C.R.I.T.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Spookweird: By Traverse Day Robinette

Spookyweird is a working title to a project I started back in 2009 where I photograph places or objects where something, well spooky or weird happened. But there is more to it than that. I’m currently working on an artist statement and a proper title to explain it all.

The Sink, 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

I traveled to Southern Illinois to visit my family and to photograph “The Sink” and “The Cave”. The Sink is an area where water fills up a valley and forms a small lake. The Sink is not made by flooding or is fed by a stream. The Ohio River is close by though The Sink is not made or affected by the water level of the river. Only bullhead catfish live in The Sink and they are cannibalistic, feeding only on themselves. Locals in the area will wait for the water level of The Sink to lower to the point where they can go out with buckets and pick up the fish with their hands. Densel, my 94 year old guide, showed me the way to the vantage point where I took this image. He said he knew the owners of the property but when we pulled up no one was home. The whole time I worked with my 4x5 I feared I would be gunned down. Lucky for me The Sink was full and Densel said that sometimes it would be dry for years and he hadn’t been up there in a while to see it. It was amazing to finally see this place that my grandmother so often spoke of.

The Cave, 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

The Cave is located in Cave-In-Rock along the Ohio River. I have visited The Cave before when I was little but this visit was definitely like seeing it for the first time. The Cave has been used in different ways throughout the years. It has served as a church, general store, brothel, and a hide out for pirates. Its blackness is haunting; alone inside I herd sounds and my mind played tricks on me so I didn’t stay long.

Olivia, 2011 © Traverse Day Robinette

On the drive from the airport heading north through Kentucky I told my mom about my plan to photograph The Sink and The Cave. Detecting I was interested in capturing the oddities of where my grandparents live, she told me of Olivia. My great grandmother was a collector of everything. She always had a particular fancy for an old skeleton that the town doctor had in his office, so much so that when he retired he gave the skeleton to my grandmother. I first imagined that the skeleton was of the ordinary plastic variety found in any regular doctor’s office. My mother corrected me and told me matter of factly that in the old days they used real human bones, this skeleton was very old, and was definitely of the real bones type. She continued to tell me that skeletons used for medical purposes came from India during this time. My family first thought the skeleton was a man but later learned it was a woman changing its original name from Orville to more appropriately feminine name Olivia. Olivia was originally stored in a barn. A tornado hit the town and destroyed the barn but Olivia was lifted up and set back down unharmed. She is now stored in the kitchen of my great grandmother’s old house and sleeps in a pink velvet casket. My great aunts dress her up and take care of her and sometimes bring her out on the porch for Halloween which one year resulted in having the police called. I had never heard of Olivia until this trip to Illinois and was laughing like a nut as I drove my rental car on to the ferry smiling at the idea of the treasures that lie on the other side of this beautiful river.

Saturday, March 31, 2012

City Living: By Jamie Spear

These photographs are from a series called City Living. They explore notions of personal space and compromise in experiences in the context of crowded urban areas.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Plastic in Vital Fluid: By Laura Miner

Continuing with my project titled, Vital Fluid, which features miniature sets of ominous gore, I decided to experiment with changing the subject of the terror. In the previous series animals were casually living amongst puddles of blood with an unknown origin. In this series I took a couple of the most dynamic looking animal figurines, and inflicted them with bloody wounds.

The running boar could have harmed someone, be harmed, or both. The rooster has an alarmed look, yet does not spread it's wings.

In between shooting the last series and this one, I photographed details of the animal figurines simply to explore their texture. How did the manufacturer represent common animal skins in plastic? It was fun to find the failures, like the plastic mold knot on the back of this reclining dog below. But it was also interesting to see the skilled workmanship, such as the detail in the crane feathers pictured above.

The way the blood reacts to the imprints of fur and feathers highlights the plasticity, which may or may not be working for this project. It was worth a shot.
My next move will be to add more inanimate objects such as cars, and explore terror without blood.

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Israel - Scarred Land: By Beth A. Gilbert

Beth A. Gilbert's photographs are primarily landscape based, dealing with the environment and the ways in which human beings affect it. One major influence reflected in the subject matter of her photographs is her interest and background in political science. Her images have also been inspired by the work of Jem Southam, whose photographs capture a balance of the natural landscape and the intervention of man within it, following the cycles of decay and renewal, documenting the changes over days, months and years.

Since the focus of Beth's imagery relies heavily on society and civilization’s impact upon the environment, she is sensitive to her process being as non-invasive as possible- staying true to the unaltered landscape. She has a desire for her photographs to be ‘pure’, as in true to the original medium. Beth's employment of a traditional tool of landscape photography, the 4x5 camera, and using minimal alterations to compliment her ideology fits in well with her artistic expression and vision. In 2010, she decided to take her ventures in photography further, and extended her vision to Israel.

The photographs in this series entitled Scarred Land, which were all produced in Israel, deal with war, the damage it inflicts upon the terrain, and the natural recovery over time. The battle sites and military training zones depicted have not memorialized or preserved by human beings in any way, and are now naturally recovering from the inflicted trauma as well as being reclaimed by the earth.

Beth has chosen to focus on war zones to show the viewer that this is how we, as human beings, treat each other and the planet that we inhabit. We view ourselves as a species better than the rest because we have a level of consciousness that allows for individuality and creativity. These attributes, among many others, enable us to create/invent ever growing ways in which to better our lives.

In Beth’s opinion, it is due to this consciousness that we should know better than to wage wars against one another based on land, power, ideology, or even religion. Through our technology and the methods in which we implement it to harm each other, we are in turn destroying our planet. Eventually, we will be the means to our own end.

Thursday, February 2, 2012

Dressing Up, Acting Out: By Kitty Ethridge

In 2009, I was photographing performers at a local cabaret called Jacques, and around the same time, local events, funerals, celebrations, and protests. For some reason mostly men, gay and straight, became my subject matter. I didn’t notice the connection at the time, but I became struck by the similarities between the two groups. Almost every occasion involved costume or dress. Similar in a ritualized way, each actor had an acute sense of theater and purpose. Demeanor. Intensity. Courage. Face it. If you’re a man, whether you’re putting on a uniform with a badge and a gun, or a dress with full makeup and jewelry it takes courage.

These images of course are all of drag queens. Regardless, without the dress (or the uniform) the intensity, the effect of instilling or inspiring emotional reactions would not be as effective. Dressing up is transforming. Mild, meek mannered weaklings become super heroes, boys who identify as feminine become women. Escapism? No. I think it allows people to be who they really are, sometimes with abandonment.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Sea Glass: by Katherine Bennett

These three cyanotypes are a start to something bigger. Having graduated college recently, I've found a shortage of inspiration to make art. These cyanotypes are photograms of sea glass. My thought process being if I combine the two things I like most - art and the ocean - I will find some sort of path. I'm still looking.

About Us