Between Terminals A-East and B
(ticketed passengers)
Philadelphia
artist Ellen Benson is known for using ordinary, common objects to create an
ongoing series of small-scale, doll-like figures. Benson salvages anything that
she deems visually inspiring. As she has said, “art materials are everywhere.”
From broken doll parts, ceramic figurines, buttons, and vintage jewelry to old
tools, empty seasoning containers, plastic pill bottles, fabric, and beads --
she assembles these once disparate, discarded items into one-of-a-kind,
hand-sized figures. Benson’s process is often intuitive as she describes
looking at a bottle cap and imagining a doll’s little hat or old paint brushes
as legs.
Inspired
by Latin American folk art, Benson travels annually to Mexico and Guatemala to
visit local artisans -- weavers, woodcarvers, ceramicists, and mask makers.
Influenced by their textile patterns and colors, figurative sculpture, and
traditions, Benson’s figures are similarly primitive and mystical. Yet her unexpected
combination of imagery and found objects add a sense of whimsy. Over the years,
Benson has created more than 600 dolls with a goal of making 1,000. Seen en
masse, it is amazing that one person handcrafted them all. Benson’s passion for
her work is obvious as she dedicates much of her creative time to what she
collectively refers to as “diva dolls -- a family, a friendship circle, a
tribe.”
