Jamie Burmeister
Jamie Burmeister
Artist Statement
As I go through my everyday life, I am drawn to seemingly uninspiring observations and experiences, such as watching a bug walking across a leaf, riding a bike, taking apart a machine to see how it works or pondering a question from my child which I just can not answer. These simple occurrences inspire me to explore these ideas further through art. Through experiments with sculpture, installation, mechanics, electronics, computers, the Internet, interactivity, sound and video, I have put together a diverse body of work that revolves around my conscious experience of the world. All of these pieces have elements of humor, absurdity and the mundane. Many of the pieces are interactive, creating situations where the viewer becomes a part of the piece. The experience of the work is unique depending upon how the viewers choose to interact with it. I place common everyday items in situations that give them characteristics of human behavior. By merging new digital technologies with old mechanical technologies I animate these humble materials seeking to change their context. The resulting videos, sculptures, and installations are metaphors for various aspects of the human condition.
Bio
Jamie Burmeister’s artworks have been exhibited in galleries, museums and public places throughout the world. His “vermin.me” project has resulted in over 520 installations of small ceramic figures, called vermin, in public places on several continents, 20 countries and 22 US states. Burmeister’s gallery and museum pieces have been exhibited in the Des Moines Art Center in Des Moines, Iowa, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts in Omaha, Nebraska, Arkansas Art Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, Sheldon Museum of Art in Lincoln, Nebraska, Create Fixate in Los Angeles, California, and Annmarie Garden in Dowell, Maryland. Jamie has completed commissions for the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Crisp Recording Studios in Fayetteville, Arkansas and the South Omaha Library. He has received numerous awards including the Nebraska Art Council’s 2010 and 2007 Individual Artist Fellowships, Omaha Entertainment and Arts 2007 Best Public Art and 2006 Three-Dimensional Sculpture Awards, UNL’s Trickey Memorial Award and UNL Woods Fellowship. He received a B.A. in Exercise Science from Creighton University in Omaha in 1992, an M.S. in Health Education from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 1995, and an M.F.A. in Sculpture from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 2005.