Dora Lisa Rosenbaum (born Guatemala City, Guatemala; lives Pacific Grove, CA) is a print, installation and mixed-media artist. She holds a BA from Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT, an MA from the Libera Academia di Belle Arti, Rome, Italy and an MFA from Indiana University, Bloomington. Rosenbaum’s work has been shown in group and solo exhibitions both nationally and internationally, most recently at the Monterey Museum of Art, CA and the Museum of Craft and Design, San Francisco, CA. Rosenbaum has attended various residencies at venues including the Kala Institute, the Kimmel Nelson Harding Center for the Arts, the Vermont Studio Center and the Women’s Studio Workshop.
Statement from the Artist:
My work centers the everyday and individuals’ un-theorized, taken-for-granted experiences as well as understanding of their worlds. Individuals constitute themselves through their daily practices and routines. Every day we make choices that shape who we are (and want to be) in the world, but these often remain out of our consciousness. My work foregrounds these seemingly thoughtless and individual, yet deeply meaningful, social practices. Intended as critical social commentary, it compels us to see our choices—not disparage them. Originally from Guatemala, and raised in the United States, I have always lived between and within two cultures. With an anthropological approach, I observe and seek to understand my surroundings. My artwork is a visual manifestation of this process. The multi-part work Performative Memory highlights methods through with societies remember. Household day-to-day tasks, routines, rituals, consumption practices, and use of space within the home are all forms of performative memory. Focusing on home labor, specifically through the lens of laundry practices, this body of work expands on my immigrant experience to comment on issues of displacement and explores the tie between scent, home, and belonging.