Artist Statements

Lorie Novak: "I combine and re-visualize photographic imagery, exploring its relationship with memory. I am particularly interested in how personal and collective memory affect the reading of photographs. Working with slide projections, I create ephemeral installations to be photographed that combine my family snapshots, and historical/cultural imagery.

In the interior photographs, empty rooms are filled with "projections" replaying psychological and emotional events."

Shimon Attie:

"In Between Dreams and History, I wanted to give visual form to the personal and collective memories and imaginings of residents of the Lower East Side. I interviewed neighbors from diverse ethnic backgrounds and age groups who were generous and trusting enough to share their memories. They wrote down their favorite childhood songs, poems, rhymes, as well as their dreams, hopes, wishes, superstitions, prayers, and intuitions.From their dreams and histories has emerged a communal poetry in which neighborhood residents serve as their own witnesses. I chose to project the texts directly onto the architecture to reanimate buildings with the written recollections. I wanted the lasers to write out texts in real time, letter by letter, mirroring how memories ebb and flow. It is my hope that this ghostly nighttime writing--whether in English, Spanish, Chinese, Yiddish, or Hebrew--can help to soften the divisions between us by tapping into our collective imagination during a few short autumn weeks."

My Response:

I chose these two artists because I love their work. Some of the ideas and even the physical aspects of their work remind me of my current project. I am very confused about what to say during the panel review. Am I supposed to have an artist statement? Do I just use a quote? Does it have to be serious? Do I explain my process, the reasons why I ma doing this work, and the background? I am so confused!

Lorie Novak's statement is short and simple. She gets her point across and even mentions her family photographs. This is one thing that I was worried about, whether or not to mention the fact that these are pictures of my family. She sounds smart and sure of herself. Her statement isn't too dramatic or lofty.

Shimon Attie's statement is longer and very descriptive. He goes into great detail about his process. He mentions his ultimate purpose for the project. Neither Novak nor Attie have long drawn out descriptions of their concepts. They are simple. The concept is usually one sentence. There seems to be more time spent on explaining the process and what exactly the viewer is looking at.

I am still unsure about how to explain my work. I don't want to go in to great detail about my concept. If I talk too much and explain too much it take all the fun and mystery out of the work. I need to find a sweet and simple way of introducing my work. I will continue to look at other projects by these artists, as well as others to help me figure out how to talk about my work.