Ian Weaver, MFA in Visual Art ’08

The Black Knights are a product of my merging interests in medieval heraldry and Black activism. I envision them as a force of resistance and empowerment, fighting for survival amid displacement. While inspired by a specific historical moment, the project speaks to larger themes of how we, as individuals and communities, construct lost histories and create new identities in response to trauma and erasure. This ongoing project is a meditation on how history — especially lost history — can be reimagined as a form of survival.

Materially, I have worked with drawing, print media, collage, sculpture, installation, film, and photography. Central to my artistic process is the idea of fracture, which I express through collage in multiple formats. Collage, for me, is a metaphor for how we piece together our lives and identities from fragments of memory and history. In the same way we assemble commemorations and artifacts, we construct our own narratives from disparate and fractured experiences.

Film has become an important medium for my exploration of fractured memory. Inspired by filmmakers like Tacita Dean and Kevin Jerome Everson, I have worked with both found and shot 16-mm film, creating collage-like works that combine archival footage with newly created material. My interest in film began in 2014, when I created an experimental film solely from found 16-mm footage. In recent years, however, I have begun shooting my own film using a Russian wind-up camera, adding a personal element to this process. More recently, I have been drawn to the metaphorical power of water, particularly the Chicago shoreline of Lake Michigan. Through this lens, I have begun to explore the historical and symbolic connections between water and Black bodies — both in terms of forced migration and voluntary movement. The shoreline becomes a site for reflecting on these themes, allowing me to extend the ideas of my Black Bottom project into a broader context.

What are you in the middle of making right now?
In 2026, I will have the opportunity to expand my practice with a new installation at the Chicago Athletic Association, a historic building that first opened its doors in 1893 during the World’s Fair. Initially, the Athletic Association was a space of leisure, reserved for Chicago’s white male elite. After years of closure, the building has been transformed into a hotel and exhibition space. One of its most iconic areas is the former pool, known as “The Tank,” which now serves as a temporary exhibition venue.

Public pools, historically, have been spaces of exclusion for Black and Brown individuals, making this an especially poignant setting for my work. My installation, tentatively titled “Fractured Waters,” will incorporate both sculptures and a new collaged film that draws from found 16-mm archival footage and new footage I will shoot. This project is an opportunity to connect and expand the themes of water, exclusion, and Black identity that I have been exploring over the years and to reflect on how spaces of exclusion can be reclaimed and reimagined.

What has surprised you most in a recent project?
I have never really done a site-specific project, and even though research is central to all my work, this project has needed a more extensive level of research, which has been exciting.

What is something from your days at WashU that you still think about frequently?
The time I spent with Ron Leax, the former dean of the College of Art. I came to WashU with a rudimentary woodworking skill set, and primarily as a painter. Ron worked one-on-one with me once a week during my second year to give me a primer on the tools and techniques in the wood shop, and that was transformative. I still work with drawing and print media, but sculpture is my primary practice in many ways, thanks to Ron.

Describe your experience at WashU in three words.
Surprising. Generous. Sustained (friendships, relationships).

What was your path from WashU to your current practice and teaching role like?.
After graduating in 2008, I spent the following year doing residencies while having a base in Chicago — I received a Joan Mitchell Foundation grant which allowed me to work in the studio; I also received a public art commission through the City of Chicago Percent for Art program which helped sustain me. In 2009, I started a teaching position at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. A few years later, I accepted a tenure-track position at Saint Mary’s College where I am currently, and I love it!

During those years and still today, I have continued to maintain a studio practice while privileging participation in residencies to build relationships and meet other practitioners and curators/thinkers.

What advice would you give to a current art student at WashU?

• Be professional — it’s important to follow up on recommendations, to send thank you emails to people who have given you opportunities, etc. It’s important to cultivate the professional side of being an artist.
  
• Be working (constantly) — nothing matters — in terms of opportunities, connections made, etc. — if you don’t have work.
  
• Be a sponge — both in school and out. I am constantly learning and trying new things — new media, new approaches, new themes. Be open to new experiences. And don’t be overly sensitive. I tell my students that not all criticism is useful, but you should believe that it might be useful. You should have an open mind to feedback you receive, then make decisions on if and how you will make use of it.