DVAA Member since 2022

Ava Haitz

About:

Ava is a multi-media artist and educator who creates immersive experiences through video and installation. Their work is meant to challenge the way art is traditionally experienced by incorporating touch, texture, color, play, and interaction from viewers. She is interested in blurring the space between what is considered child-like and trivial with what is considered intellectual, valuable, and fine art. Their work is heavily influenced by their experience with teaching art to children as well as their passion for queer theory and history.

Artist Statement:

I express my inner world through drawing-- drawing on paper, drawing in space with installation and sculpture, or using animation to make drawings that move. My work is an attempt to bridge our child-like capacity to imagine, play and be free with the seriousness, sophistication, and heaviness that comes with knowledge and age. I'm interested in reconnecting myself and viewers with sensations and ideas that were important to us at a young age, that we might have lost due to shame or fear. Making art that is accessible and can be enjoyed and experienced by all ages and social classes is important to me.

Art has the ability to transcend language and logical thought, leaving imprints on the subconscious and conscious mind in ways that can transform people or even just leave a small imprint on their personal perspective and knowledge. With my background in academia, both from PAFA and UPenn, I hope to translate academic theories and histories through abstraction, sound, color, texture, and familiar objects.