Thesis Idea - Studio Journal

     The summer of 2007 I studied at RISD (Rhode Island School of Design), as a sculpture major, in their pre- college program. For their end of the summer exhibition, I created a sculpture of a mushroom made of foam insulation, wax and mesh wire. The night I finished the piece, I apparently set it down near a trash can and it was discarded the next morning. I was very upset but really enjoyed making the piece, so I decided to look on the bright side and make an even better one.

Final Mushroom Piece

     I always felt this piece had more potential, so last year for my Video 1 B final, I created a video and projected it onto the mushroom. The projection was of a music video by artist, Aphex Twins titled Window Licker, overlaid onto clips from videos I had edited. I decided to choose this music video because of the strange and obscure things going on throughout it. I spliced it with clips I had edited of spirals of color and other "trippy" things I could find. Im really drawn to imaginative and whimsical themes  that are just out of the ordinary. 

Video Projection on Mushroom

     For my thesis, Im thinking of bringing Mushroom back to the public. I want to create a large installation including sculpture, video, and photography. I will create a series of things found in nature, made from man made objects, and have them on display in front of a large photograph I will shoot in the woods. I then want to project a video, that I will record in the destination I choose for the photograph, onto my installation. These are not definite plans, but just thoughts going through my head. I think this would create an interesting and interactive  piece so I'm excited to get the ball rolling on any new ideas I will come up with throughout my senior year.

Recent Photo 3 Series

My Artist Statement

     At the age of 13 I began capturing images, aiming not to shoot the objects themselves but their essence. I was drawn to the medium of photography because I believe that photographs are never what they seem; not moments frozen in time, but ones that are forever living and moving. I try to see my photographs as living entities.

     Growing up on the Hudson River played a large part in my work, since most of my work incorporates elements of nature. I enjoy shooting people who are close to me in familiar places that are abstract and undefined yet reflective of how I see their connection to the world. I am able to explore these ambiguities through the camera’s lens. In essence, I shoot wide expansive spaces that reflect the journey of the individual through the moving experiences that are formative in their relationships and perspectives with the environment.

     I am usually drawn to taking photographs with a 35mm camera and developing them in a darkroom, but more recently I began working in a digital medium to manipulate photos in an attempt to draw out the metaphysical elements of existence and the relationships that compose it. In the process, I have become fluent in a number of digital editing programs. Because I studied at SVA as a graphic designer, it is very fascinating to me to combine the skills I have learned on the computer with my photography skills.

     In the summer of 2007 and again in the fall of 2009 I had the opportunity to take classes in sculpting at RISD and Mason Gross respectively. These experiences broadened my field of interests and since played a role in my blending of mediums. I have found the environment to be a theme throughout my installations of the permeating nature it has in my life.