Exploring Death: Momentum Artist Klair Larason

This post is part of our series on Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition's Momentum OKC 2014. Momentum exhibits Oklahoma artists ages 30 and younger in a venue created specifically for them, helping them gain experience and meet new audiences. Today we are featuring Momentum artist Klair Larason from Stillwater, OK.

Laura Reese: What is your concept and inspiration for this work in Momentum?

Klair Larason: My concept and inspiration are not completely solid yet, however I've become of fond working on skulls and bones as a medium. It might sound odd, but I enjoy the concept of death very much, it has almost the widest array of connections and applications for people. I find the idea of a complete end strange; specifically the idea of where there will be a day where I won't exist anymore. I think it's good for me to focus and think about this weird thing and how it affects myself and others. Always exploring I guess. 

Klair Larason, Stillwater, “The Cow”, Skull with Gum Wrapper Foil, 6.5x9x17, $320

LR: Please explain the technique and/or process you used to create this work.

KL: My technique has always been kind of streamlined, but usually I first start with a background medium and then add onto that. In this case it was with various skulls, so I would first acquire one I liked to work on. This one I "borrowed" from my mom when I was 10 and she found it while hiking in the Wichita Mountains. After I find a skull, I then melt and pour plastic over it. It takes about thirty minutes to an hour to pour, then I wait another day or two for it to settle and harden. Then I just freehand whatever I want on the rest of the pour, in this case it's gum wrapper foil. Lay down a couple clear coats for good measure, then wham bam I'm done!

Klair Larason, Stillwater, “The Coyote”, Skull with Gum Wrapper Foil, 3x3.5x6, $120

LR: Is this work part of a series?

KL: I'd really like to think it's going to be part of a series, but that depends on how many more skulls I can afford and make . However, I do plan to work on this longer and see this as a new direction for me. I'll always keep making art. 

LR:Where else can the audience see your work?
KL: My work can be found on the [OVAC] Virtual Gallery and I usually post on my tumblr. 
I welcome anyone interested to contact me either on Facebook or my email below. 

Momentum OKC features visual art by 101 young Oklahomans. The exhibition remains on display until March 10, with artist talks at 6pm at the Farmer's Public Market OKC, 311 S Klein. Learn more or buy tickets at www.MomentumOklahoma.org

Programming Identity: Momentum Artist Amy Sanders

This post is part of our series on Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition's Momentum OKC 2014. Momentum exhibits Oklahoma artists ages 30 and younger in a venue created specifically for them, helping them gain experience and meet new audiences. Today we are featuring Momentum artist Amy Sanders from Norman, OK.

Laura Reese: What is your concept and inspiration for this piece in Momentum?
Amy Sanders: Ghost is based on an exploration of identity and place--of self-awareness and of perception of the self in particular places.  It was inspired by my return from a trip to my room, and the feelings that came with that moment.  When walking back into my room, I had felt that I was entering a dead person's room, that the person that once lived there was no longer around.  I felt like a ghost in my previous life, and I could no longer understand why I lived my life the way I had before.  Looking at the things in my room, it was clear to me that everything was placed or arranged in a particular way for a specific reason--but I could not remember those reasons.  When I think back on this experience, I picture a ghost form of myself meeting a dead, physical form of myself after spending some time apart.  Both know they should recognize the other, but there is a sense of unfamiliarity that ultimately overwhelms the two.  Eventually, the ghost--the newer form, the side of me that changed over spring break--takes over, making changes in the room and erasing any mark the “corpse” had left before.  

still from Ghost by Amy Sanders

The code breaks up the aforementioned experience into three parts--return, interaction, and takeover.  The code consists of various elements overlapping or taking place at once, to symbolize the tension between the ghost’s and the corpse’s feelings and thought processes, especially since they are, in a sense, the same person.   In the sequences produced by the code, a “dead” figure is displayed in the background.  In one corner, one word at a time displays on a loop describing the emotions and thoughts of the “corpse” as it sees the ghost enter the room.  A single, glowing white orb grows in another corner, multiplies, and moves across the entire screen, which represents the ghost’s presence taking over.  A clock is also shown, indicating that the process continues to take place over time.  A viewer may take part in the interaction, moving the mouse and clicking to distort the dialogue between the two sides.  This interactivity allows someone to become a part of the already tense and cluttered conversation by visually translating that chaos with their mouse movements.

