Episode #133: Michelle Samour
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Michelle Samour a multi-media artist whose work explores the intersections between science, technology, and the natural world, as well as the socio-political repercussions of redefining borders and boundaries. She has been a Scholar-in-Residence at the Tufts European Center in Talloires, France; and an Artist-in-Residence at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine; The Banff Centre in Canada; and at other institutions. Her work has been exhibited at the deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum in Lincoln, Massachussetts; the Museum of Modern Art in Strasbourg, France; the Kohler Art Center in Sheboygan, WI; and at many other venues. Samour has been featured in Surface Design Journal, FiberArts, and Hand Papermaking, and is included in public and private collections. She is Professor Emerita of the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) at Tufts University where she taught historical and contemporary approaches to working with handmade paper and pulp.
Installation view of “Blue,” 2019, Pigmented paper pulp, specimen pins, 10 ft. x 20 ft. W x 5 in / 304.8 x 609.6 x 12.7cm,
Jamestown Arts Center, Jamestown, RI.
Samour has early paper memories of seeing the some of Dard Hunter’s papermaking artifacts at MIT, where his collection was prior to its current location at the Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking in Atlanta, GA.
We talked about her paper courses at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University, where she taught for decades, all-the-while keeping up her own studio practice.
Detail, “Eyes of God,” 2010, Pigmented paper pulp, gouache, 10 ft. x 20 ft. W x 5 in. / 304.8 x 609.6 x 12.7 cm, Each piece approx. 7 in / 18 cm DIA, Houston Center of Contemporary Craft.
Samour creates large scale installations that invite viewers to immerse themselves in the details while being surrounded by the work. We discussed the studio spaces and equipment she has developed over the years to accommodate the creation of large work from small components. (In one studio, she dumped water out an upstairs window to avoid hauling it).
Installation view of “Land of Milk and Honey: Stuck,” 2021, Pigmented Abaca handmade paper, Mother of Pearl acrylic, gouache, Installation dimensions: 40 x 112 in / 101.6 x 248.5 cm, Sheet dimensions: 8 x 10 in / 20.3 x 25.4 cm.
We also talked about Samour’s working methods and her idea-based work, dealing with topics such as climate change and her Palestinian ancestry and displacement.
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Michelle Samour’s recommendations:
- Radical Paper: Art & Invention with Colored Pulp, is a new book by Lynn Sures and Michelle Samour that opens the door to this art medium.
- The Invention of Nature, by Andrea Wulf
- Inventing Kindergarten, by Norman Brosterman
- Darwin’s Ghosts, The Secret History of Evolution, by Rebecca Stott
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You can find out more about Michelle Samour on her website and on Instagram.
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Music featuring excerpts of Makin’ Paper folk song by Peter Thomas. Listen to the full song and find out about other paper and book arts folk songs.
Gary A. Hanson did the sound editing for this episode. He practices and refines his skills in audio production while making his own podcast I’ll Have a Beer and Talk, a show about tech news, culture, weird animal stories and of course, beer. Gary is also the Deckle in Pulp & Deckle, a Portland-based community hand papermaking studio.
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