turn
Credits
This catalogue is published in conjunction with the exhibition U-turn held at Fondazione Biagiotti Progetto Arte, April 8-22, 2016. The exhibition features the final projects of graduating students in the MFA in Studio Art and MFA in Photography programs at Studio Art Centers International (SACI). MFA in Studio Art Program Director: Karen Yurkovich. Academic MFA Seminar Instructors: Daria Filardo, Pietro Gagliano. EXHIBITION Curator: Daria Filardo. Artists: Amaan Aslam, Emily Blasier, Fadi Daoud, Lisa Fracica, Rebecca Morris, Ana Lia Orezzoli, Linda Kay Papadakis, Keri Rosebraugh, Hana Sackler, Jessie Taylor. CATALOGUE Concept: Pietro Gagliano, Fadi Daoud. Photo credits: Leon Jones, Naomi Muirhead. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Caterina Biagiotti, Luca Carosi for installing the show, Karen Yurkovich for everything she did, Keri Rosebraugh & all the SACI instructors. Studio Art Centers International Palazzo dei Cartelloni Via Sant’Antonino, 11 50123 Florence, Italy www.saci-florence.edu
Preface Steven Britten, SACI President
Florence’s Biagiotti Progetto Arte gallery is the ideal space to showcase U-turn – an exhibition of artworks created by our graduating students during the conclusion of their two years of study in SACI’s MFA in Studio Art and MFA in Photography programs.
Grazie mille to the Fondazione Biagiotti Progetto Arte for hosting this exhibition – and to SACI instructor Daria Filardo who arranged for the show to be held in this space and installed in a distinctive way that highlights the diversity and character of each of these ten emerging artists. It is wonderful to see each student discovering and sharing with us his or her “own voice” – testament to what all have learned during their years experiencing Italy and studying at SACI. Congratulations! I hope this milestone will provide you with a strong foundation – and much inspiration – for your future artistic endeavors.
Introduction Karen Yurkovich, Director Master in Fine Arts Studio
EXPERIMENTATION / CONNECTION / ART NETWORK / ART PRACTICE / DEVICE/DISPLAY / CRITICAL KNOWLEDGE / STUDIO VISITS / FIELD TRIPS / DIALOGUE Congratulations to this year’s MFA graduates for their final exhibition, U-turn, at Biagiotti Progetto Arte in Florence. The show demonstrates the range and diversity of these young artists, starting with their backgrounds and expanding into their practice. Two years in Italy have been an intense experience for these talented students. I am grateful to have been able to help them form the path of their artistic practices. Not only have they thrown themselves into working in a historically important art city, but they have gotten to know practitioners and curators active within both the local scene and the larger art world. They have immersed themselves in European contemporary practice, and have grown immensely in the process, always keeping themselves grounded in their own personal history and story. Thank you Amaan, Ana Lia, Emily, Fadi, Hana, Jessie, Keri, Linda, Lisa, and Rebecca. I hope your passion for pursuing your practice and interests continues, and I look forward to what you will do in future.
U-turn Daria Filardo, Professor at SACI For both students and instructors, the artworks featured in this exhibition speak to the deep transformations experienced by all of these emerging artists during their two years of study in SACI’s MFA programs. Two years of exposure to Europe and Italy, two years of old and new practices, two years of a different language and mind set, two years of walking through history with contemporary eyes, two years of internal and external revolutions, two years of exposure to new formal solutions. . . Each student has worked intensely and experimented with different mediums, all of which are on display in this exhibition. Yet notwithstanding the diversity of their means of expression, the show represents for all a turning point. Some will be returning home, others moving on to new venues. All will be starting afresh as artists, photographers, and teachers, creating fresh narratives, rooted in their complex and enriched identities, and through their artwork sharing their artists’ vision with the world. The following descriptions of the artworks in this exhibition, written by the students themselves, speak to the broad range of their research and the diversity of their approaches to artmaking. My hope is that all of these emerging artists will continue to encounter the world with open minds and make art that will open everyone’s eyes to the multi-layered nature of the worlds in which both they and we exist. 1 - Amaan Khalid Aslam - Murjhaati Eentain - The Withering Bricks, oil on linen, 2016, ceramics, 2015-2016.
