Week 5 — Artist Essay — Bobi Bosson
Artist: Bobi Bosson
Media: Screen Printing, Sculpture, Painting, Mural
Website: https://bobi-lee.com/work
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/barbieleeboss/
Bobi Bosson is an interdisciplinary artist based in Simi Valley, California. She did not receive any formal artistic training until college. However, she actually began her college career in Sales and Optical and later switched to Art and Design after finding her true passion for the subject. She graduated from California State University Channel Islands in 2018 with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine/Studio Arts as well as a Digital Media Certificate. She is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree from California State University Long Beach. Her artwork explores both physical and digital aspects. On her website, she states, “There isn’t any media I wouldn’t try,” and she really has proven that through her multi-medium portfolio, including sculptures, paintings, murals, and screen prints. Her work commonly explores ideas of femininity as well as social issues. She has used some of her pieces to advocate for or as a tribute to a certain cause as well. Overall, Bobi’s interdisciplinary art practice has led her to create some magnificent pieces that represent who she is as an artist.
Bobi works with many different mediums, so the form and characteristics of her pieces vary. For the purpose of this essay, I will focus on her so-called triad of passion: paintings, sculptures, and screen prints. In her paintings, she commonly uses oil paints on canvases ranging anywhere from 16x20 inches to 30x40 inches. She frequently pushes the boundaries of this medium in different ways, such as using tools other than brushes as seen in her piece “Roxanne.” She commonly uses bright colors and patterns to draw the eyes of her audience, as seen in her series “For the Love of Drag.” On the other hand, Bobi’s sculptures tend to use more natural and mundane colors. She also tends to use the female form, as seen in her pieces “Come At Me Bro” and “Rosie.” Her sculptures commonly have a sinuous design, but she plays with different hard or soft textures and components. Her sculptures also vary in size, ranging from nearly life-size to as small as an insect. Finally, her screen and monoprints also commonly use various bright colors as well as printed words and phrases. She experiments with different textures and how they look to the naked eye. Many of her pieces have overlaying elements that work together to form the entire piece, as seen in “Let Love In” and “Resist.”
To add to the physical characteristics we can see in her paintings, one can easily see the emotion behind Bobi’s work. In her paintings, Bobi finds herself emotionally driven and inspired by Monet, Manet, and Degas. At times, she even lets the music guide the painting. Because of this, I feel that Bobi uses paintings as an outlet of expression really guided by what she is feeling. Many of her paintings have a social purpose as well, such as her series “For the Love of Drag.” This series featured drag queens to bring light to the creativity and beauty of their community. In her sculptures, she feels called to create a 3D space. She is constantly drawn to the female form and experiments with bridging different media, as seen in her ceramic screenprint piece “Come At Me Bro.” I feel that Bobi uses sculptures to give a sort of definition and real-life aspect to her work. Using the female body allows her to explore the beauty of femininity just as she did in her paintings but now with an added physical aspect. Finally, Bobi’s screen and monoprints allowed her to really find her voice as she uses the prints as a balance between traditional and digital art. Many of her prints continue to explore femininity while some bring awareness to social issues, such as “Resist.” I can seemingly see and feel the messages she is trying to reveal in many of her prints, giving them a very personal aspect.
After hearing Bobi speak and exploring her online portfolio, I found myself falling in love with much of her work. I admire the fact that she is using her platform to advocate for social issues in such an artistic way. Her installation “Tide Conditions” made of marine debris, single-use plastic, steel, wood pallets, and reclaimed clay is one of my favorites because it sheds light on a serious global issue that I am very compassionate about. Pieces like this spread awareness for the cause that I am currently studying while working for a degree in Environmental Science and Policy. I also find myself drawn to her screenprint “Let Love In.” This piece illustrates that many hateful ideas are embedded in human beings, but we must resist and let love in so it can combat these hateful ideas. I really resonate with the idea behind this piece, and I love how Bobi brought it across in her work. The concept of using art to not only show the artist’s passions and beliefs but to also bring awareness and advocate for important issues is such a respectable notion, and I am excited to see Bobi’s continued work related to this in the future.
