Cyanotype Landscapes

Over the past year or so, I have been experimenting with large scale landscape images printed out on Pictorico film and then printed through the cyanotype process. Ive endeavored to take these images out of traditional matting and framing formats and instead, hang them in the "natural environment" of the gallery space. While the images are stunning hung like that, as they embody a beautiful kinetic aspect as well as a remarkable translucence, they are decidedly harder to sell given their exposure. I decided to enter the images in a local show at Pekin here in North Dakota so I was forced to find an alternative display method that would protect the images while still evoking aspects of the kinetic and translucent natures that I love.

The result is a large shadow box that allows the image to hang on a steel rod that spans the width of the frame. I sewed a sleeve made of asian paper to the back of the image on both top and bottom, with the top of course as the hanging device and the bottom as a weight to keep the image off of the plexi.

Keepin' at it...

Life is busy right now...which is unfortunately why this blog often sits dormant for a week or two at a time. Today I am headed out to Dickinson State University for the NDUS Arts and Humanities Summit. I will be presenting a paper on the theological roots of my artwork that I've titled "Embodying Theology: Artistic Practice and Theological Reflection." In the paper I briefly recount my theological journey towards Canterbury with particular interest paid to the sacramental imagination. Using that methodology I introduce the two central research trajectories of memory and place and what I mean by these. In the third movement of the paper I look at specific examples of my work (most of which has been posted here) that embody these themes.

Valley City State University Show

Later this morning, I am headed to Valley City ND for an artist reception with several of my UND classmates. Besides the two hour drive out and back, it should be a great day. I am really looking forward to seeing our work in a gallery. Our work is so distinct from one another so I am really curious how it comes together into show.

Below is the press release from VCSU.

UND Graduate Students, Meghan Duda, Ryan Stander, Patrick Awotwe, and Jessica Christy will be on campus Friday, September 24 working with the VCSU Art Students. A panel discussion is scheduled in McCarthy 356 at 2:00 pm and a reception for the artists will be held in the VCSU Art Gallery 4:00 - 5:30 pm. The VCSU community and the public are welcome to attend.

Five Graduate Students from the University of North Dakota’s Master of Fine Arts program were invited to submit work for the exhibition that sets the stage for the artists' visit. The exhibition includes weavings from Patrick Awotwe; altered photographs from Meghan Duda; monoprints / monotypes from Anna Jacobson; lithographs, Ziatypes, and Cyanotypes from Ryan Stander; mixed media lithographs from Jessica Christy.

The Exhibition runs through October 1.

In his weaving and jewelry making Patrick Awotwe creates designs using traditional symbols that reference compositions from his African culture. Mr. Awotwe enrolled in graduate school in metalsmithing and jewelry and found a second creative voice in fibers. His homeland, Ghana, is noted for unique traditional weaving called kinte but his first fiber-works were created at UND. He describes the weaving of his daughter: "The Sunrise is a damask wall hanging that was inspired by Nhyira, my daughter. The bottom part shows a silhouette of her picture with fewer details and the top shows her full portrait. Traditional Ghanaian symbols “Gye Nyame” and “Afe “were used to give it an African identity. Nhyira literally means Blessing and the Sunrise is to describe her.”

Meghan Duda is fascinated with two things, architecture and photography. She has a professional degree in architecture from Virginia Tech and teaches an architectural photography seminar in the Department of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at North Dakota State University. Ms. Duda states, “My selected photographs are a study of cutting.” She frames her photographs around elements that can be removed thus creating negative space. Meghan has exhibited through out the Midwest and Virginia. She also has been published and received a finalist recognition twice in competitions presented by Photography's Forum Magazine.

The family farm lifestyle and the fundamentals of organic farming have been ingrained in Anna Jacobson inner self and thought process and thus is the basis of her work. Nature’s cycles and the North Dakota landscape found their voices in the color, texture, and process of her work. Coming from the flat plains of rural North Dakota, Anna learned the value of simple beauty. Her work is not filled with complex details or bright commercial colors, but rich, full earthtone colors and textured details of the great American Midwest. Anna received her BA in studio arts with an empasis printmaking from Concordia College in Morehead, MN.

Ryan Stander's interests in theology and art are rooted in ideas of place/space, memory and identity formation. Mr. Stander has a MA in Theology from Sioux Falls Seminary and a BA in Art from Northwestern College. His work included in the exhibition comes from two bodies of work. The Religion as a Chain of Memory Series draws upon his theological research into place and memory. His Ziatype and Cyanotype Icon / Altars “draw upon the interplay of memory, identity and the photographic object itself, while playing with the traditional forms of Christian iconography and devotional altars."

Jessica Christy’s mixed media lithographs are a response to mass media, contemporary art history, and family heritage. Technically her work examines not only traditional printmaking but also the territory beyond the practiced techniques. Her work has been exhibited through out the Midwest, on the west coast and in London winning numerous awards. She works with the master press at UND, as both an assistant to the master printer and as a master printer, printing lithograph and intaglio editions for various well-known artists. Ms. Christy teaches drawing, printmaking, and design at UND. Jessica is a Valley City State University alumni who graduated with a BS in Art.

Fall Semester 2010

So it begins...the last year of the MFA program. A hectic summer of 10 credits leaves me with 12 to go before graduation. As it stands it will break 6 and 6 over the two semesters. That is of course if I survive the extracurriculars of this semester.

During my time here at UND I have worked hard to stay active in the academic theological world as well as start to build a quality artist CV as well. This fall will continue that trend with shows, lectures, travel, and conferences. At times it feels overwhelming with the amount I have to do to get to where I want to go, but at the same time with the encouragement of friends, my beautiful wife, and faith that God has created me with these two passions of art and theology I keep going.

Upcoming Events...

This week I have had stuff taken to Valley City University for a show arranged by Linda Whitney (a UND alum) whose daughter Jess I now share office and studio space with. The show will be of current UND graduate student work and will include an artist talk and panel discussion the day of the opening. The show will run from 9.1-9.30 with the reception on 9.24 from 4-5:30. If you are in the area please stop out to see the show.

Next week I will also be hanging work for the month of September at Amazing Grains here in Grand Forks. I think Amazing Grains is one of the stops on the GF area Art and Wine Walk as well to be held on September 18th from 1-5 pm. I will be showing a number from my Elevator Series. Its great to see them framed and sitting together. Until now, I had only framed a few pieces for other shows.

I will also be at Dickinson State University in Dickinson ND for the NDUS Arts and Humanities Summit. Faculty and students from across the state come together to showcase their research. UND's Department of Art and Design will make a good showing with a good number of students and faculty presenting. I will be presenting a paper called Embodying Theology: Theological Reflection and Artistic Practice. Essentially it is a reflection upon the theological backgrounds to my artwork and how those trajectories emerge within the work. I will also be co-presenting with Prof. Kim Fink on the collaborative printing for visiting artists through Sun Dog Multiples.

In November, the printmaking folks here will be heading to New York and New Jersey to give an artist talk at the Printmaking Council of New Jersey as well as printing for the recent Guggenheim recipient Daniel Heyman. While in NYC we will hit various museums, galleries, and of course the IFPDA Print Fair.

And somewhere in there, visit PhD programs, apply to PhD programs, and of course fulfill my 6 credits of studio work just in time for my all important 2nd candidacy review which basically lays out the direction for the final exhibition needed for graduation.

Im tired just typing all of this.

Better get to work.

Empty Spaces and Prayers of the People

Recently Bill Caraher and I briefly discussed a possible project on the idea of abandonment and what seems like a contemporary growth of interest. As my part, I am hoping to photograph abandonment across North Dakota and the region at large.

In preparation for this work, I've been doing a little web and Amazon surfing. Yesterday I ran into this amazing website on trekking the lands surrounding Chernobyl and the devastation that has been marked upon the land. While many sites of abandonment are ambiguous in terms of emotion and meaning, there is no doubt of the horror and sadness left in its nuclear wake.

As I looked at these images and considered the toll this accident took on this place and hundred of thousands of lives I was brought back to the words of the Book of Common Prayer and the prayers of the people. I encourage you to take some time and look through her site. Consider the effects of humanity on this place. Consider the place's effects on humanity.

Form IV
Let us pray for the Church and for the world.

Grant, Almighty God, that all who confess your Name may
be united in your truth, live together in your love, and reveal
your glory in the world.

Silence

Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.

Guide the people of this land, and of all the nations, in the
ways of justice and peace; that we may honor one another
and serve the common good.

Silence

Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.

Give us all a reverence for the earth as your own creation,
that we may use its resources rightly in the service of others
and to your honor and glory.

Silence

Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.

Bless all whose lives are closely linked with ours, and grant
that we may serve Christ in them, and love one another as he
loves us.

Silence

Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.

Comfort and heal all those who suffer in body, mind, or
spirit; give them courage and hope in their troubles, and
bring them the joy of your salvation.

Silence

Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.

We commend to your mercy all who have died, that your will
for them may be fulfilled; and we pray that we may share
with all your saints in your eternal kingdom.

Silence

Lord, in your mercy
Hear our prayer.

Causing Trouble in New Jersey

Earlier this year I entered the members show at the Print Council of New Jersey, a wonderful group of artists and programs for printmakers. I entered a show and was accepted last year and so I thought I would join them this year. My piece Contesting Cyprus was chosen for their annual show entitled "Where have we been" or something along those lines.

The other day I received an email from the director saying that one of the venues for the show had deemed my work as "inappropriate," had been removed, and I was expected to make arrangements to come pick up the work. The County of Somerset Cultural & Heritage Commission sent us both letters notifying us of their decision. Hers got their faster since PCNJ is 10 minutes down the road while the time to get the letter to North Dakota took a little longer.

Ive attached a picture of the letter. I've gone back and forth with my emotions between thinking its funny and then being angry, and yet understanding. I don't deny that the piece is controversial. Its meant to be. I understand that the piece taken literally might be offensive...hey its got the F bomb in it. I understand that it might not be appropriate for all venues. I get that. But its what the letter insinuates about me and what that suggests about their utter failure to understand the piece that makes me angry.

"The [SCCHC] will not permit the C&H Gallery to participate as a platform for individual's political protests, promote hate speech or allow the display of obscenities. Your artwork has been removed as inappropriate for this venue."

It is the misguided assumption that these are my particular views rather than my effort to document graffiti as a sign of the many political, religious, and ideological contests marked upon place.

Along with the entry, I was asked to write a small statement on the work. This is what accompanied this particular print.

"The print takes two urban landscape images; first, of the Turkish North and one of the Greek South and placed them next to each other as in a diptych. I then used Photoshop to cut and paste the copious amounts of graffiti that covered most city blocks in both the North and South. The graffiti represents literal plurality of contests marked upon the landscape."

Now, I dont know if this statement was hung with the work or not. If it did not accompany the work, it makes their decision perhaps less offensive to me. Perhaps my current location within the safety of a university has heightened my idealism and I've forgotten to think about the impact that the literal words and statements might have upon and individual or community.

Oh well...Im still putting it on my C.V.

Visiting Artist: Nancy Friese

This past week I was fortunate to have the opportunity to help print with our visiting artist series. UND alum, now faculty at RISD, Nancy Friese spent the week with us putting together a 5 etching suite with accompanying poetry by North Dakota Museum of Art Founder/Director Laurel Reuter. Tumbling Time is editioned in 20.

While at times the process is chaotic, it seems to get done in the appropriate time frame. We spent likely 6-8 hours M-S putting this remarkable body of work together. I am thankful for Anna, Jess, Kim, Josh and Nancy for sharing their wisdom, patience and humor in this process. While we do a lot of precision work we also spend a good deal of time talking and getting to know one another.

Visiting Artist Dan Attoe

UND’s department of Art and Design will be hosting artist Dan Attoe from Monday, March 1st till Friday March 5^th. He will be giving a slide presentation of his work at 5:00 p.m March, 3rd in room 227 at the Hughes Fine Arts Center. His luscious, highly detailed surfaces are reminiscent of romantic painting, as he investigates the “underbelly” of American western culture. He received his MFA from University of Iowa, Iowa City in 2004 and his
 BFA from University of Wisconsin, Madison, in 1998. Attoe has recently exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Bordeaux, France, and Saatchi Gallery, London UK. For inquiries, email Lori Esposito, Assistant Professor of Painting and Drawing at Lori.Esposito@und.edu

New Prints

Before I left for Seattle I had a bit of time so I pounded out 2 new prints and a mixed print from previously printed materials.

The first two continue on in the series of contested spaces. The first if Korea with the DMZ embroidered into the paper in a light blue to signify the division and presence of the United Nations. The second, decidedly more local for me are the Dakotas with the Missouri river embroidered in the same light blue. The river is a source of division on 2 levels. In one sense it divides both states into East and West territories. The divide is more than just geography or topography, it is cultural as well. The East side of both states hold most of the two states universities, industry, and population. The rivers are also hotly contested spaces over dams and water flow controlled by the Army Corp of Engineers.

The 3rd print is a new combination of old elements. I made them from the left over Twinkies from the fall and added the embossed flag. Its just a fun combination of imagery.

Ahh...the Innocence of North Dakota Reporters

Elevator Series

The semester is drawing towards a close, as you might have inferred from the lack of recent posting here at AOA. Next week I will be turning in 30+ 17x11 images of the Elevators Series. For the most part, I've been really happy with this project and look forward to picking it up again in next spring and summer when the North Dakota temperatures allow.

Steamroller Prints in Fargo

A few weeks ago, on a rainy Saturday morning some of us print students made a 70 mile drive from Grand Forks to the Plains Art Museum in Fargo to watch a group from Minnesota do steamroller prints...which as it sounds, uses a steamroller to make large scale prints. As part of the museums Day of the Dead series, worked with ArtOrg from Northfield, MN.

While we only saw them pull this first print of the color fields, it was fun to see this large scale operation. The next day, they were planning on printing the 2nd "plate" seen in standing in the background of the second image. Once inked, the image is wedged into the wooden runway, paper carefully rested on top, covered, and steamrolled. The drive of the steamroller needs to deftly maneuver the machine as moving more than and inch or so to one side or the other will crinkle the paper. The first print, as you can see and know if you are a printmaker, is always a test until the ink builds up enough on the plate. On a scale this large, it takes a lot of ink!

Helge Skaanlund: Visiting Artist From Norway

A few weeks ago UND was host to Helge Skaanlund, a visiting artist from Norway. Helge is typically a painter, but has also worked in commercial printing. One of the great things about UND is their visiting artist program and the time these artists spend with students. In the printmaking area, students generally get to help the artists print as well.

While Helge was here, we pulled three different prints series. One larger traditional stone litho seen in most of the image of a Norwegian landscape. Helge worked from a painting as seen in the first image where he is checking the surface of the stone.

Helge's other images were more cartoon line drawings of traditional Viking figures. The second image, UND grad student Anna Jacobson assists with the editioning process. Generally the artist takes half of the edition and half stays with the print studio.

The 3rd image is a close up of the print which Helge later went into with a small brush and red ink to color the top of the light house barely visible on the white area that juts out into the water. The 4th image is our fine printers...Josh and Jess. And the last image is Josh and Helge sorting though the batch of prints that will make up the final edition.

This was my first time to assist and observe the nearly the whole process of working with a visiting artist. I sat and photographed most of the time, but was allowed to put both Josh's and the studio's chop on...not much but its a start as I slowly learn this world of printmaking. Its a lot of fun to see the team work together and produce work with an artist.

