User:KylePetroziello/sandbox

Life:
Vivian Beer has called herself a Designer-Maker, trying to encompass the vastness of what she does in a single term. She is a furniture designer/maker, a sculptor, a craftsperson, an artist and an engineer all rolled into one, taking elements of each occupation to hone her craft. Her furniture and sculptures primarily take on contemporary and abstract forms focusing on creating objects that interfere with the landscape. In 2000, Beer got her Bachelor’s degree from the Maine College of Art in Portland, Maine in Sculpture where she graduated with honors. From there she moved on to get her Master’s degree in Metalsmithing from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, in 2004. Her long list of residencies date from 1996 all the way through 2015.

Feminism Influence:
As Beer became a furniture designer, she ignored the “social norm” where men usually would do the physical work like changing and turning metal into different furniture. One of her pieces is a “30 foot doodle” created by steel for the city of Cambridge, Massachusetts. Most of the time, people would believe only a man would be able to make something so substantial, but Beer erases that falsehood, showing women are capable of producing equally talented and oftentimes better pieces of art that are considered physically taxing. Her studio is quite impressive, involving many of the same tools an auto body shop would have to mend and paint cars. When hearing an “auto body shop,” people do not typically assume a woman to be working in a field like that, another stereotype Beer continues to disprove. With her gallery and exhibition list being long and active, she really makes a major statement with her work and expresses that no one is ever limited to anything.

Art Creation Process:
Beer’s artwork is often a blend of one of her passions - automotives - and other hardware, typically metal, to create unique and stylish pieces of furniture. Her designs involve many complex curves that are not easy to replicate using steel. She must hammer, bend, and then curve the material on an English wheel. Next, they are welded, sandblasted, and finally painted into the desired shapes - all by hand - by Beer. Her projects often include abstract style benches, chairs, and other outdoor sculptures with sleek finishes. Her work is often a collaboration of the surrounding nature and culture of where it will be placed. The variety of designs, textures, patterns, and colors in her assortment of work express this goal. Beer has become a master at crafting hard material into impressive functioning pieces of art.

Experience:
Beer’s success in designing and making furniture has been recognized by many, including Ellen DeGeneres. Beer was featured on Ellen’s Design Challenge, an American furniture design competition, and won the challenge along with a cash prize. Following this win, she was awarded several prestigious fellowships. In particular, the John D. Mineck furniture fellowship granted her the opportunity to travel the country in an RV for inspiration. She had the experience working at the National Air and Space Museum researching American aeronautic design history in which she received the Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship for. Along with this, she was amongst the few artists to be awarded $50,000 from United States Artists. She was featured on The Take magazine’s cover as “Manchester’s Sexy Industrialist” for her fine, yet functional art. Beer was the recipient of the Alumni Achievement Award from Cranbrook Academy, which recognizes alumni who succeed early in their career.

Future:
Beer is now trying to expand her work in Manchester with her team. They plan to continue their work through the rest of the year, with some expansions and ideological changes. For example, her new line of furniture will be aimed toward the general public more so than the fine art community. She notes the projects will be more fiscally accessible and engaged in the design community to appeal to a greater audience and where the furniture may be placed. This move will ultimately offer more exposure for Beer and her work which should propel her growth as an artist. Outside of these explicit plans for more affordable furniture, Beer hopes to soon have a group studio in Manchester where other artists like her can feel supported and be seen. An important focus for her going forward will be more on the function of the furniture to provide people more comfort in the home.