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Image for event: For the Love of My Belly

For the Love of My Belly

Art Reception

2023-01-14 16:00:00 2023-01-14 17:30:00 America/Denver For the Love of My Belly Art by Bea Hurd · Exhibit runs Jan 14 through Feb 24 Main Library - Fireplace Level 4

Saturday, January 14
4:00pm - 5:30pm

Add to Calendar 2023-01-14 16:00:00 2023-01-14 17:30:00 America/Denver For the Love of My Belly Art by Bea Hurd · Exhibit runs Jan 14 through Feb 24 Main Library - Fireplace Level 4

Main Library

Fireplace Level 4

Art by Bea Hurd · Exhibit runs Jan 14 through Feb 24

Artist Statement

"I have decided to love my stomach.

The round curvaceous mound that I have carried with me.

As she gained inches through life, I chose to compress her under Spanx that were sizes too small. Form contouring tights hid under loose fitting jeans, leaving only gaps for breathe.

I am curious if she was telling me to take up space.

If my expanding waistline was yelling at me to grab at more area on this earth. To stretch the skin around me and claim for myself this slightly larger circumference of life.

I declare that my fat cells are my heroes.

The only ones in my body who owned up to the audacity of growth.

On days that I felt warms streams of tears crashing down red laced cheeks, it was my stomach who dared to push out. She heaved at skin and made tapestry of gashes where resistance was met.

I used to meet these gashes with superfluous amounts of coco butter and overpriced skin serums. Slathering my body so heavily that as I crawled in bed at night, I could simultaneously butter my sheets. Though these processes never once helped the state of my skin, that was not the matter. To me, it was the ritual of the creams, and the acknowledgment that I was vehemently in opposition to this appearance. I was the enemy of my body, and by what I have learned, I am only to assume this is the goal.

The goal that is,

to be standing atop a scale, face like a cherry tomato, eyes, avoiding the enticement of relief that the nearby toilet could offer. I counted calories and jotted down numbers in biblical importance. The goal, to stash half of my dinner under napkins, vigorously do jumping jacks behind bedroom door sanctuary. Guzzle water till stomach cramps made triumph to hunger pangs. My reality had turned into a lifestyle dominated by bodily brutality taking guise as health.

I cried once when I ate a chocolate bar.

I now see my stomach folds as skin reaching to lay soft kisses atop itself. My weight is my body holding me down to the earth, in an attempt to remind me that I am here.

My stomach is a formidable presence of self-care."

Artist's Bio:

Bea Hurd is a Salt Lake City based artist who studied Sculpture Intermedia at the University of Utah. After college, she went on to teach art at West Jordan High School, where she currently teaches. After realizing her devotion to materially based sculpture, Bea uses her practice as a way to meditate on what has her mind at any given moment.

Cycling in and out of “material romances”; Bea seeks materials to form relationships with and allow them to persuade her direction. As if it were the tango, a push and pull between her needs and that of the material is established. Often her work feels like being a contemporary anthropologist. When she wants to know about herself and the community, Bea looks at the materials frequently purchased, endorsed, and interacted with. Bea is most attracted to mass-produced consumer goods, finding that what we endlessly reproduce radiates the aura of the makers and consumers. She finds the most history in products of daily use. Those that are used, consumed, and disposed of read like newspaper of who brings such materials into and out of existence so quickly. When searching for explorations, Bea probes supermarkets and gas stations, thrift stores, and her kitchen, pining for materials she wants to understand differently. Knowing that a material intriguing enough to enchant her for months possesses within it a body of work.
 

AGE GROUP: | Adults |

EVENT TYPE: | Exhibits | Arts & Creativity |

Main Library

Phone: 801-524-8200

Hours
Mon, Jul 07 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Tue, Jul 08 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Wed, Jul 09 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Thu, Jul 10 10:00AM to 8:00PM
Fri, Jul 11 10:00AM to 6:00PM
Sat, Jul 12 10:00AM to 6:00PM
Sun, Jul 13 11:00AM to 5:00PM

About the branch

NOTE: The Main Library's Rooftop Terrace is closed for renovations.