Elevator Series

I've not made posting a priority lately but I shot some fun shots in this ongoing elevator series over last weekend. We've been gone to Minneapolis and Sioux Falls over the last 2 weekends to see friends and such. My weeks have been condensed down into about 3.5 days of actual time so blogging has not been a priority.

Days like last Sunday in the fall and spring in ND are rare...no wind and bright sun. So under these perfect conditions I was able to get a few quality shots for the series. I feel these two are among the best thus far for the series.

One of the struggles being an interdisciplinary person as I am is staying active in both fields. Most of my time here at UND has been focussed on art (as it should) though I do try to maintain a small connection into the theological conferences and even postings here. Over the past year I have had quite a few opportunities to show across ND, SD, NJ and even S. Africa. I did find a potential show for these elevator prints called Positive/Negative. You never know what will come with juried shows. So much depends upon the chosen juror and their interpretation of the theme, their likes/dislikes, and probably their mood the day they look at all the submissions. Artists are jokingly referred to as "starving artists" likely because to enter 3 pieces in a show like this costs about 30 or 35$, plus framing costs, and of course round-trip shipping all for one line on your CV. My pessimism aside, it it quite fun to get the email or letter that something of yours was chosen to be shown. Here's to hoping...

Rich 2 Visit to UND

This week has been a busy for the department of Art & Design who has played host to a visiting artist from Norway, as well as a beloved U.N.D. alum, Rich Patterson.  Rich earned a Master of Science in Early Childhood Education from The Graduate School at University of North Dakota in 2008.  Rich is also known as Rich 2; a well known graffiti artist in the 1980’s from New York City.  While his life has changed drastically from those days to teaching today in North Carolina, Rich has gifted the university community with several wall-sized works of his former handiwork.  For many years Rich had left the graffiti world behind him, but recently, in certain contexts, Rich is using his artistic gifts as a platform for his story and education.

Rich returned to campus to a full schedule including lectures in the department of Integrated Studies with Tami Carmichal, and for the Outsider Art class within the art department, in addition to creating a 8’ x 10’ foot work on canvas for the Integrated Studies Program.

Earlier this fall, just prior to school starting Rich's work was at the center of a small controversy.  As the school attempted to renovate OKelly hall, one of Rich's works was threatened.  Those who follow AoA might just remember a posting and nice following discussion back in August.  As Rich is a proud UND alum, the provost Paul LeBel (bottom photo Paul and President Kelly) and his wife stepped in and commissioned another piece for the school (see below).

Charles Sheeler's Photography

This semester is slipping by all too quickly and I have failed to keep up with my writing here.  My hope had been to do a series on the work of Sheeler as a source of inspiration for my recent elevator series.  Its now 2/3 of the way through September and I have yet to draw those connections.

Charles Sheeler (1883-1965) is known more for his painting as a key member of the precisionist school than for his photography.  That being said, for a short time, Sheeler was the leading photographer in the United States and perhaps even beyond.  In 1913 Sheeler exhibited 6 new paintings in the Armory show and about the same time, Sheeler picked up the camera to make ends meet shooting architecture around the Northeast.  In 1915 Sheeler's photography moved forward into abstraction with the photograph Side of White Barn (seen below).  Sheeler now sought to merge photography's realism or indexicality with Modernity's drive toward abstraction.  His goal was to show that the basic elements in Modern art, particularly cubism, existed within nature.  

Sheeler also employs another key to Modern art, that of flatness.  Through photography, Sheeler is able to explore real depth and the flatness of the actual image through light, shadow, line, form and the overall composition.  What emerges in his work is a bold geometry and structure of the American industrial ediface.  The first image is of the Ford Plant and the second graces the cover of the book I read this summer...certainly the finest coverage of Sheeler's photographic work.

North Dakota Elevator Series

As I've noted several times recently, my fall work will further explore photographic and architectural abstraction of a particular kind of building...the grain elevator.  This is in one sense is an expansion and narrowing of my previous work.

The work will narrow my focus on one form of architecture but will simultaneously expand from the flat formal shots of the Threshold series to include angles, as well as the black and white photograph itself from the previous color work.  

