The residency brought many good thoughts to the surface about my work. It was exciting to present this work as it differs significantly from my previous work. Before the residency, I had really only discussed the work with my mentor.
The images below show the space where I installed my work. Lesley currently is transitioning to a new building, so this was a somewhat temporary location in University Hall in Cambridge.
Overall, people seemed very interested in the work. There was generally a rather immediate read that these were paintings, which I'm not entirely opposed to. I feel this work accomplished many of the things I wanted it to, mainly allowing a more open interpretation while stepping away from the obvious digital manipulations in Photoshop. The two main ideas that came up suggested going in a more sculptural direction, or giving more evidence of the photographic/digital elements. I don't see these ideas as mutually exclusive.
I fortunately got a critique with B. Wurtz, our visiting artist this semester, and he felt this work was very slow. He said it takes a long time to understand what is going on, but the longer you look, the more you see it. He initially suggested going with a more recognizably photographic image, but also felt the subtly of the work was important also.
Some critiques favored the later work where I layered the images with a veil/mesh fabric. In these critiques, the viewer wanted more engagement with the work. They were interested in touching the veil and pulling it away to see what was underneath. There was some comments about adding an element of movement to the work to achieve the revealing of the under-image. Many people wanted me to try different scales, and not to be too restricted by my printer.
Several people also mentioned making the image process more rigorous, more focused. Something like only photographing sunsets, all from one specific view, or perhaps imitating iconic work that has influenced me in the style of my process.
Oliver Wasow suggested adding more reference to the high tech digital source, with glitch or other methods. What I realized is that almost accidentally, I'm using the ultimate analogue tool of the pinhole image with the highly sophisticated digital sensor. I see myself as pushing the tension between these a little more. To me, that is where the interest of this work lays.
Another prominent discussion point was the visual connection to colorfield abstract painting. I think this fits into my work as I consider abstraction and the sublime, as well as color optic work of contemporary artists, such as Olafur Eliason, Anthony McCall and James Turnell. To see other artists I'm looking at, check out my Artist Influences tab at the top.
Overall, it was a great residency. I can hardly believe how fast this program is going. I'm looking forward to putting everything together for my thesis. It's pretty exciting.
