I have been writing a lot this week.
Since I wrote to you last week about the lessons learned in my booth, I have written a proposal for a public art project, a response to my nomination to be included in the Kansas City Collection, re-worked a presentation about my work and given it, and written a new artist statement. So right now there is a paint brush in the other room that desperately needs my attention, and I really need to go make stuff! (besides I think I have run out of words, ie. visual artist!) So here’s some of what I wrote:
Presentation slide of Edward Curtis orotones
New Artist Statement!
I approach 21st century photography with the sensibility and aesthetic of a 19th century photographer. By employing the best characteristics of both eras, I create anachronistic images of “in-between” spaces. Just as the earliest photographers, the practitioners of daguerreotype and tintype, I treat metal plates by hand, preparing each to receive its own unique photograph. I capitalize on the smooth surface of steel, a finely textured under painting, and the translucent qualities of digital pigments to create each luminous piece. My images are metaphors for the “in-between” places in our lives. The ones where we must be mindful to appreciate the subtle beauty and richness that quietly resides there.
Presentation slide of image transformation
From a Proposal:
…My photographs stand in sharp opposition to the relentless inundation of visual imagery in our daily life, which is used in the service of delivering a sales message, an advertisement, a call for consumption, and consequently a call for speed and action. I use the same delivery method, photography, but to counteract and convey the opposite message: slow down, enjoy the subtle beauty that is lost by traveling too fast. Notice and consider where you are and the impact of your actions…