By relying upon black and white, I feel like I am able to push the natural abstraction of the architectures angles, shadows and light as they pass over varieties of tin and other metals.  Though our goals are different, I feel like I am working more in the tradition of Lewis Baltz and perhaps even more towards Charles Sheeler.  I hope to do a little more comparison to Sheeler in the coming weeks.

A New Semester

A new semester is upon us...and we are already one week in. This semester may be my busiest yet with increased credits and expected work. My plans include 10 credits (3 History of Landscape, 3 Mixed Media Photo, 4 Mixed Media Printmaking). By the end of this semester I will be 1/2 way though my program which is hard to believe.

My project for the semester will in many ways continue work done previously. My photo work, as noted earlier this week, will explore abstraction and the North Dakota grain elevators. In printmaking, I will continue the exploration of mapping and place, though this will be attempting new methods (photo litho and silk screen). My last class is a supervised reading/independent study in the history of landscape arts. I am really excited about this last one as so many of my ideas come through my readings of history and theory. My hope is to post frequently on these topics over the semester. I've listed the some of the texts which I will explore selections from for the course.

Andrews, Malcom. Landscape and Western Art (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999).

Blauvelt, Andrew, ed. Worlds Away: New Suburban Landscapes (Minneapolis: Walker Art Center, 2008).

Buttner, Nils. Landscape Painting: A History (New York: Abbeville Press Publishers, 2006).

Casey, Edward. Representing Place: Landscape Painting & Maps (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2002).

Cosgrove, Dennis. Social Formation and Symbolic Landscape (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1998).

DeLue, Rachael Ziady and James Elkins. Landscape Theory (New York: Routledge Press, 2008).

Markonish, Denise, ed. Badlands: New Horizons in Landscape (North Adams, MA: Mass MoCA, 2008).

Rogoff, Irit. Terra Infirma: Geography’s Visual Culture (New York: Routledge Press, 2000).

Rosenblum, Naomi. A World History of Photography, 4^th ed. (New York: Abbeville Press Publishers, 2007).

Architectural Abstraction

Last year I began to notice a trend in my photography...one of abstraction. Last year I began the Threshold Series, of which I posted on quite often last year. Over the summer I started thinking about looking at a particular kind of structure. Growing up in the Midwest, it is hard not to have had some connection to the many grain elevators sprinkled across the region. My hope is to begin a series of photographs that look at these historic agricultural facades in a slightly different way...less as a landscape and more as a tightly focused work abstracting the buildings geometry highlighted by shadow and light falling across its angles and planes.

The first image is reminiscent of the Threshold Series. However, the second image is more like the series I am envisioning for this fall. In part, I think this series is partially indebted to some of my summer reading on the precisionist Charles Sheeler. Watch for more to come on this project and its connection to Sheeler.

Summer Printmaking Finals

Over the past few weeks my posting frequency has been sporadic at best. Below is the reason why. For the past two weeks I have likely averaged about 5-7 hours a day in the printmaking studio. This is the first time in 11 years that I have worked with a press and inks...it has been such a refreshing change from the technological distance of digital photography. I had forgotten how great it is to work with ones hands to produce something. Each of the polyester plate prints are parts of editions of 3-10 prints.

This semester I came in with an overarching idea of mapping, whether in a literal fashion or conceptual/philosophical maps that we use to orient out lives. Ideas range from Platonic dualism to the Hudson River School and their Pantheistic outlook, N.T. Wright's ideas on the bodily resurrection and its significance for the mission of the church today, Simon Schama's idea that we project our cultural ideas upon topography first, a simple imitation of Christ in through the stations of the cross, and the idea of poly presence or a fragmented self. Others involve the literal ND map of missile silos and the irony of the peace tower, as well as an image from PKAP and Cyprus with plotted points to suggest the Topos and Chora.

Speaking of Topos and Chora...My artist statement from PKAP is nearly ready and should appear here and over at Bill Caraher's Archaeology of the Mediterranean World sometime this week.