Diane Fenster: Canto Thirteen/The Interior Life of the Dead

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Artist(s):


Title:


    Canto Thirteen/The Interior Life of the Dead

Exhibition:


Creation Year:


    1996

Medium:


    Iris print

Size:


    47" X 34"

Category:


Artist Statement:


    The Hide and Seek Series: An Archaeological Excavation of Memory

    This autobiographical body of work addresses issues of self, gender, and intimacy using the concept of on archaeological excavation of memory as a metaphorical structure.

    My involvement with digital imaging began 12 years ago. I soon discovered that computer technology provided me with the opportunity to manipulate, edit, and expand the photomontage format that I felt most suited my personal artistic expression. My work reflects my interest in both the Dada and Surrealist art movements, primarily in the use of the juxtaposition of seemingly unrelated visual elements. This methodology enables me to present an almost “cinematic” storyline based on the relationship of each of the vignettes within a particular piece. The com­puter has now offered me an even wider range of possibilities within the photomontage format. The technology has actually freed my range of expression and allowed an even more personal shaping of the symbolic elements I use in my work.

    In my earlier work, I utilized “found” vintage or family photographs as a starting point far the final photomontage. In my more recent works, I experiment with different types of image processes using my own photography as a means to further strengthen the “finding of my own voice” through the presentation of “landscapes” that are charged with symbolism and emotion.

    My art is a combination of myth, spirit, science, and technology. I see myself as a modern alchemist, using silicon chips as a tool to transform electrical patterns into art. My attempt to portray an element of mystery is the guiding factor in these works. The juxtaposition of the image elements hopefully serves as a catalyst for the viewer’s recognition of her/his own inner processes. The computer does not destroy your soul, as I once thought, but rather has liberated a creative aspect of the self that might have otherwise remained undiscovered.

    In this series, slides of the model and the objects (primarily furniture from motel rooms I have stayed in) are token with a traditional 35mm camera. These are imaged with a slide printer using normal and transfer techniques. Resultant images are scanned and composited in Photoshop with text and other elements.

All Works by the Artist(s) in This Archive: