sculpture center Dallas TX
-The Frances young tang museums, among others
• Shotz received Pollock Krasner Award in 2010,
the 2007 Saint Gaudens Memorial fellowship
and was the 2005-2006 Happy and Bob Doran
Artist in Residence at Yale University Art
Gallery.
Her work was included in
numerous public collections:
• -The Solomon r. Guggenheim
museum NYC
• -The hirshhorn museum and
sculpture garden, Washington
DC.
• -The San Francisco museum of
modern art, the high museum
of art, Atlanta GA
• Upcoming solo exhibitions
include the Philips collection in
Washington DC as a well as the
Indiana museum of art,
Indianapolis, IN.
-slides by Alyssa
• Although the first thing most people will
notice about the Mirror Fence is the fact
that it is made up of mirrors, when you
get a closer look at it there is another
interesting, stand-out, detail: the inside
of the fence is a clear plastic. This is
interesting because on either side of the
plastic are mirrors which are debatably
the opposite of see through, they not
only block the image on the other side
but they show you what is opposite of
the direction you are looking. It is
interesting to consider why Shotz would
use such impenetrable outer pieces yet
have a transparent middle. The limpid
middle to this mirror coated fence might
represent that although many
boundaries may seem impassible that
might just be their outer appearance,
and deeper inside they could be more
penetrable than they look.
-slide by John
Landscape
Slide by Jordan
• In addition to placing Mirror Fence at a
natural change in landscape of the park,
it interacts with the landscape and
viewer in a very interesting way since it is
made of mirrors. The reason the fence
seems to blend into its landscape is
because it actually reflects its
surroundings on itself, such as fallen
leaves and grass, creating a camouflage
effect. However, when the viewer gets
closer and crouches down they will
actually see their face, which tarnishes
the continuous image of nature. This
change in appearance of the reflections
may signify how things behind a white
picket fence may seem normal and
perfect, yet taking the time to get closer
can reveal how each family leads a
unique life with imperfections.
Slide by Georgia
• In the sculpture mirror fence by
Alyson shotz, it seems to be making a
statement about the shape of the
fence. The shape of the fence being a
picket fence, may represent part of
the classic cliché American house and
family. Of course usually, the picket
fence is made of wood and painted
white where in the sculpture it is
made of plastic and mirrors. Maybe
the artist chose mirrors because most
people do represent the cliché
American family. Alternatively, the
fence in the sculpture could
represent what fences are, which is
boundaries. The mirrors on the fence
could mean that you are the only one
that is creating the boundaries or at
least abiding by them.
Slide by Jack