Pavonis Giron
they/them
Milwaukee, WI, USA
Pavonis Giron is an illustrator and fine artist located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. When not working on illustration, they follow sculptural pursuits in a variety of mediums, ranging from erosional, soil-based materials to metals and fibers.
“Pavonis Giron explores individual identity and cultural interpretations of gender using archeological motifs and early human tools. Ephemeral artifacts, such as twigs and leaf wrappings, are reinterpreted in a more durable, lasting form, drawing comparisons between the advances of today's craft pursuits to the earliest of human technology. This work seeks to scrutinize the relationship between what is seen as masculine and feminine, and how, within and outside of those societally-suggested boundaries, an individual may interpret, embrace, or rebuke such roles.”
What does being queer mean to you in relation to your material choices? Is it something you consider?
“My material choices are informed by the subject matter I wish to explore in each piece. As this subject matter is often inextricable from my examinations of gender identity and sexuality, whether my own or in the context of social interactions, it is almost always a factor in a finished piece. The leading material in this piece is the enamel - while it draws attention to the 'thorn' of the utensil with its bright color and shine, it is the most fragile portion of the work, and it is only a surface-level decoration. It's a tool to explore my questions about the interpretation of masculinity, both in the current day as well as in the way we speak about early human civilization; we frame masculinity as bold, dominant, and threatening in both of these contexts. Femininity receives the role of the selfless nurturer or submissive gatherer. Both of these concepts fall short. In this work the brass allows for me to explore the autonomy and strength found in the feminine and the sensual and fragile in the masculine as I navigate my own gender expression."
Is the work queer because the maker is queer, or is it queer because the subject matter is queer?
“This is a piece that is queer because the subject matter is queer, and that is the case because the maker is queer. No matter the piece, the hand of the maker shows the maker themself - at least, that is something I feel firmly about in my artwork. The two are intrinsically intertwined, but in this case especially the queerness of the piece is explicit."
"Ephemeral Artifacts I-II", Brass, copper, enamel, 12"x 6" x 4", 2024Anything else you would like to share about this work? This can be an important part of the process, sourcing materials, or research.
“The line of research for this project was prompted by a reading of Ursula K. Le Guin's ‘The Carrier Bag Theory of Fiction’, which discussed the idea that modern-day assignment of gender identity to early humans is likely only a mere reflection of current day interpretations of gender roles, alongside the theory that the earliest tools we used were more likely to be a leaf or skin folded to hold gathered items instead of the stone hand axe. Using these two lines of questioning, she reveals that our current day view of our earliest ancestors frames the hand axe as the symbol of masculinity, and from that story comes the hero of the stone age - the male hunter who bravely, sensationally, hunts and fights, hauling civilization forward on his shoulders. Le Guin's theory is aligned with actual archeological research, but this story still persists. Using this as a jumping off point, I also wished to explore the question of which tools may have been lost to time, such as branches and fibrous materials, and how a more neutral and even view of femininity and masculinity could be achieved through the framing of a narrative."