"Echo of the Object" Installation Photographs

Sculpture by Jennifer Halvorson, Paintings by David Hannon, Watercolor Drawings by Hannah Barnes and Photographs by Jacinda Russell:

"Echo of the Object" Brochure & Essay

Thank you Lara for writing the essay! We are very excited about this exhibition. Remarkably, our artwork fits together quite seamlessly in the gallery. The opening is Friday at 4 PM in the Atrium Gallery at Ball State University. Come if you are in Muncie!

Destroying the Lunch Bags

Over a year ago, I gave Hannah my lunch bags. She proceeded to draw them and now she had to figure out what to do to their remains (constant exposure to air caused them to deteriorate further). Here they are moments before they were destroyed.

After tossing around several ideas, she decided to open them and rip them into several pieces.

Autumn was the main person behind this task as she is responsible for how they are torn and will ultimately stamp them with a 2" rubber "Echo" stamp. I couldn't do it but I had no problem photographing every step of the way.

All the bags opened and ready for tearing.

The most disintegrated bag proved to be the most difficult to rip.

Autumn sizing them up.

All the pieces ready to be stamped. We are passing out seven years of my life at the opening Friday in the Atrium Gallery at Ball State University from 4-6 PM.

Autobiography: Artist Statement for "Echo of the Object" Exhibition

Autobiography started in 2002 when I collected my lunch bags because I hoped to make a book from the worn paper. Years later, they became a chronological marker that defines my life. There are four distinct parts to the series, two of which are exhibited here: objects used to mark time (lunch bags, swimsuits, hair, etc.) and items that pinpoint a specific event centered around change or loss (5 objects photographed before thrown away and teeth).

I come from a family of collectors and I was taught at a very young age the importance of possessions. They define what we like to observe, what we perceive ourselves to be, what we once lost, and what we want to remember. Objects are retained to remind us of the good times more often than the bad but every once in awhile, a possession is not disposed of even if its presence is filled with negativity.  

I save until an event occurs that indicates I should stop. It could be as life changing as moving to a new part of the country or as minute as my mother buying me a blue insulated lunch bag. I keep an item when I notice there is an excess. I try to discard these articles once photographed; this works in some pieces but not all. It is difficult throwing away the fingernails, the hair and the swimsuits as they are extensions of my body.

Everything is photographed in the style of studio documentary photography with a neutral background. If the bracelet is disintegrating leaving rust all over the white matboard, I want those details to be visible. If I photographed the objects on a cloudy day outdoors in Astoria, Oregon or in the studio at Ball State University, these differences must be apparent.

Christian Boltanski’s inventories from the 1970s in addition to Sol Lewitt’s Autobiography 1980 are important influences. I monumentalize the mundane, elevating sagging swimsuits and stained lunch bags into a higher status. These inconsequential objects are one aspect of my identity, easily disposable yet somehow kept.

Autobiography: 1999 - present

Left: Houston, Texas 1999-2002 (fingernails in jar)
Right: Muncie, Indiana 2007 - present (hair in jar)

Above: Portland, Oregon 2002-2007 (archival inkjet prints on panels)

Above: Portland, Oregon 2002-2007 (swimsuits in plexi-glass box on panel)

New Website

In the craziness that is October (one of the most hectic months of my teaching/artistic career), somehow I (with a lot of help) have managed to launch a new website. I miss many things about the old one but this template based new version features two important points: 1) I know how to update it (and will far more regularly) and 2) it will work on an iPad and iPhone. Yay! 

New projects and writing abound.  Enjoy. 

We Heart Interview

Check it out! James Davidson, the Editor in Chief of this English design magazine, asked to include some unusual images. I couldn't help but add a scan of my sketchbook in response to some of the questions either.

"Redheaded Peckerwood" Signed Second Edition

Thank you Christian!

I need to admit to a public audience that I am inept at acquiring books more often.

Nate & Marni's Print Framed at Long Last!

Unfortunately, I average framing two images a year of other people's artwork and it has been seven months since the last one was completed. Finally, Nate and Marni's print from Geolocation: East is hanging on my wall! Next up: the two prints in this post and one from Amelia Morris. Expect that announcement in two years.

Midwest Society for Photographic Education Conference - Cincinnati

Day 1: Amelia Morris as Robert Frank's Elevator Girl at the Hilton Netherland.

Instagram view of downtown Cincinnati, the Ohio River, and Covington, Kentucky from Room 2417.

Prime location: Carnegie Visual and Performance Art Center opening exhibition with Corrinne LeNeave (Photo by Matt Compton)

After the opening at Mt. Adams Bar and Grill with Matt Compton, Corrinne LeNeave, and James Luckett (Lighting by Amelia Morris)

Day 2: Lecture with a couple microphone technical issues but other than that I survived in the giant Pavilion with infinite seating.

Edible clay at the Contemporary Art Center's Green Acres exhibition (it tasted chalky = no surprise)

Amelia striking a pose in Image Machine: Andy Warhol and Photography at the CAC.

Defunct clouds in the Andy Warhol exhibition at CAC (another fan was desperately needed)

Anthony Luensman's Taint at the Weston Art Gallery (above and two below). The Weston always receives an A+  for alternative modes of presentation. Luensman's exhibition included video portraits, objects illuminated by light installed in unusual locations, and photographs. I wish I had time to return and study his art more closely - too many openings that evening.

Amelia Morris and Allen Morris (A. Morris^2) at the Senate featuring gourmet street food as witnessed by the Lindsay Lohan hot dogs above.

Day 3: James and Eve at the Cincinnati Art Museum (in addition to me holding hands with fake humans and animals, James posing with a serial killer expression became a popular photographic trend throughout the conference)

Jim Dine's The Red Bandana at the Cincinnati Art Museum

The most amazing disclaimer that each of us had to sign before entering Doug and Mike Starn's The Gravity of Light at the Holy Cross Church at Mount Adams Monastery.

The illuminating arc had technical malfunctions when we first walked into the space with our hoodies securely fastened and UV glasses on.

View from the platform overlooking Gravity of Light.

Detail of the tape holding the moth/fly print together.

Those uneven surfaces I could have tripped on mentioned in the disclaimer.

The Starn Triplets: JR, Amelia, and James. For more photos of this installation, see this link from the Starn's website.

Before the drive back, Amelia and I stopped at Jungle Jim's International Market (my twice a year run to one of the best grocery stores in the US). I accidentally discovered something I was looking for in May 2010. There were two on the shelf and they had a thick coating of dust as if they had been on display since I first heard about it 2.5 years ago. Needless to say, they were both purchased - one for Hannah for cat sitting and the other to  see if it tastes like visiting the Spiral Jetty on a hot August day in the middle of the summer.

Cat Claw Card in Progress

I'm trying to start this to include in my powerpoint for the lecture on Friday! I'll post the finished product hopefully by the end of the month.