Darci Hanna
MFA ’24 Fine Arts 2D
I am fascinated by the places where nature and culture interact. My research-based practice often explores instances where biology and physiology become enmeshed in social and religious narratives and power structures. In recent work I have focused on the complicated cultural landscape surrounding gender roles, objectification, and early motherhood.
In Showing Their Underbellies:The Epstein Class, I use printmaking methods that are often used for protest art alongside traditional quiltmaking techniques associated primarily with women to call out immense disparities of privilege and varying accountability to the law for certain men. What might happen if these archetypal men-in-suits could no longer hide completely behind their wealth and power?
Airlifted Animals: Interwoven Lives examines our interactions with nature in a world in which we are increasingly removed from daily contact with wild plants, animals, and wilderness areas. Several years ago the algorithms began filling my newsfeeds with dramatic rescues of animals. Frequently, these involved helicopters and their crews, veterinary teams, and numerous other people saving a single animal. The stories were captivating. The photos were striking. But it made me wonder about our willingness to expend so much fuel, time, and effort for our love of a feelgood story. Wouldn’t tackling climate change or factory farming have a much greater impact on the quality of our fellow animals’ lives?
Interdisciplinary artist Darci Hanna (MFA ‘24) grew up raising longhorn cattle on a farm in rural Kansas and traveling the competitive rodeo circuit with her family. Fascinated by art from an early age, she studied art history and studio art in undergrad before completing an MA in art history at Williams College. After fifteen years of curatorial work in museums, she recently completed an MFA at MassArt with a focus on printmaking and textile arts.
