NO PLACE Caitlin Horsmon’s solo exhibition 11.08.19 / 12.13.19
Studios Inc Studios Inc provides studio space, professional development, networking, and exhibitions for mid-career artists in Greater Kansas City. We engage the Kansas City community through our Exhibition Series Program, which exhibits resident artist works throughout the year, free to the public
Launched in 2003 to serve mid-career artists, Studios Inc is Kansas City’s nonprofit arts organization that offers pivotal three-year residencies to mid-career artists who are poised to significantly expand their careers in accordance with the career goals articulated in their residency application. Its competitive application process, sharp focus on career advancement, and commitment to serve the under-served population of mid-career artists set Studios Inc apart from other artist-support organizations.
Studios Inc offers a unique immersion experience for resident artists, who use their studio and exhibition space to produce and exhibit work, network and learn from one another, and attract and cultivate relationships with art patrons, collectors, and arts professionals.
1708 Campbell Street, Kansas City, MO 64108
816-994-7134 | info@thestudiosinc.org
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Student participating in Caitlin Hormon’s animation project
Photo Credit: Courtney Wasson
NO PLACE
Artist Statement
My work examines the material world by mining stories from places, bodies and objects. With attention to location, visual history, identity and absence I explore the imaginary of the everyday to address the politics of knowledge and the loci of perception.Â
For me art making is a way to ask questions, and I am curious about how public spaces are constituted, and what gets purposefully excluded or simply overlooked. I make films, videos, photographs and installations, but my practice creates experiences as often as objects; exploring intersections in my life as a citizen, community member and academic through research, programming, collaborations and curation of exhibitions and screenings. Â
My goal is to dig deeply into the world around me through creating images and sounds, time-based experiences and activities of resistance, and to explore the disposition of the real, the ways we construct and describe our world and the nature of looking.
Artist Talk with Caitlin Horsmon
Photo Credit: Courtney Wasson
There’s NO PLACE like home
Written by Studios Inc Curatorial Intern, Cicely Jones
NO PLACE is an immersive experience that asks us to reflect on the space we’re in. The solo exhibition by resident artist Caitlin Horsmon displays her interest in location, history, and identity through found objects, sculpture, and video. Combining her practice of filmmaking with photography and installation, Caitlin deeply examines environments around us and the relationships we have associated with them.
We as viewers have connections to the concept and construct of home. These connections are personal and each of them possess an identity that is unique to their location. This was one of the first things that caught my attention in Caitlin’s exhibition. Her works appeared to stem from her daily life experiences. The living plants in the illuminated display of Avocado Capital of the World come from avocados Caitlin consumed herself. We see the full circle journey of this work layered throughout the exhibition through moving images, and installation of pieces using resin and acrylic. Caitlin turns her creative process and practice into a viewable and participatory experience. She invites us to experience her personal connection to home from our perspective. From traveling the world to eating avocados, we observe many different aspects of Caitlin’s journey, her process, and her experience.
Caitlin’s use of space and perception allows us to feel a part of the works we are experiencing. Through light and sound we are immersed in a space. Caitlin uses these mediums in such a captivating way that you are able to hear the audio of certain works without being directly in front of them. The exhibition space is mostly dim and causes the projections and moving images to appear striking and gives them an intensity. Initially, the large scale projections made me feel small. However, my perception changed as I interacted and became part of the narrative. Being surrounded by the history and energy of Caitlin’s exhibition reminded me that I am part of a larger entity or narrative.
This exhibition was humbling and I came away from it feeling grounded. Through captivating film and physical presence of symbolic objects, this exhibition explores and makes our relationship to the places around us purposeful. To appreciate the places we inhabit, we must know and understand what constitutes them. Appreciation without apprehension is simply blinded admiration and without knowledge of the world around us, we become negligent in sustaining it.
No Place a solo exhibition by Caitlin Horsmon
11.8.19 to 12.13.19
Exhibition Photo Credit: Logan Acton (unless otherwise noted)
ACOTW (Avocado Capital of the World): Parachute, sand, grow lights, avocado plants, flag, found film, found objects, two-channel video, 16mm film transferred to video, polyester resin, avocado seeds; variable dimensions, 2019.
