Artist Statement
Relationships are key to community. Studying behavior and interaction between individuals is central to my practice. Through photography I investigate perceptions of human behavior, interaction, and social cooperation, while confronting my personal bias, our nations culture's habitual tendencies, and investigating the activities of sustainable communities as a possible model for cultural growth.
I exhibit the gestures of social interactions in seemingly mundane settings such as: the family dinner table or lack thereof, the family portrait minus the father, and I make collaborative works displaying male identity through the eyes of the model, and presenting the ever-changing landscape of social acceptance.
My recent interests are those of the necessary social cooperation involved in successfully sustained communities By immersing myself in such a community on the Appalachian Trail, I will investigate the sub-culture of "through-hikers" and communities along the trail that make up the second longest continuous foot path in the country spanning fourteen states, (2,176 miles), from Mount Katahdin in Maine, to Springer Mountain in GA. Initial questions I ask myself concern
themes of:
• What motivates individuals to give one's time, and/or money to an organization that offers an experience in exchange?
• Is our society coming to a point that we are so "safety conscious" we need to organize experiences in order to feel better about inter-personal interactions, or is it that all small parts, working together toward a common goal, give a sense of community that people lack in their own neighborhood?
• Could the reason be simply the common interest in an activity, and the value of an experience attempting to be shared with others is important enough to organize, build, and sustain?
Keeping in line with the S.A.I.C. mission statement as posted on the school's website, "Students at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago are expected to think beyond the classroom, and consider their creative work in the context of communities outside of the school itself", I have proposed an individualized curriculum that is tailored to my unique interests, process and art-making practice that will engage the S.A.I.C. community, and beyond.
I will be working with five professors, from the departments of: Photography, Painting and Drawing, Visual Critical Studies, Arts Administration, And Liberal Arts.
Upon my return in early December, I will collect all my data to compile a deft representation in the BFA show of my experience in one of the oldest sustainable communities in the nation.
To contact Eric, please click here.