Arts & Crafts Sale!

If you are an artist or crafter in Milwaukee, please consider participating in this event! Guildess, a contemporary female art collective, is undergoing a makeover and would appreciate support from our artist community.

4 years of therapy?

Author of Sevens Days in the Art World, Sarah Thornton, states "for many art world insiders and aficionados of other kinds, concept-driven art is a kind of existential channel through which they bring meaning to their lives."

I find this statement to be quite true! Art of conceptual nature has the strong ability to encourage self reflection, especially for its creator. During my final semester of art school I decided that I may have just paid $40,000 for four years of therapy, but at least I learned how to maintain sanity by channeling negative energy into art production.

A fragment of summer...

Current reading/viewing material...

< Sleeping Beauty II: Grief, Bereavement in Memorial Photography American and European Traditions by Stanley Burns & Elizabeth A. Burns. 

"The proprietor and curator of the Burns Archive, a large collection of early medical and 19th-century documentary photography in New York, Stanley Burns and his daughter, Elizabeth, have produced a sumptuous volume of beautifully reproduced postmortem photographs, expanding on his 1991 volume, Sleeping Beauty: Memorial Photography in America. Photographs from 15 countries, ranging from the earliest daguerreotypes to present-day color snapshots, show that since the invention of photography survivors have sought to fix their memory of deceased loved ones." - Kathleen Collins

Through my research earlier this year, I stumbled upon these volumes and I am strangely drawn to the images inside. This volume also includes a little story/description of each photograph.


 
< On Longing: Narratives of the Miniature, the Gigantic, the Souvenir, the Collection by Susan Stewart 

I first encountered this novel when a professor of photography, Paul Berger, visited our thesis class and recommended I read it. Honestly, I only read "the Miniature" section last time, but this time I plan on reading more because it is a very interesting look into the relationship of narratives and objects. 

Sarah Thornton (Author)

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  < Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton

A friend of mine suggested I read this novel about spending time in each division of the art world. The author argues that the art world is a "cluster of intermingling subcultures unified by the belief, whether genuine or feigned, that nothing is more important than the art itself."

Hayward, WI, part 2

This is Neil. 

He is from Manchester, United Kingdom and one of the most interesting characters I met this summer. 

Of all the commercial photography I have done, the only type that doesn't make me feeling like I am selling my soul is portraiture. No, not yearbook portraits, but actual portraits where you spend more than 2 minutes with the individual you are photographing. Perhaps I'll pursue this further once I find a studio space.

Hayward, WI

First set of film images taken during my summer in Hayward, WI.

When I photograph places I like to photograph the finer details, objects and locations that are often times overlooked by the people who pass by them every day.

Inspiration: 3, Thomas Doyle

I am not quite sure how I managed to discover Thomas Doyle amidst my internet searching, but I am very glad I did.

"My work mines the debris of memory through the creation of intricate worlds sculpted in 1:43 scale and smaller. Often sealed under glass, the works depict the remnants of things past—whether major, transformational experiences, or the quieter moments that resonate loudly throughout a life. In much the way the mind recalls events through the fog of time, the works distort reality through a warped and dreamlike lens." - Thomas Doyle

His work puts me on edge as if something tragic is about to happen, but he goes about it in a very wonderful, well thought out way.

Inspiration: 2, Walter Martin & Paloma Munoz

Walter Martin and Paloma Munoz have amazed and influenced me since I stumbled upon them in 2008. I was putting together a presentation for my thesis class of the many artists that have inspired me when I discovered their miniature scenes, complete with fantasy and close to death encounters.

The first set of photographs are from a their series Islands (2003-2009). I enjoy the forest scenes because they take you closer to the island, which portrays a feeling of endless space.

This next set of images is taken from the series Travelers (2001-2009). These take place in snow globes, which provides a sense of seclusion in much the same way an island does. 

Inspiration: 1, Elizabeth Weinberg

I am not quite sure how I stumbled upon the work of Elizabeth Weinberg, but I continue to go back to her work when I want a glimpse into someone else's life. Recently, she was selected as one of PDN's 30 Emerging Photographers to Watch in 2010 and has photographed for many publications and celebrities. Website: Elizabeth Weinberg.

What inspires me about Weinberg is how she uses her daily life and surroundings as the basis for her work. Sometimes I get stuck thinking that I have to go out and find things to photograph, when there are things right in front of my face.

Happy Accidents

Since May, I have been photographing with my Mamiya and Holga camera's quite regularly. Returning to the mode of shooting all the time was difficult, but for me, it is the only way to produce work that taps into my subconscious. All bodies of work have to start somewhere and a professor of mine, Gina Rymarcsuk, taught me that some of your best work comes from photographing in a way that you don't usually shoot. The following photograph was taken with a Holga and I am fairly certain the back popped off the camera while I was shooting. A few years ago I would not have been happy with the results of the light leak, but another professor of mine, Naomi Shersty, planted the idea in my head that at times, it is more interesting to see the imperfections of a photograph.

Inspired by the North Woods

Spending a summer in a region surrounded by 50+ lakes and bodies of water, I felt inspired to create a piece of work motivated by their prolific presence in the area. 

These were shown during Milwaukee's July Gallery Night at Yama Yoga Studio in the Third Ward.

"Tributaries", 2010, watercolor & found materials, 13x16(2)