Artist: Sara Cwynar

I was originally struck by this one particular image "Dead Alive Alive Dead" because I feel my work is so visually similar to this without me ever seeing it until after making the images I see as so relatable to this. I have mixed feelings about my work looking so similar. Part of me is frustrated that originally ideas seem to be hard to come by. That is not entirely true because each artist's perspective brings a uniqueness  to an idea... but I'm not sure that's enough. The similarity also serves to be somewhat inspirational by showing me that my aesthetics and ideas can be successfully and interesting to other people. 

Dead Alive Alive Dead, 2010

Quotes:

“I love the colors that you find in old printed matter; I love a faded emerald green or a nice salmon pink. I love the idea of finding someone’s discarded personal archive. I hoard this kind of stuff and then try to incorporate it into various projects.”

"When you know what you might do if you could do anything, it becomes a lot easier to take a brief and work with it.”

Both quotes from: http://imprint.printmag.com/editors-picks/2011-nva-winner-sara-cwynar/

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interview

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Trevor Paglen Questions/Response

How is photographing hidden government sites legal? Have you run into major issues with this?


Define the line between art and documenting your research.

Artist: Laurel Nakadate

Laurel Nakadate is of interest to me because her work about being lonely is a good reference for me when thinking about how to communicate my own ideas about loneliness in my work. Her approach is usually straight forward and easy to communicate to her viewers, which I'm assuming is a large part of why she is so well known. She is honest and fearless when creating her work. I admire her willpower and commitment to her practice.

Quotes:
" In general, I wait to be approached. I want to be the one who’s hunted, I want to be the one who they take interest in—because if they’re not interested in me, they’re probably not going to be interested in being in a video. I also like the idea of turning the tables—the idea of them thinking that they’re in charge or that they’re in power and they’re asking me for something and then I turn it on them, where I’m the director and the world is really my world."


" I feel like it was student work, but something I needed to do to get past the fear. There’s a certain rush that comes from making these pieces, because I’m putting myself in a situation where I really have no control: going out there and being at the mercy of whoever opens their door to me. I think it’s a really good thing to put yourself in a situation where you feel really uncomfortable because I think things can come out of that discomfort."


(both quotes from interview cited bellow)

bio

artist's website

interview

gallery