ACOTW (Avocado Capital of the World) probes the false claim made by Horsmon’s hometown, evoking the many contemporary tensions embedded in the place by its history. Over the course of a year, Horsmon planted the seeds from avocados she consumed, and the resulting plants are displayed as part of the piece. Horsmon used those seeds to process 16mm film then enshrouded them in resin. In other elements of the piece she shoots the town in 16mm and recreates the soundspace of living on the border of a military installation.
View of ACOTW (Avocado Capital of the World), by Caitlin Horsmon: Parachute, sand, grow lights, avocado plants, flag, found film, found objects, two-channel video, 16mm film transferred to video, polyester resin, avocado seeds; variable dimensions, 2019.
View of The Road is Walking Too, by Caitlin Horsmon:
16mm film on video, 2018, with ACOTW (Avocado Capital of the World) in the background.
View of ACOTW (Avocado Capital of the World), by Caitlin Horsmon: Parachute, sand, grow lights, avocado plants, flag, found film, found objects, two-channel video, 16mm film transferred to video, polyester resin, avocado seeds; variable dimensions, 2019; and Vibrating Normally, by Caitlin Horsmon: Paper, polyester resin, lights, stand, video, variable dimensions, 2019.
View of Vibrating Normally, by Caitlin Horsmon: Paper, polyester resin, lights, stand, video, variable dimensions, 2019.
Detail from Vibrating Normally
Photo Credit: Courtney Wasson
View of Another World Yet the Same, by Caitlin Horsmon: Two-channel video, stereo sound, 2019; Another World Yet the Same, by Caitlin Horsmon: Two-channel video, stereo sound, 2019; and ACOTW (Avocado Capital of the World), by Caitlin Horsmon: Parachute, sand, grow lights, avocado plants, flag, found film, found objects, two-channel video, 16mm film transferred to video, polyester resin, avocado seeds; Variable Dimensions, 2019.
View of Another World Yet the Same, by Caitlin Horsmon: Two-channel video, stereo sound, 2019; The Road is Walking Too, by Caitlin Horsmon: 16mm film on video, 2018, with ACOTW in the background; and ACOTW (Avocado Capital of the World), by Caitlin Horsmon: Parachute, sand, grow lights, avocado plants, flag, found film, found objects, two-channel video, 16mm film transferred to video, polyester resin, avocado seeds; Variable Dimensions, 2019.
Still Image from Another World Yet the Same, by Caitlin Horsmon: Two-channel video, stereo sound, 2019.
Another World Yet the Same, investigates the sites of two non-religious utopian communities investigating the psychic distance created by utopian aspiration.
Caitlin Horsmon Caitlin is an artist, curator and teacher based in Kansas City Missouri. Grounded in the moving image as well as integrating installation, sound, sculpture, collaborations, curatorial work and community programming; her work investigates the obscure and overlooked landscapes of the everyday. It has been exhibited around the world receiving numerous awards and grants, including a Rocket Grant from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, Charlotte Street Foundation and Spencer Museum of Art.
Caitlin is a former Director of the artist-run space Plug Projects and is a founder of Stray Cat Film Center. She was also the educational outreach coordinator for the Chicago International Film Festival, Director of the Thaw Festival in Iowa City and now curates at Stray Cat. Caitlin is Associate Professor of Film & Media Arts at the University of MissouriKansas City where she serves as the Chair of the Department of Communication Studies and is a member of the Women’s and Gender Studies and Graduate faculties.
Her work is distributed by The Collectif Jeune Cinéma.
Photo Credit Isaac Ah-Loe
Studios Inc’s three-year residency program provides a unique immersion experience that allows mid-career artists to use their studio space to conceptualize, produce, and exhibit their work.
With support from the Neighborhood Tourism Development Fund, Studios Inc serves the Kansas City Community and Crossroads Arts District by oering a free, open-to-the-public exhibition series throughout the year, which includes opening receptions, First Friday receptions, artist talks, regular gallery hours, as well as scheduled tours and events. It is our hope to showcase and promote high-quality, interesting artwork to both visitors and members of the Kansas City community.
Courtney Wasson, Executive Director
courtney@thestudiosinc.org
thestudiosinc.org