Jen Stark

(Over and Out / 19" x 19" x 5" / hand-cut paper / 2008)


Jen Stark is a contemporary artist whose majority of work involves creating paper sculptures. She also works with drawing and animation. She gets her inspiration from fractals, wormholes, and MRI scans. All of her paper sculptures are cut by hand, Her work frequently reflects an object’s ability to appear bland on the surface, yet reveal a hidden system of patterning and color.

I was drawn to her artwork when I saw it online, I had never seen such a complex use for paper. Let alone any that were as interesting as these sculptures. It is very interesting to me to see how something so simple be used in such an uncommon way. Especially since all of her sculptures are cut by hand not with lasers or machines. I also loved her color choices, they are very bright bet they all seem to work well together. After looking at her website the sculpture I liked the most was Over and Out (pictured above). The overall shape is very unusual, the colors caught my eye immediately and I found it very aesthetically pleasing. I could not imagine cutting out all of those individual pieces of paper.


(Purple / 20" x 20" / hand-cut paper / 2009)

I thought that this art was best represented in the formalist theory, it is a "manipulation of an artistic medium that is capable of producing a unique and arresting response in the aesthetically attuned audience member." I feel that this described the art the most, since it is original and not trying to represent something else. I feel that this would be considered art because of the creativity behind the artwork, and how it is something that is more original, seeing as how it is paper, which is a medium that is usually used as a base for art, not the art itself.

In class we talked about the revival of art, how it has progressed, and new ways of expressing oneself. I think that this definitely fits this description, I think that using paper as the art itself is very innovative and a very ambitious project to take on.

"Streaming Gradient" by Jen Stark from Jen Stark on Vimeo.

McCulloch, Adam. "Jen Stark's Paper Sculptures Explore Fractals, Wormholes, and Dead Bodies." Wired News. 25 Sept. 2007. Web. 04 Dec. 2009. .

"Sculpture." Jen Stark. 2009. Web. 03 Dec. 2009. .

My question is: Would you consider this formalist? Is this even art? Or would it fall under another category of maybe a craft or hobby?