Tag Archives: artist statement

New Artist Statement

May 8, 2014 by Chris | 2 Comments

I wrote a new artist statement to take to Fotofest last month and almost forgot to share it with you.

 

Mile Marker 422v, 16x22Since I was eight years old, I have used a camera to quiet a world that contains too much visual stimulation for my racing brain. The lens gives me a distance from my environment, and acts as a filter to slow the intake of information so that I can capture what is before me. Once back in my studio, I am afforded the quiet space to consider the collected images, the silence that allows the dialogue to take shape. Continue reading »

A week of blah, blah, blah

March 28, 2012 by Chris | 2 Comments

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…

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