Murjhaati Eentain is an ongoing project that investigates the importance of historical traditions and cultural spaces in the city of Lahore, Pakistan and how these are being forgotten and disintegrating almost to a state of decay. Iconic heritage sites such as the Wazir Khan Mosque (built in the 1630s) in the old walled city have become engulfed by illegal slums and markets. Accordingly, the project explores how artistic practice can act as a preservation tool for
majestic buildings like these, keeping them alive in all of their glory and reminding us that we are merely a small piece of their enduring history and now somewhat uncertain future. Using the metaphor of the brick as a single unit of construction, this body of work serves to illustrate the importance of physical foundations, particularly the significance of personal roots and our relation to the world around us, both past and present. 2 - Emily Blasier - Soul’s Waltz in the Minute Age: Pianta Protagonista, watercolor, oil paint, 2015-2016. I try to express in my artwork the purity that can be found in the chaos of life and diversity of agriculture in juxtaposition with the crumbling manifestoes of humanity. I attempt to highlight the necessity of transition from the human construct of life to that of the growth and renewal of the natural world; from traditions of purity in the “old” human community to conversion, communication, and cultural immersion with the ever “new” and natural one. Through this series of paintings, I am hoping to create an understanding of what plants really are: communities of characters that each play a part in our survival and happiness. Plants are protagonists. 3 - Fadi Daoud - Six Faces, mixed media on paper, 2016; Building Spirit, acrylic on canvas, 2016. In Six Faces, by mixing colors on the surface of the paper, I came to realize that accident is what determined the form of the piece. The intense dialogue between myself and the paint strokes led me to study the relationships between colors and spaces, then to build each face. In the large acrylic painting Building Spirit, straight lines, compactly engineered in different colors and grades, come together in a musical and dynamic relationship. Borrowed from Sufi Islamic philosophy where God created everything, the final rendering of the face is based on the foundations of engineering, geometry, and mathematics. This painting is a blend between the Islamic philosophy of creation and the line. 4 - Lisa Fracica - Tamang Mother and Child, oil, gold, silver leaf on canvas, 2015-2016; Friends, oil, gold leaf on canvas, 2015-2016. Living and studying in Florence with students from diverse cultures and belief systems led me to consider whether or not some common ground could be found with them. I have a strong interest in incoporating religious themes in my work. These have become, during the time
in which I have lived in Italy, broader than the Christian tradition owing to my intention to speak to a more universal level. Subjects such as mother and child – and themes about relationships based on caring and love – have been the field of investigation in my painting practice. 5 - Rebecca Morris - Becky’s World, mixed media, 2015-2016.
Becky’s World is an installation that tries to find the human element in connection with the animal kingdom. I use textiles and everyday objects, and transform them into a lively, colorful, whimsical, sculptural world that welcomes humans. Since the dawn of time, humans have had a special relationship with animals. We hunted them, took them into our homes, and even worshiped them as gods. We have become so integrated with animals that we use them as metaphors on how to live: “Don’t eat like a pig. Be as strong as a bull. Be as clever as a fox.” This project gives a reality to those metaphors and lets the human element interplay and break down our perceptions of the animal world. 6 - Ana Lia Orezzoli - El patio de mi casa, video, 2015-2016. We don’t want to forget, but we inevitably do. Our memory filters the past into fragments and, in between them, there is always space for oblivion. This video is an exercise about not forgetting a house where I grew up, a song that I learned to sing, a game that I used to play during breaks at school, the courtyard with the two little chickens, and the always intense smell of the sea. Memories, like these from childhood, are fragile and unreliable. We gather the parts of what we remember and try to piece together what remains. 7 - Linda Kay Papadakis - Homage to Caravaggio, oil on canvas, 2015-2016. This work is inspired by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’s St. John the Baptist, 1602, Musei Capitolini, Rome. It is the result of what began with a rather naive assumption that copying the original masterwork, research and imitation, would enhance my painting skills. It became a personal journey into the psychological re-imagining of Caravaggio on a visceral and empathetic level that informed my capabilities of interpretation and rendition yet exposed my psychological vulnerabilities toward self-acceptance and validation. On a technical level, the three paintings emulate the methodology and materials of Caravaggio, from stretching the linen to transferring the original image onto a new substrate: spolvero (tracing the original), quadrettatura (using a grid),
and freehand drawing. Genuine pigments, when available, were used. 8 - Keri Rosebraugh - Maps, mixed media, 2016; Sewing Needle, wood, acrylic paint, 2015; Bricks, stones, tiles, wax, 2016. I try to find connections between human beings and nature by exploring the fragility and strength of our habitat and how humans and the environment affect each other. Focusing on the inquiry and analysis of the concept of “fixing” things, specifically in nature, my artwork explores humans’ quest for comfort versus our urgent need to live mindfully on this planet. My pieces are often temporary and created using materials and elements on site which decompose in time – symbolic of the cyclical nature and regeneration of our planet. I seek to promote a dialogue examining humankind’s relationship with the sublime in a world of capitalistic practices and high-powered economies. 9 - Hana Sackler - Untitled, photographs, 2015; Birthday Song, audio, 2015-2016. In my photographic work, I turn my glance outward and externalize private moments. I use still images and sound to explore the perception of what is intangible. There is movement between a sense of detachment, closeness, absence, and presence. In the photographs, the faces of all the figures are excluded. Their identity is removed, and what remains are the gestures and the relationship between the body and the void. In both the audio piece and the still images, the moment and subject become ambiguous as I project my perceptions of reality. 10 - Jessica Taylor - Air, oil, charcoal, acrylic on wall, 2015-2016. I work autobiographically through painting to explore subjects of time, memory, beauty, and loss. Inspired by the birth of my daughter, I have painted my family tree using only family members’ baby and child portraits. The subjects range in age from my grandmother, born in 1932, to my cousin, born in 1996. This series focuses upon our common beginning in order to remove the social hierarchies that normally divide people. It is also a celebration of childhood and, through this, play and discovery about paint and painting. Paint is used to explore, celebrate, record, remember, and, in the rare case, forget. The flowers painted on the wall are made from stencils of pressed flowers in my studio. They represent baby blankets, a resting place, wallpaper, a garden, and the fragility of new life.
Projects 2016
Amaan Khalid Aslam Pakistan How far have you gone in these two years? From never having formally studied art, to being enrolled in an MFA program over the past 2 years, my work has changed and grown significantly. By incorporating lectures, seminars, studio courses, and museum and artist visits, the program at SACI has provided me with the tools to develop my practice and situate myself within the contemporary art debate. Moreover, traveling to art fairs such as Frieze London and the Venice Biennale (among others within Italy) allowed me to review some of the more relevant work in the contemporary art world while reflecting on my own practice. I have become fascinated by different artistic mediums as they free one from all linguistic barriers and open endless possibilities of expression. My pieces incorporate a wide variety of elements: from traditional South-Asian patterns, figurative components, and writing, to watercolor, acrylic, and oil cityscapes and landscapes. My ideas about painting have shifted. I now value the importance of observation, experimentation, and process, rather than focusing solely on the final output. Where does this work come from? I think the importance of art is often overlooked, and traditions are forgotten at a time when great emphasis is placed on finance, new technology, science, and economic growth. I believe in the universal language of art and its power to unite by transcending artificial material barriers. My current work draws from this foundation while exploring the theme of history and our geographical and cultural roots. Murjhaati Eentain (in Urdu) or The Withering Bricks is an ongoing project that investigates the importance of historical traditions and cultural spaces in the city of Lahore, Pakistan and how these are being forgotten and disintegrating almost to a state of decay. Lahore, once described by John Milton, who was awestruck by its beauty, as the “Seat of the Grand Mughal,” now appears to be a chaotic metropolis that is ironically “advancing” in the name of urban development with its new expressways and metro systems. Simultaneously, iconic heritage sites such as the Wazir Khan Mosque (built in the 1630s) in the old walled city have become engulfed by illegal slums and markets.
Accordingly, the project explores how artistic practice can act as a preservation tool for majestic sites like these, keeping them alive in all of their glory and reminding us that we are merely a small piece of their enduring history and now somewhat uncertain future. Using the metaphor of the brick as a single unit of construction, this body of work serves to illustrate the importance of physical foundations (as much of the city continues to use them as a primary building material), but, more importantly, the significance of personal roots and our relation to the world around us, both past and present. The project includes painting with oil on canvas as well as painted ceramic pieces. By using terracotta clay, I have further tried, while living in Italy, to incorporate my personal geography through referencing traditional Mediterranean earthenware pottery. Where are you going? The fragility of our ecosystems and social structures has had a profound impact on me. My undergraduate degree in Geography (from McGill University) and exposure to multicultural settings in Europe, Canada, and South Asia have enabled me to grasp the full expanse of these issues, which has become the theme of much of my work. Geography is fundamentally about people and places. For me, art can effectively be used as a vehicle to communicate inherent diversity in society, culture, and philosophy. In my practice, I would like to continue to explore themes of geography, environment, and art while incorporating elements from my home country, Pakistan. Having experimented with new mediums such as photography, serigraphy, and ceramics, I am enthusiastic about integrating and refining these in my future work. At the same time, I also look forward to continuing to work with forms of expression with which I am more familiar such as fabric painting and fashion design.
Murjhaati Eentain - The Withering Bricks, oil on linen, 2016, 35x280 cm, ceramics, 2015-2016, variable sizes
Emily Blasier USA
How far have you gone in these two years? No paragraph can summarize my MFA experience. There were people who were kind, there was a vast opportunity for artistic understanding and evolution. I have observed many worlds in just one. I traveled to SACI to make the transition from “naive passion, which promotes work done in ignorance of obstacles, to informed passion, which promotes work done in full acceptance of those obstacles” (Bayles & Orland, 1993). And I was rewarded with the blossoming of my own imagination. My skills as a painter and as a human have expanded greatly. I have benefited from the wisdom and happiness of my professors and the people I have met in the little town in which I live, three miles south of Florence. And I will always remember it. Where does this work come from? This work derives from both passive, or meditative, and focused observation of my environment. And it comes to me intuitively. I have a strong need to express the life of the environment around me without using obvious visual cues, to explain the environment’s individuality and purity as only I can.
Where are you going? My work is about my environment – that which I share with others; that which makes us part of our environment as a species; why we feel differently and our lives change when we are in mutually beneficial natural and human environments. In coming months I will explore the interaction between land and humanity, evolution and devolution, human destruction as space bereft of original life, and illumination that can be achieved through personification of the environment. I will employ all the skills I have learned here to create a fulfilling life through a multifaceted artistic practice in the United States.
Soul’s Waltz in the Minute Age: Pianta Protagonista, 2015-2016, watercolor, oil paint.
Fadi Daoud Kingdom of Jordan
How far have you gone in these two years? My passion for painting began well before I started to study art: I did my first drawings when I was 8 years old and proudly exhibited my artwork in my family’s gallery when I was just 10. After this first success, I held my initial solo exhibition at the age of 12. Since childhood I have developed my skills, gaining and growing in experience through meeting and being inspired by the varied styles of the artists who visited our foundation for the arts. I slowly started to investigate my culture, seeking to gain further inspiration from an increasingly deeper understanding of Islamic artistic traditions. I am fascinated by the geometrical patterns of Arabic murals and have developed my own method of employing such patterns for the creation of my paintings. I break up these basic geometrical lines and rearrange them freely to give life to my paintings. During the last two years, I have explored in depth Islamic artistic styles while simultaneously researching other streams of art. This has led me to new ways of thinking that have enriched my artwork – and to the adoption of different stylistic approaches aimed at communicating an artistic vision with an appeal that is universal. This growth led to exhibitions in 2015, both in the Kingdom of Bahrain at the Albareh Art Gallery and in Amman, Jordan at the Wadi Finan Art Gallery. SACI’s Master of Fine Arts program provided me with valuable skills for my professional progress. I was able to attain a private art studio in Florence which held numerous exhibitions and workshops during my two years here. This new path also enabled me to participate in an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Yinchuan, China, where my work is now part of the permanent collection. My paintings have since been exhibited at the Beirut Art Fair and ART15 in London. SACI’s MFA, though American in structure and spirit, has made it possible for me to gain a unique understanding of Italian art.
Where does this work come from? Straight lines, compactly engineered in different colors and grades, come together in a musical and dynamic relationship. Borrowed from Sufi Islamic philosophy where God created everything, the final picture of the face is based on the foundations of engineering, geometry, and mathematics. This painting is a blend between the Islamic philosophy of creation and the line. Accident is what determines the form this piece takes. After establishing an intense dialogue between myself and the paint strokes, I study the relationships between colors and spaces, then build the face. Where are you going? For the next 3 years, I am going to be pursuing a Ph.D.
Building spirit, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 200x150 cm; Six Faces, 2016, mixed media on paper, 38x28 cm, 6 paintings
Lisa Fracica USA How far have you gone in these two years? I started the SACI MFA program with a strong interest in producing art that is beautiful and has a spiritual component. I wondered if traces of the mindset and techniques of the Renaissance artists, who also valued beauty and the spiritual in their work, could still be found in Florence five hundred years later. I discovered those traces throughout my time at SACI in many places. First, I studied gilding in a bottega-style art workshop that included a man, now in his sixties, who had started learning gilding techniques when he was only fifteen. I found more of those traces in a drawing instructor who often referenced in lectures the drawings of Leonardo da Vinci, emphasized how frequently Renaissance artists used pentimenti, and stressed how important it is for artists to draw from life rather than relying on photographs. A maestro fresco instructor shared his knowledge, gained from restoring a fresco, of how paintbrushes were made in the Renaissance. He had discovered, high up on a ledge, a brush from that era that was made from a bird feather quill and animal hairs. He knew about pigments used by Renaissance-era fresco painters that are neither known nor utilized in the United States. He also possessed rare close up photographs of Michelangelo’s fresco work on the Sistine Chapel that showed the actual prick marks Michelangelo made to transfer drawings to the plaster using the spolvero technique. My painting conservation course was taught by an instructor who had restored many Renaissance paintings, thus acquiring first-hand knowledge of the materials and techniques used by painters of that era. An Iranian instructor made me aware of little-known Islamic influences in Renaissance art and architecture that originated from trading during that period between Venice and Middle Eastern countries. I also studied with her the use of pattern as art form, particularly as it applies to Islamic art. After this journey of seeking and finding traces of the Renaissance, I used the knowledge I had acquired to produce gilded Christian-themed illuminated manuscript-style paintings.
Where does this work come from? As a graduate student in an international program that involves interacting with students and faculty with non-Christian belief systems, I eventually became dissatisfied with employing a Christian approach to art making that wasn’t understood or appreciated by everyone. I started looking for subject matter that would have broader appeal. Fortuitously, I took an etching class in which I produced a series of mother and child works featuring subjects from a range of cultural backgrounds. These works were universally well received. I realized that I had discovered the common ground in my work that I had recently been searching for: the depiction of loving relationships. The next step I took was to make larger-scale oil paintings of the subjects I used in the etchings. The paintings also incorporated metal leaf, reflecting my ongoing research on creating unusual effects through using metal leaf with other media. Where are you going? I will continue depicting relationships from a cross-cultural perspective in my future work. I will also continue researching how metal leaf can be combined in many interesting and engaging ways with painting media. In addition to my artistic research, I hope to have the opportunity to teach art courses at the college level. This will allow me to share my knowledge and encourage young artists to find their own unique voice.
Tamang Mother and Child, 2015-2016, oil, gold, silver leaf on canvas; Friends, 2015-2016, oil, gold leaf on canvas
Rebecca Morris USA How far have you gone in these two years? A “u-turn” refers to a kinetic choice one must make when faced with opposition. The biggest change for me in Florence hasn’t been in any reversal of directions, but in a “you” turn: A turn to look deep inside myself to find what it means for me to be an artist. My teachers have been the best navigators, they have encouraged me not to conform to a set of standards, but just to be me and let the art flow from my imagination and from my hands. I attribute a lot of my inspiration to the fantastic art shows I have seen in Europe like the Venice Biennale. Seeing the “what if” possibilities that these other artists are discovering was like being struck with lightning. Many sleepless nights I spent while these inspired imps of thoughts danced in my head till I gave them life. I have gone from a suburban portrait painter to a creative Dr. Frankenstein and I have loved every minute. Where does this work come from? When I was a little girl I had an overactive imagination. I would read books like the Narnia series, and I would escape into worlds of fantasy where one could have tea with umbrella birds and ride on the backs of dragons. As I got older and started working with children and the elderly, I would abandon the craft workbooks and compile my own art projects with whatever materials were on hand. So I developed a sensibility to look at an ordinary object and imagine what it could be made into. I love the mental challenge that ordinary objects give me. It is as if they talk to me and ask me for identity. I don’t think there is any greater bliss than watching your thinking become visible.
Where are you going? I would like to take what I have created and push the designs and concepts further, especially in terms of mechanics and science. I have been working with a biomechanical engineer, and in about two years we are going to be setting up a hackspace in Miami. This is a place where hobbyists and engineers work together to create things of light, sound, and motion. I feel that working with a group like this will take my work to even crazier possibilities.Â
Becky’s World, 2016, mixed media installation
Ana Lia Orezzoli Peru
How far have you gone in these two years? These two years have been very important to me. I have grown tremendously. Living away from everything familiar, meeting new people who have inspired and influenced me, being immersed in such a collaborative environment – all these experiences have changed me. I have learned to be more patient and to listen more. Most important for me professionally has been finding a path through which to create a mature and strong body of work that can speak for itself. I have developed a personal language, and now I am able to recognize the themes and subjects that interest me, including memory and our relationship with the past and personal experiences. Where does this work come from? This video installation comes from a personal place, as does most of the work that I have completed during the past two years while studying in SACI’s MFA in Photography program. I try to go back in time because I don’t want to forget. Our memory filters the past into fragments, and in between these fragments there is always the possibility of complete oblivion. This video is an exercise about not forgetting a house where I grew up, a song that I learned to sing, a game that I used to play during breaks at school, the courtyard with the two little chickens, and the always intense smell of the sea. Remembering is important to me. My work helps shape my identity, providing me with something tangible, something real. Memories, like these ones from my childhood, are fragile and unreliable. I gather the parts of what I remember and try to piece together what remains.
Where are you going? Questions like these are always hard to answer because one never knows what is going to happen next. I am sure that I will continue with my photography, working on several projects and ideas that I already have in mind. Being surrounded by inspiring and creative people is important to me. That is why my dear friends, the talented artists Leslie Hickey and Hana Sackler, and I have formed an international photographic collective named Scaleno (Italian for scalene). When connected by straight lines, our cities of origin form a scalene triangle. Origins are important to us, as are place, memory, time, and feeling. We are especially interested in undertaking long-term projects and in exploring the possibilities of the photo book. We are currently working on our first project which explores the theme of distance.
El patio de mi casa, video, 2015-2016
Linda Kay Papadakis USA How far have you gone in these two years? My artwork is a measure of the distance I have covered in the two years I have studied at SACI. The confidence needed to create art with determination and direction was always elusive – something that could be approached, but never fully realized before. Through exploration, discovery, and practice, my skills at the level of craftsmanship needed to communicate successfully through the language of painting have grown immensely. Thoughtful interaction with my advisors and other artists in Italy has engendered self-confidence and a capacity to create work that is more informed and provocative. I’ve developed an artistic vocabulary that is far more educated, intense, and purposeful than before. Importantly, the exposure to artistic sensibility from artists and conservators – two very different points of view – has facilitated a depth and breadth of knowledge and artistic validation that were previously unattainable. I’ve always been interested in portraiture that paints the subject on a level of physical likeness, but also conveys emotional capacity. The burdensome restrictions I placed on my art and myself have been lifted by the greater command of skillful craftsmanship and development of an expanded vocabulary within the language of art. Capturing the physical likeness of a subject will always be important. However, conveying the humanness of the subject is now within my grasp. My psychological and philosophical abilities have matured, allowing me to understand my visceral need to communicate on myriad levels that now facilitate my endeavors into contemporary, conceptual works and continued growth as an artist. Where does this work come from?
Homage to Caravaggio is a work inspired by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio’s St. John the Baptist, 1602, oil on linen, Musei Capitolini, Rome. This work is the culmination of a two-year plan that had an undeniable dualism: education and emulation. My decision to take on this project was rooted in my desire to study the artwork and the life of the artist himself, to gain a deeper understanding of his ability to create theatrically provocative works that veil the weakness of the
soul with the majesty of the picturesque. I sought the educational value of learning from the work of a dynamic artist whom I connected with on a psychological level. The quest to study the life of the artist along with the techniques and materials he used was born of a desire to find the courage and ability to shed the vulnerability and invalidation that have haunted me for a lifetime. I set out to learn to do more than imitate the artist, because imitation is skillful interpretation within the limitations of the style of the original – to mirror the original. Emulating Caravaggio is to comprehend fully the conceptual psychology, directional philosophy, and practical execution of the original, thus attaining the ability to use those tools of communication within my own work. Imagining I could emulate Caravaggio was a somewhat naive assumption that, from a realistic point of view, may seem to border on the ridiculous. In all honesty, however, I can say that my creative endeavors will, without doubt, be informed and reflective of this extraordinary experience in a profound and visceral manner. Where are you going? My purpose in studying in Italy was to facilitate a change in my life by turning vulnerability into tenacious adaptability and finding validation through the realization of my own worth. I am confident that as I move forward from the foundations this experience has embedded in my identity as an artist and an educator that I will thrive creatively in my artistic and pedagogic endeavors
Homage to Caravaggio, 2014-2016, oil on canvas, triptych
Keri Rosebraugh USA How far have you gone in these two years? Italy has provided me with a didactic environment for research and inspiration. My experience working with SACI’s MFA professors has changed not only the way I observe art, but how I go about researching, creating, and analyzing. Coming directly from years of working as an illustrator, my path changed from concentrating on the outcome of each project to focusing on the process of my choices and where those can lead me. In the past I placed emphasis on aesthetic value; now I pay more attention to concept, reason, and relevance. Immersing myself in an international program has enabled me to explore distinct perspectives from culturally diverse artists which, in turn, has directly influenced my dialogue and practice. The supportive atmosphere my mentors established and maintained for me these past two years allowed me to lose myself in my artwork, but not get lost. This delicate balance not only enabled me, but pushed me to challenge my previous connection to my work and develop a much more reflective, thoughtful, and personalized vision. Where does this work come from? As human beings, it is valuable that we see and appreciate beauty in our surroundings. While it is commonplace to observe the magnitude and greatness of nature, today, when we encounter the infinite landscape and consider our delicate climate, we must embrace active thinking rather than restful contemplation. This body of work derived originally from my participation in an artist residency program in which, with others, I sailed around the island of Spitsbergen, Norway in the high Arctic. Observing this vast landscape on the verge of immense change provoked a need to seek connections between humans and nature, to explore the fragility and strength of our habitat and to investigate how humans and the environment affect each other. This project is rooted in an inquiry into, and analysis of, the concept of “fixing” things in nature. It explores humans’ quest for comfort versus the urgent need for mankind to live mindfully on this planet. The pieces are created using materials and elements found on site which
decompose in time – symbolic of the cyclical nature and regeneration of our planet. This research seeks to promote a dialogue examining humankind’s relationship with the sublime in a world of capitalistic practices and high-powered economies. Where are you going? The only certainty I have now is my own determination to continue researching and applying diligent critical thinking in regards to my practice. Locations and circumstances will inevitably vary, which will have a welcome impact on future projects and studies. Recognizing the importance of an academic environment, I’ll be seeking out communities that embrace and promote growth and change wherever I next call home. Eventually, I’d also like to get a dog.
Bricks, 2016, broken bricks, tiles, wax, oil paint; Maps, 2016, mixed media on paper; Sewing Needle, 2015, driftwood, oil paint
Hana Sackler USA
How far have you gone in these two years? I think I have come extremely far from where I began in the MFA in Photography program. My work has developed in a way I did not anticipate, and for that I am happy. Video and sound are two mediums that I discovered during my first semester at SACI, and they have become crucial to the work I continue to develop. I use them, along with still images, to convey how I see and feel – to move close to what is around me, understand it, and share it with the world. Although the three mediums vary considerably, my approach to them is similar. I have gained a greater understanding about myself, the work I do, and why it is so important to me. I could not have done any of it without the guidance and support of my professors. I hope to keep proceeding on this path, continuing to make my art grow in unexpected ways. Where does this work come from? The work itself always emerges from something instinctive, and the end result is often more suggestive than explanatory. The work suggests emotions, situations, and ideas which spectators can interpret in ways that relate the work to themselves. I would like the spectator to question what he or she is looking at and experiencing, because that is what I do when I create. My two works in this exhibition consist of an audio piece and a series of panoramic photographs. Both explore ideas about perception, reality, and identity. I choose to use a panoramic approach to try to recreate the feelings that arise when one views stills from a video. The identity of the subjects is removed and what remains are the gestures and the relationships between the body and the space it inhabits. The figures become lost in space and the moment becomes about what you perceive. This panoramic approach enhances the sense of emptiness and absence that surrounds
and pervades the figures. It creates an ambiguity between perception and representation. The audio piece begins with my family singing a happy birthday song that is special to us. As the piece continues, I weave in and out of reality and perception, leading the viewer through an almost dreamlike sequence. Where are you going? I am going to keep making art. And hopefully I will stay in Europe a bit longer. I have started a collective called Scaleno with two close friends whom I met during my time at SACI, and we will continue to collaborate on various photographic projects.
Untitled, photographs, 2015; Birthday Song, audio, 2015-2016
Jessica Taylor UK How far have you gone in these two years? Over the last two years my artwork and artistic practice have vastly matured. Before coming to SACI I was a devoted and determined painter, but I was also too whimsical and free-spirited. I think it is easy to idealize and idolize the term “free-spirited,” when often it is just a substitute for “indecisive” or “lacking in knowledge.” There is a fine line one has to travel as an artist to follow one’s instincts and emotions, but also to know when not to – and to follow instead the mind. Two years ago I painted very emotionally-charged and aggressive works, but they came almost entirely from the heart and however I felt in the moment. I thought that this was the most honest way to produce art, but I have learned that to deny the mind is to deny a significant portion of who we are. To deny the mind is also to be dishonest. I am still interested in painting instinctively, but to do this in balance with thinking through each stroke and each decision in the artistic practice. I have always been interested in painting the human experience, but now I have grown to a fuller understanding of what that means. So I suppose you could say my work has become more conceptual, but in reality maybe it has become more honest? Where does this work come from? The body of work titled Air came from a place of dissatisfaction with my previous way of working with paint. For the last 6 years I used paint in a sculptural and layered manner on the canvas. While I had initially painted this way to express certain beliefs about suffering and hope, I found that it didn’t work to paint every painting this way. I had fallen into the trap of forming a cool and kitsch style. Every painting in the current show is painted differently because each painting needed to express something different. Why Babies? I generally paint from a place of autobiography. Arising from an unplanned pregnancy, I started this series of painting my family genealogical tree, using only my relatives’ baby photographs as references, to work out some of the fear I had of being a new mother. It quickly developed into a fascination and celebration of new life, an interest in the power
and presence of memory and the capacity for good and bad that something so small carries. Although I was painting my family tree, the babies became a symbol – not of innocence, as is typical, but of memory and of the beginning and the end. Where are you going? I want to continue painting babies. I enjoy the challenge of painting and making something serious and meaningful out of a subject generally considered “fluffy” or cute. Conceptually I am interested in continuing to pursue the idea of the baby as a symbol of memory and the capacity for story. What does this look like and what is the significance of symbols in the 21st century? I will look at this from both historical and current perspectives on the use of symbolism in art and media. I am also interested in the unifying concept of painting adults from when they were babies. Being portrayed as a baby breaks down all social barriers and hierarchies as the commonality of a humble and messy beginning is shared. As babies suggest the beginning, so this end of my time at SACI is just the beginning of my art practice. I look forward to the next seventy years (I hope) and am thankful for time here that trained me to think more critically and honestly.
Air, 2015-16, Oil and charcoal on canvas, 20x25 cm., 30 paintings
April 8-22, 2016