Salt Lake City's Main Library, designed by internationally-acclaimed architect Moshe Safdie in conjunction with VCBO Architecture, opened in February 2003 and remains one of the most architecturally unique structures in Utah. This striking 240,000 square-foot structure houses more than 500,000 books and other materials, yet serves as more than just a repository of books and computers. It reflects and engages the city's imagination and aspirations. The structure embraces a public plaza, with shops and services at ground level, reading galleries above, and a 300-seat auditorium.

A multi-level reading area along the Glass Lens at the southern facade of the building looks out onto the plaza with stunning views of the city and Wasatch Mountains beyond. Spiraling fireplaces on four floors resemble a column of flame from the vantage of 200 East and 400 South. The Urban Room between the Library and the Crescent Wall is a space for all seasons, generously endowed with daylight and open to magnificent views.

Upcoming events

Tue, Jul 08, 10:15am - 11:00am
Story Room

Tue, Jul 08, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Level 3 Conference Room

Thu, Jul 10, 6:30pm - 7:30pm

Fri, Jul 11, 4:00pm - 5:30pm
Creative Lab
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Sat, Jul 12, 10:15am - 10:45am
Story Room

Sat, Jul 12, 3:30pm - 5:00pm
Creative Lab

Sun, Jul 13, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Story Room

Sun, Jul 13, 3:00pm - 4:00pm
Craft Room

Mon, Jul 14, 10:00am - 11:30am

Mon, Jul 14, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Story Room

Tue, Jul 15, 10:15am - 11:00am
Story Room

Tue, Jul 15, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Creative Lab

Tue, Jul 15, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Level 3 Conference Room

Wed, Jul 16, 5:00pm - 7:00pm
The Plot Community Garden

Thu, Jul 17, 4:00pm - 5:00pm

Thu, Jul 17, 5:00pm - 7:00pm
Level 2 Periodicals Area

Thu, Jul 17, 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Rooftop Terrace
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Thu, Jul 17, 6:30pm - 7:30pm

Fri, Jul 18, 4:00pm - 5:30pm
Creative Lab
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Sat, Jul 19, 10:15am - 10:45am
Story Room

Sat, Jul 19, 3:30pm - 5:30pm
Creative Lab

Sun, Jul 20, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Story Room

Sun, Jul 20, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Auditorium

Mon, Jul 21, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Story Room

Tue, Jul 22, 10:15am - 11:00am
Story Room

Tue, Jul 22, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Level 3 Conference Room

Wed, Jul 23, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Story Room

Sat, Jul 26, 10:15am - 11:00am
Story Room

Sat, Jul 26, 3:30pm - 5:00pm
Creative Lab

Sun, Jul 27, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Story Room

Sun, Jul 27, 3:30pm - 4:30pm
Creative Lab
Registration opens Sunday, July 13 2025 at 9:00am

Mon, Jul 28, 10:00am - 11:30am

Mon, Jul 28, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Story Room

Tue, Jul 29, 10:15am - 11:00am
Story Room

Tue, Jul 29, 4:00pm - 5:00pm
Creative Lab

Tue, Jul 29, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Level 3 Conference Room

Wed, Jul 30, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Craft Room

Thu, Jul 31, 6:30pm - 7:30pm

Fri, Aug 01, 4:00pm - 5:30pm
Creative Lab
Registration opens Friday, July 18 2025 at 9:00am

Sat, Aug 02, 10:00am - 2:00pm
Friends Used Book Sale Area

Sat, Aug 02, 10:15am - 10:45am
Story Room

Sat, Aug 02, 3:30pm - 5:30pm
Creative Lab

Sun, Aug 03, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Story Room

Sun, Aug 03, 3:00pm - 4:30pm
Level 2 Conference Room

Sun, Aug 03, 3:30pm - 4:30pm
Creative Lab
Registration opens Sunday, July 20 2025 at 9:00am

Mon, Aug 04, 11:00am - 12:00pm
Story Room

Tue, Aug 05, 10:15am - 11:00am
Story Room

Tue, Aug 05, 6:00pm - 7:00pm
Level 3 Conference Room

Thu, Aug 07, 4:00pm - 5:00pm

Thu, Aug 07, 6:30pm - 7:30pm
Rooftop Terrace
This event is full