Abigail Franzen-Sheehan | Artist Statement 

My collage works in At Home with War, explore human proximity to difficult things —a near and far relationship to violence in America and in the world. I reference domestic spaces which are erected to nurture life, while simultaneously distancing those within from the barbarity of ever-present warfare. 

There has been scant time during my adult life when the US has not been directly involved with a war or when the military isn’t engaged in armed conflict somewhere. When I put a list of engagements to paper, it is disheartening. Dish heartening on multiple levels: one, that we have not learned much from history in the ways of peace, and two, that as a person of privilege, my day-to-day existence is not impacted by suffering. At the same time, there is so much beauty—sun glinting on a rocky stream, a bed of happy zinnias, the smell of a thick pine forest, a children’s chorus singing in a grand cathedral, sleeping babies— to absorb these, is sublime. 

My work explores the tension between ignorance, observing the world as a bystander, and trying to repair the world (known as, Tikkun Olam in Hebrew, related to The Three Tenets in Buddhism, and akin to ‘faith without works’ in the book of James in Christian bible). There exists an almost universal longing to be better than we find ourselves and a continued search for divine intervention in our limited mortal space. 

With the above in mind, my process is both intentional and intuitive. Wide-ranging elements hold my interest, as captured in this exhibition: the medieval crusades, the American Civil War, biblical stories, decorative arts, creatures from folklore and myths, children’s songs, poems, and prayers. I collect old, illustrated volumes, engravings, and maps from which I scan and digitally manipulate images on the computer. I enlarge and abstract small portions and transfer them onto silkscreens for printing. I purposely print on crafting paper and quilting fabric to elevate that which, in art history, has been castigated as lesser ‘women’s work’ or domestic handicrafts. In addition, I print on to unconventional items such as  dishrags, tablecloths, Japanese kimonos, wallpaper, and more. My print sessions produce large quantities and variation. From this inventory, I assemble works instinctively, responding to the physical materials. I get lost in the juxtaposition of disparate things; composing color and texture; and just making something new. I do not always have a sense of the ending when I begin. 

1  Backdrop of War during my adult lifetime. This is an abbreviated list and many of these overlap or terminologies differ depending on source. List is only meant to give a rough outline of 3 decades of US military engagement: Gulf War 1990-  1991, Iraq no fly zone (1991-2003) War in Iraq (2001- 2021), War in Afghanistan (2001-2021), 9/11 War on Terror (2001 to present – includes military actions all over the globe), War in Northwest Pakistan (2004-2017) War on ISIS (2014 – present) Bosnian War (1992-2004 US support), US involvement in Libyan War (2016-2017) Russian invasion of Ukraine  2022-present (US NATO support), Israeli Hamas War (US support)