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October 20 - November 3, 2021

Drawn to the Emptiness is a showcase of drawings and relief sculptures created by artist Joseph Schairer, a third-year graduate student working towards his MFA in sculpture at UMass Dartmouth. This collection of work explores the artist鈥檚 obsession with contemplating the 鈥渘ature of existence鈥�, and the struggles that we go through in order to bring a sense of structure and purpose to our inherently chaotic world.

Artist Statement

Recent explorations in my work have centered around themes of existentialism, and more specifically, the weight that has come with a realization that in an inherently purposeless universe, it is up to each person as an individual to find their own reasons to continue to exist. The 鈥渧oids鈥� in my work, often manifested as dark and lightless portals to an ambiguous nothingness, represent a personal battle with these thoughts. They represent an admittance that, much like the physical substance of the voids that I create, the answers to questions concerning 鈥渆verything鈥� that I find myself desperately pondering will never present themselves in an explicit way.

Although I have spent my lifetime being nearly paralyzed with fear that the responsibility of giving my existence a purpose lies with nobody but myself, I have recently taken a more optimistic approach to these thoughts. Philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre has a quote verbalizing this idea, saying that: 鈥淢an is condemned to be free; because once thrown into the world, he is responsible for everything he does. It is up to you to give [life] a meaning.鈥�

Perhaps the void doesn鈥檛 have to be terrifying. Perhaps it represents the freedom for a person to elevate themselves to levels far beyond those that could have been achieved by following a path laid out by anyone but themselves.

糖心logo入口 Joseph Schairer

Joseph Schairer is a mixed media artist and sculptor based out of New Bedford, 糖心logo入口. He Received his BS in Sculpture from Southern Connecticut State University in 2019, and is currently working towards his MFA in Sculpture at the University of 糖心logo入口, Dartmouth. In his free time, Joe enjoys playing videogames, bathing in science fiction, and contemplating the nature of existence.

Drawn to the Emptiness

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