JUDY THOMAS
 
 
The investigation of color, media and meaning is the primary focus in my work. Of particular interest to me is what I call ‘artificial’ or man-made color. This includes paint, fabrics, and plastics as well as ‘computer’ color.  The simple plastic shopping bag, which, for the most part, we take for granted in our day-to-day lives, is one of my favorite materials.  Post-consumer plastic shopping bags are readily available and come in a myriad of colors. They are durable (they last a lifetime), they are easy to manipulate, and are one of the most prevalent forms of advertising in our culture.  
 
 
My work with plastic shopping bags began because I did not have recycling in my  industrial Brooklyn neighborhood. I could not bear to throw out all the beautiful colored plastic, many of which evoked memories of shopping sprees or travels.  As I started collecting these bags, I thought more and more about the reference of the product, service, or place that each bag advertised. As I began to cut up and manipulate the material, I realized that even a fragment of a bag conveyed enough information to ‘complete the sentence’.  This has led me to question how simply we, as individuals and as a culture, are driven by advertising and media images.