open your eyes
for our friend
Graham Todd
STUDIO ART School of the Arts Togo Salmon Hall 414 McMaster University 1280 Main Street West Hamilton, Ontario, L8S 4M2 T. 905.525.9140 ext: 27671 F. 905.527.6793 E. sota@mcmaster.ca http://sota.humanities.mcmaster.ca/
Cover and back photo courtesy of Ianitza Vassileva
Our world seems saturated with visual stimuli, to the extent that we look, but we are often unable to see. But what does it mean to see? Is everyone capable of seeing also able to perceive, and effectively process what we see? Or, are there ways to see that are distinct, such that the way an artist sees is unique? In order to explore these questions, a group of young artists were asked to maintain a photographic journal for three months, an exercise in perception, a way to perceive their everyday world from a new, refreshed perspective. Contained in this publication is a visual record of the highly individualized collecting process, an edited selection of photographs that reveal the insights of participants in the project. With these examples as a guide, we are asked to carefully scrutinize ordinary details of the space we inhabit, to refresh a sense of heightened awareness in a hectic life that does not encourage careful observation.
John W. Ford
CREATIVE PARTICIPANTS
VirginiaAnne Abel Miguel Angel Chavez Zachery Ellis Alicia Giansante EmmaLou Hale Christopher McLeod Gabriela Palomo Kadi Prince Keisha Neoma-Quinn Brittany Reed Olivia Rozema Jennifer Shamo Nikkie To Livia Tsang Ianitza Vassileva David Yoon
VirginiaAnne Abel
Art is my escape, the key to my internal secrets. Though I work quite deliberately, my works are, in a way, improvisational expressions of my current state of mind. My works become repetitive and consuming. Once I find something that I am drawn to, I allow myself to continue working until I no longer feel the physical or emotional pull that was originally tempting. After the fascination subsides, I move on. I rarely ever return. Repetitive shapes and forms allow my hands and body to work through a compulsion while my mind is able to wander, discover. Photography allows me to document my obsession with repetition. While I explain my works as an investigation of inspirations, colours, forms and imagery, they are much more than just that. My work becomes an unexplained diary of my stresses, joys and compulsive tendencies.
Neglected Repetition: Mailboxes, 2013.
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Neglected Repetition: Buttons, 2013.
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Neglected Repetition: Steps, 2013.
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Neglected Repetition: Woodwork, 2013.
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Neglected Repetition: Stairwell, 2013.
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Neglected Repetition: Stonework, 2013.
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Neglected Repetition: Keyboard, 2013.
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Neglected Repetition: Broom, 2013.
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Miguel Angel Chavez
I believe seeing the beauty in the details and intricacies of mundane objects allows for a greater expansion of ingenuity when creating art. The handle of a plunger or the veins of a leaf become inspirations for innovation within the design aspect of my art. Curls and cracks, wrinkles and fold; all culminate as starting points. Combined with my interest in cinematic and fashion centric illustrations, these images have allowed me to concentrate on aspects of drawing that often eluded me.
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Zachery Ellis
THIS PLACE IS NEW TO ME. I am not an especially good looker. So, one could imagine that being asked to take pictures of things as I see them might occur as a rather large challenge. Just to spoil for it now I’ll have you know it was ‌ but it was a great learning experience. I discovered that the miniature, small and tucked away parts of the world house amazing architectural and artistic qualities. Silk screening equipment when stored and organized looks like a sturdy bastion or a fortress standing proud on its foundation. Discarded paintbrush water can be a beautiful breeding pool of colour. The shriveled blossom in the local paradise houses a deep narrative my imagination can grab onto and run away with. I had the amazing opportunity to discover another world entirely and for that I am absolutely thankful.
Zachery Ellis
The Last of The True Born Kings, 2013, Digital Capture.
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And I Am The Anchor Which Remains Buried, 2013, Digital Capture.
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Cacophany, 2013, Digital Capture.
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Bastion of The Ruined One, 2013, Digital Capture.
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I Have No Great Love For Her, 2013, Digital Capture.
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Hypergenesis, 2013, Digital Capture.
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Once More Through The Breach, 2013, Digital Capture.
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A Slim Fit, 2013, Digital Capture.
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Alicia Giansante
My work has a dream-like quality that induces the viewer into a calm and tranquil state. I explore spirituality and ethereality through the use of layering, transparencies and light. Photography has allowed me to realize these qualities by exploring simple everyday objects and capturing their movements and sounds.
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Images
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Images
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EmmaLou Hale
The pursuit of knowledge inspires me to reach out and share my personal discoveries. I wish to challenge common perceptions of reality through emphasizing the intricacy and beauty of the everyday mundane. I try to understand my world through a variety of lenses and hope to challenge others to consider these insights.
Cabbage
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Light Stream
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Wheat
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Beads
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Capital
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Glass
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Electricity
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Snow
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Christopher McLeod
Cedars: Rooted in time, decay and rebirth, Cedars is a re-examined look at discarded fragments of a forest. Photographed using large and medium format cameras, these artist proofs are meant to explore the notions of conservation and destruction in our technological age. Pondering the expressionistic grandeur of nature, Cedars questions how we recreate and mediate nature. How is value placed, and what do we see in these discarded remnants of a cedar tree?
Cedar: Pose Eight, 2013, Silver Gelatin Print, A/P 4” x 5”.
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Cedar: Pose Four, 2013, Silver Gelatin Print, A/P 4” x 5”
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Cedar: Pose Five, 2013, Silver Gelatin Print, A/P 4” x 5”.
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Cedar: Pose Six, 2013, Silver Gelatin Print, A/P 4” x 5”
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Cedar: Pose Seven, 2013, Silver Gelatin Print, A/P 4” x 5”.
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Cedar: Pose Ten, 2013, Silver Gelatin Print, A/P 4” x 5”
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Cedar: Pose Nine, 2013, Silver Gelatin Print, A/P 4” x 5”.
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Cedar: Pose Eleven, 2013, Silver Gelatin Print, A/P 4” x 5”
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Gabriela Palomo
My work involves the art of paper-making and the use of handmade paper in conjunction with paint, ink and other media to create hybrid and fragmented forms and shapes. These serve as outlets representing abstracted aspects of myself as well as other subjects. Through this I also explore line, shape, colour relationships and textural associations. This photo documentation process has allowed me to view the ordinary and mundane in new and intricate ways that helps contribute new approaches to my practice.
Wearing down, 2012, Digital Photograph.
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Kitchen Wall Flake, 2012, Digital Photograph.
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Toaster Oven Window, 2012, Digital Photograph.
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Too much Plastic, 2012, Digital Photograph.
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View from the Bottom, 2012, Digital Photograph.
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Stained Space, 2012, Digital Photograph.
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Wash, 2012, Digital Photograph.
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Forsyth, 2012, Digital Photograph.
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Kadi Prince
At first glance my images do not seem to have much relevance with my artwork. However, with deeper investigation a connection is visible. Throughout my years of study at McMaster University I have pushed myself to experiment in the use of different materials and ideas in my work as well as tackle a variety of styles to achieve greater knowledge and skill. I feel that I have maneuvered through this photographic process in a similar style. The images differ in style and subject matter to one another and reflect my creativity and strive as an artist.
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Keisha Neoma-Quinn
Herein is an exploration of everyday beauty. These images show a particular interest in colour, texture, form and pattern, each of which is very important to my sculptural art. This collection informs my practice. Observation of the key feature of beauty in each captured then isolated in my mind and dropped into the far reaches of my imagination to spread and become something entirely new.
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Brittany Reed
My artistic practice typically involves retrieving and sustaining elements from the past in relation to particular subject matter, with much attention paid to the physicality of the materials associated with the individual piece. It has become a necessity that I feed a personal need to examine in great detail that which is far removed from my frame of reference and to establish an environment from these artifacts, most of which have been tossed aside or long forgotten. Each of these photographs speaks to this way of thinking and handling a given material or media as a means of evoking emotion or contemplating the past; each one considers a passing of time. Each one contains an ethereal quality and is rich with soft colouring and subtle markings. These attributes are consistently present in my work, and draw a visual parallel to the sentimental nature of remembering and longing.
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Olivia Rozema
My work is increasingly concerned with the aggrandizing of forgotten or discarded items of both natural and man-made origins; manipulating their forms to reference the regenerative qualities of the natural world. Thematically, I seek to explore and reclaim mankind’s lost connection with the ebbs and flows of the Earth and her natural cycles. In practice, I often employ representational forms as allegory to demonstrate more complex conceptual concerns. I approached this photo series like I approach my sculptures. It began, as things often do, with a concentrated study of my surroundings. During the process of looking I was drawn immediately to man-made items that through wear and weather have been altered by nature’s destructive forces. Each subject is imbued with a life of its own; an expansive and colourful history begging to be told. With these photographs, I call attention to the subjects’ long and forgotten histories.
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Jennifer Shamo
I am an undergraduate student studying Studio Arts and Art History at McMaster University. I explore my concepts through various media. Sculpture, printmaking, and drawing are the basis for my work in order to create an honest form of self expression. My work addresses diaristic concepts through improvisational and spontaneous processes. I approach my work as automatic abstraction with a repetition of form. I use vibrant colours creating exaggerated organic lines and forms that reflect on aspects of femininity. The repetitive nature of my work frees my imagination and creates many opportunities for happy accidents. During this three month photography journal I began to see a correlation between my art and the photos I was taking. Shapes and repetitive forms that have a sense of fluidity are what my photographs have encompassed, with light and shadow playing a dramatic role. These aspects in the pictures are similar to what I draw on in the art I produce, and light playing with shadow has always been of interest to me.
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Nikkie To
Perceptions of memory are central to my work. I am inspired and influenced by the metamorphosis of narratives and use this as a foundation on the development of an individual’s identity. These photographs capture the details within private moments that are suggestive of a fleeting grander narrative.
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Livia Tsang
As a human being that is constantly in motion, the majority of my work revolves around the idea of displacement, either physically or culturally. The idea of transitioning from one state of being to the next and those physical manifestations that come to light when one decides on their definition of home became the focus of this project. All of these images were taken during my travels. Whether it was by car in Austin, Texas, by bus across southern Ontario, or by plane to Chicago, Illinois, each destination became a temporary settlement until it was time to depart. That wanderlust paired with that innate sense of comfort that one feels when they’ve resided somewhere long enough has led me to challenge the monolithic interpretation of the term. The journey, at times, has become home itself.
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Ianitza Vassileva
I think it is important to practice mindfulness in our hectic lives; our surroundings are full of accidental works of art. These are the things I noticed which you maybe didn’t.
Zurich, Switzerland, 2012, Digital Image.
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Cuba, 2013, Digital Image.
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Montmatre, Paris, 2011, Digital Image.
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Bicycle culture in Maastricht, The Netherlands, 2011, Digital Image.
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Glass Flecked Heart, 2013, Digital Image.
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Kaleidesopic reflections in Lausanne, Switzerland, 2012, Digital Image.
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Images
Getting to know Hamilton, 2012, Digital Image.
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Snow Day, 2012, Digital Image.
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David Yoon
I have always had a solid vision of what art is. As I looked closer at the things around me I realized that there was art all around me. Though many of these things were subtle, I found that as I looked closer the more I found. Finding beauty and inspiration in everyday objects and situations is a really simple and easy thing to do. As I started to look for these things I found more inspiration within my own artwork as well as my creative process. The unintentional aspect of these objects attracted me. It was “art� without being art. People may perceive everyday things differently, just like art. At the end of the day, looking at these everyday scenes, objects and occurences really helped open my eyes to the preception of art.
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