Isaac L. Stern
he/him
East Troy, WI, USA
Isaac L. Stern is a midwestern metalsmith from East Troy, Wisconsin, who graduated with his BFA in Metals and Jewelry at the University of Wisconsin Whitewater under the mentorship of Teresa Faris. Currently he is based on the east coast in Portland, Maine, for his MFA at Maine College of Art and Design. His work searches for a parallel of language, visuals, and metaphors between the complexities of the human identity and the vastness of the Earth’s oceans. Through biomorphic form and environmental collaboration, his work mirrors his experiences, welcoming the process of transition and accepting existential impermanence.
“[The Trans Americana] To inquire how the individual transgender psyche can reference the abyssal ocean–a metaphorical escapism from polarizing queer politics. There is a reclamation that art and language can bring to what is misunderstood or unknown about the trans-man’s experience; he must adapt his survival instincts to navigate through societal normativity, an intense and volatile environment to traverse. He will then create a different environment, a reflective one amidst dysphoria and societal recoil. In that place, he finds the metaphor as a healer and the wearable visual as the analogy.”
How does your work relate to the theme connection?
“My work considers the connections made between its material and content. The transient surface of the copper when exposed to seawater in similarity to my own transition. How the cotton relates to being a trans-man who still must use products made for the feminine. The shape is groin-like and the biomorphic form emulates something seemingly crustaceous. Each of these aspects connect to the last through strong comparison, of which is important for me when making such an intimate piece."
What role does connection play in your creative process?
“The speckling of hypnotizing particles latch to my eyelashes like scale armor. The corroding of my skin, making room for a liberty green and crystal salt. My bodily chasm, stripped of its viscus and refilled with seawater, adapting to withstand hydrostatic pressure, and can peer into the inky behindness of my eyes through bioluminescence. Within my creative process I play with figurative notions frequently, such as my hammering relating to SONAR or the process of sandblasting in reference to the abrasive sand beneath the ocean waves. About 95% of Earth’s oceans are still undiscovered, and for that reason, it makes me feel safe enough to conjure a dream space for me to exist within it. I feel as though it understands the need for me to channel my self isolation into self discovery."
"bottom dweller", copper and tampon cotton, object/packer, 5" x 5.5", 2024What connection(s) does your queerness make to the world around you?
“A particular societal loneliness has had an effect on my emotional health over the past few years due to American Queer politics, a solitude that has severed and tangled repressed memories. The product finds itself in the form of isolation, from self and society, and what does that feel like? How to overcome it? The process of transitioning is extensive and non-linear, and most of the time extremely unpredictable. Finding space and connections within the queer metals community has helped me overcome a lot of this struggle, as we are extremely strong together, and a place where no one gets left behind."
Anything else you would like to share about this work? This can be an important part of the process, sourcing materials, or research.
“This object is worn inside of the underwear, referencing a packer, to combat the effects of bottom dysphoria of the front pouch. Within my practice, I’m interested in how I can best portray the reveal of vulnerability in making work about the transgender experience. For others, and even the wearer, to not be able to see it on the body, but for only the wearer to feel it being worn, is extremely powerful."