Repose, 2009
Lightjet C-Print, 2009. 30 x 30 inches, edition of 3.
I am not feeling any of this any more., 2008
Lightjet Print on Endura Metallic Paper. 12-1/4 x 8 inches.
Shot for an exhibition with a simple premise: self-portraits of artists wearing their favorite clothes.
Along with my submission to the show, I attached this text:
I’ve been working on a series of self-portraits over the past few years. The last few months have presented me with a level of stagnation heretofore unseen in my artistic life. In what was to be an admission of complete frustration with and ultimate ending of my self-portrait series, I gathered the various substances I’d been using all summer to keep my hands and mind occupied, sat in my living room window and took in each. Over the course of four rolls of film, I documented the inhalation of marijuana smoke through my glass pipe, the drinking of several cheep beers, and nearly a half-pack of cigarettes sucked deep into my lungs. I wore my most comfortable clothes.
Of course, this wouldn’t quite be the end of my self-portraits…
More: Photography / Self-Portrait / Submission
Inflection, 2008
Lightjet C-Prints. Diptych, 13-1/2 x 9 inches each, edition of 3.
Ariana and I shared a passion for photography.
We were each working with self-portraiture when our friendship blossomed. Despite our differences in background and intent, our individual works shared one thing in particular: skin. For a long time, we discussed the idea of a collaboration, feeling there would be a strong, graceful balance between us. We talked of a Felice Varini-inspired series and sketched out patterns to draw on our bodies. When the time came to shoot, a funny thing happened: we scrapped everything and worked intuitively with the space and the light we had. The resulting diptych is about the differences and the similarities between us. It was an exciting shoot and I’ll always remember it for being my first true collaboration.
Visit arianapagerussell.com for Ariana’s amazing work.
More: Collaboration / Photography
Service / Servitude, 2008
Postcards. 6 x 4 inches, edition of 100.
My first fulfilled attempt at creating free art.
In January, I received a promotional email from a printing company with an enticing offer of 100 Free Postcards. Having no promotional need for such an offer at that time, I decided to use the free cards for a project: a limited edition run of prints, each hand numbered and given away free and anonymously. For the artwork, I chose to include only a question that had recently been posed to me–a question which had helped me to see more clearly when anxieties arose.
On Thursday, March 6, hours before Seattle’s monthly Pioneer Square Artwalk, I divvied the works up into ten different locations including galleries, cafes and an artists’ loft building lobby, where they were hidden in plain-sight among their promotional peers.
The project aimed to blur the line between art and promotion, by both means of production and final presentation. Did their limited edition or the idea behind them change their worth? How did they relate to the other cards around them? Having no promotional end-date, how long would cards unspoken for remain on the table? Would they be taken at all?