My solo show, Skin/Deep is done. This body of work exploring the concept of concealing and revealing presented 19 allegorical images at Exhibit A Contemporary Art in Corning, NY. I feel the show was a success. Happily I sold some work. The show also generated a really nice article written by Jeff Murray in the Elmira Star Gazette and Binghamton Press Sun Bulletin. Most importantly, I was able to share the work I've been creating for the past year with the public. For me, that's the most important part. When I was a graduate student studying Photography, one of my professors said that showing your work to the public was the part that made it real. However, she also said that when you show your work it no longer belongs to just you. When you show your work it belongs to the audience, the public. I may create work with one thought in mind but when it hangs in a gallery or in a museum, the work is open to whatever interpretation the viewer makes. I think that idea scares many artists. There can be a fear that your message doesn't come across.
For me however, that has always been the most exciting part. I know what every work means to me, because I was there when it was made. But in the end that isn't what is important to me. What is important to me is what the work might mean to you, the viewer. Which pieces move you? Which ones provoke thought? Which works puzzle or confuse you? Are there works that make you laugh or make you cry? Are their works that spur you to action or make you consider something in a new and different way? Are there works that you'd like to live with? Which works conjure up a story in your mind and what are those stories?
In the end, my hope is that in looking at my work, you can find something in it that moves you, makes you react, affirms you and helps you to feel humanized. I'm posting a slide show here of the work from the show and I invite your feedback in the form of your thoughts, observations, assumptions, stories or questions. If nothing else, art should start a conversation. Let's get this conversation started.
For me however, that has always been the most exciting part. I know what every work means to me, because I was there when it was made. But in the end that isn't what is important to me. What is important to me is what the work might mean to you, the viewer. Which pieces move you? Which ones provoke thought? Which works puzzle or confuse you? Are there works that make you laugh or make you cry? Are their works that spur you to action or make you consider something in a new and different way? Are there works that you'd like to live with? Which works conjure up a story in your mind and what are those stories?
In the end, my hope is that in looking at my work, you can find something in it that moves you, makes you react, affirms you and helps you to feel humanized. I'm posting a slide show here of the work from the show and I invite your feedback in the form of your thoughts, observations, assumptions, stories or questions. If nothing else, art should start a conversation. Let's get this conversation started.
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