Notes on the State of Virginia

"Notes on the State of Virginia" is a series of place-based assemblages on US Geological Survey topographic maps (2011-2013). It's a contemporary twist on Thomas Jefferson's book of that title. Some pieces explore the land he described, while most focus on places in the state the artist found ecologically or culturally distinctive. To create this series, Suzanne researched and traveled to special regions in Virginia's Coastal Plain, Piedmont, Blue Ridge, Valley and Ridge, and Appalachian Plateau. This 8-minute video describes the project and the making of the artwork for this series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc3StD99X-g From Donna Cedar-Southworth's élan magazine article, "Interpretation": "When fine artist Suzanne Stryk learned she had received a grant from the Virginia Commission for the Arts to create her own artistic interpretation of Thomas Jefferson’s 1785 book Notes on the State of Virginia, she was both excited and daunted: “What have I gotten myself into?” she wondered. “Virginia is so biologically and culturally rich. And how audacious to use Jefferson’s book for my series!” But then she remembered Jefferson’s own words when he was asked to revise his book decades after writing the original. “The work itself is nothing more than the measure of a shadow, never stationary, but lengthening as the sun advances, and to be taken anew from hour to hour,” he wrote. “It must remain, therefore, for some other hand to sketch its appearance at another epoch.” Suzanne considered his use of the word “sketch” as a prophecy, she says, and with that, she dove in . . .  " See full élan article and the Washington Post review of "Notes on the State of Virginia" here: http://www.suzannestryk.com/publications/reviews/ "Notes on the State of Virginia" artist's statement: Notes VA Artist's Statement

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The Middle of Somewhere: An Artist Explores the Nature of Virginia is available now from Trinity University Press. In this book, Suzanne takes the reader across Virginia to experience the making of the "Notes on the State of Virginia" series. For more about the book, visit: https://tupress.org/9781595349613/the-middle-of-somewhere/ From Trinity University Press: There’s no such thing as the middle of nowhere. Everywhere is the middle of somewhere for some living being. That was Suzanne Stryk’s mantra as she journeyed through her home state on a mission inspired by the reflective, encyclopedic sensibility of Thomas Jefferson’s book Notes on the State of Virginia. While acknowledging the moral contradictions in the founding father’s work and life, Stryk offers a contemporary interpretation of Virginia’s natural and cultural ecology from a visual artist’s point of view. The Middle of Somewhere is an assemblage of essays, sketches, and ephemera from her travels. In a challenge that is universal, Stryk invites us to travel slowly, tread lightly, and look closely at what makes each place a "somewhere."  

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      Installation views of "Notes on the State of Virginia" exhibit:          William King Museum of Art               Taubman Museum of Art                   Specimen table and Virginia map   EXHIBIT SCHEDULE  Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke (2013) The Athenaeum Gallery, Alexandria (2014-15) Museum of the Shenandoah Valley, Winchester (2016) Portsmouth Art & Cultural Center, Portsmouth (2017) William King Museum of Art, Abingdon (2018) The University of Virginia, Charlottesville (2018) From several of these venues, display cases with sketchbook pages and specimens collected on Virginia trips: