The Onlookers

It's Christmas tree season again and I recently thought back to this image, although these trees are far too large for any interior. These looming spruce trees occupy a wide footprint dotted across a grassy field. This C-print was part of a series of photographs I printed in 2009 on yard spaces across Western, Central and the Finger Lakes regions of New York state. This photo was taken in Etna, NY. 

Duotone

Two varieties of sedum, ‘Dragon’s Blood’ and ‘Angelina’, form a vibrant duotone on the green roof of Milstein Hall at Cornell University. The sedum ‘circles’ increase in diameter as they move closer to the edge of the building in the direction of the gorge.

Unfortunately this rooftop isn’t an open space yet but I had the opportunity to venture up there and walk around briefly. This peaceful plateau fully sustains itself in the variable weather of Ithaca, NY. It's an incredible planting and is worth a peek from the windows of Sibley Hall or from the ivy-covered stair tower. 

 

 

Cumulus

Cumulus no. 1 • Iris print • 14" x 16.25"


Cumulus no. 1 • Iris print • 14" x 16.25"

Cumulus no. 2 • Iris print • 14" x 16.25"


Cumulus no. 2 • Iris print • 14" x 16.25"

Cumulus no. 3 • Iris print • 8.5"x 9.75"


Cumulus no. 3 • Iris print • 8.5"x 9.75"

Last week I had the opportunity to be an artist in residence at the Institute for Electronic Arts at Alfred University. The Experimental Projects Residency is a unique facet within the School of Art and Design, New York State College of Ceramics, where I received my BFA nine years ago. The residency invites artists from around the globe to reside in the tiny town of Alfred, NY for one week to make great work. I was honored to be part of the growing list of accomplished artists to pass through the IEA.

My project at the IEA centered on the distortions within expired Polaroid film. I began by scanning the cloud-like chemical stains that had formed on the Polaroid film with prolonged storage. I was printing these forms through several passes on the IEA’s drum-based IRIS printer, layering the composition in stages. I was interested in the idea of creating a digital print similar to a traditional printing process, building the print in layers. Each time I sent a file, I would anxiously wait for the drum to stop spinning so I could see what I had. It was a very tactile way of thinking about digital prints. From there I would decide where I needed to add more form, density or color. This process was all about letting go of some of the control and allowing the image to accumulate onto the paper.

To ground these airy, water-filled clouds, I paired them with some of my recent landscape photographs of open fields and distant trees. You can read more about the project here on the IEA’s blog.

 

Unearthed

This remarkable work by Jack Elliot, entitled Victus (2013), is part of the Beyond Earth Art exhibition currently on view at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art through June 8th. Sitting at the entrance to the museum, this exhumed sugar maple has been meticulously cleared of dirt, clay and rocks, and it's root system cut to a circular form.

Elliot is an Associate Professor of Design and Environmental Analysis at Cornell University. More of his work can be found here.
 

Jack Elliot, Victus, 2013  / photo: Lindsey Glover 

Jack Elliot, Victus, 2013  / photo: Lindsey Glover

 

Three Topiary Trees

A set of trimmed trees in Blue Bird Square in Olean, NY. I love that someone has this job. These three were looking freshly trimmed on the day I was back in my hometown for the Southern Teir Biennial (exhibiting one of my tree prints, Pruned Plume no less).  

This image may resurface as a print one day as well.  
P.S. These rounded trees are also really magical when covered in lights around Christmas.

A tree from a window

September of last year I was visiting Jackson, WY. I was there as part of an exhibition at the Jackson Hole Center for the Arts, showing with a great group of artists I had met at the Ucross Foundation– Jenny Dowd, Mayme Kratz and Ruth Boerefijn. Here are a couple tree studies from my trip and some exhibition images. The three-channel video made for some interesting shadows. This show was the first time I had onlookers dance in front of one of my projection installations (to no sound other than wind). Very awesome. They even got me to join in.