LR: Please explain the technique and/or process you used to create this work.
AS: I created the piece using Processing, a computer programming language and application.  When I began conceptualizing the art piece, code immediately jumped out as the best way to translate my idea and aesthetics into a visual piece.  I had done video, 2D and 3D works, but code was fairly new to me.  I desired a piece with compelling and transient aesthetics, as well as the logic of coding and unpredictability of interactivity, all of which I found appealing for this specific concept.  While the piece is not part of a series, it incorporates identity and place, themes I explore in much of my art practice, as well as light, an important element in my artwork.  

My works are all viewable online at www.amysandersart.com

Momentum OKC opens March 7 & 8 with live music, performance, and visual art by 101 young Oklahomans. The exhibition remains on display until March 10 at the Farmer's Public Market OKC, 311 S Klein. Learn more or buy tickets at www.MomentumOklahoma.org

Futuristic Botanicals: Momentum Artist Kyle Van Osdol

This post is part of our series on Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition's Momentum OKC 2014. Momentum exhibits Oklahoma artists ages 30 and younger in a venue created specifically for them, helping them gain experience and meet new audiences. Today we are featuring Momentum artist Kyle Van Osdol from Oklahoma City, OK.

Laura Reese: What is your concept and inspiration for this piece in Momentum?
Kyle Van Osdol: The concept behind the COSMOPOD series comes from the idea of melding neo-futuristic technology with botanical elements. The thought is to bring life to unique plants that could only exist in a digital realm.


COSMOPOD PROMO from K. Edward Van Osdol on Vimeo.LR: Please explain the technique and/or process you used to create this work.
KVD: The process comes from utilizing a 3D modeling platform called Cinema 4D. With this I am able to model, texture, rig, light and animate all of the fantastical elements.

LR:Where else can the audience see your work?
KVD: You can checkout some of the COSMOPODS currently at Science Museum Oklahoma in the Satellite Gallery or go investigate my vimeo page at https://vimeo.com/user1324792

Momentum OKC opens March 7 & 8 with live music, performance, and visual art by 101 young Oklahomans. The exhibition remains on display until March 10 at the Farmer's Public Market OKC, 311 S Klein. Learn more or buy tickets at www.MomentumOklahoma.org

Poking Fun at Art: Momentum Artist Cayla Lewis

This post is part of our series on Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition's Momentum OKC 2014. Momentum exhibits Oklahoma artists ages 30 and younger in a venue created specifically for them, helping them gain experience and meet new audiences. Today we are featuring Momentum artist Cayla Lewis from Oklahoma City, OK.

Laura Reese: What is your concept and inspiration for this piece in Momentum?
Cayla Lewis: The next two questions really relate to each other. I like art... but I also really like to poke fun at art, question "what is art," and normally make things that people wouldn't consider "art." My initial inspiration for this series (which I'll explain in the next question) came from artist Marina Ambromovic's piece, "The Artist is Present." The gist of her performance is that she simply sits in an open gallery space at a table with a chair across from it, welcoming guests to sit across from her. The artist is the art. This piece will be me, behind a frame, being the art. In my mind, it's pretty tongue in cheek, but like I said, I like to poke fun at what art is and challenge what it could be. Viewers will coast through the gallery, looking at lovely paintings and sculptures but will hopefully stop and laugh and think and question when they see my performance. Also, who's to say I'm not a piece of art anyway? I'd like to consider myself a dang masterpiece! 

Cayla Lewis, Oklahoma City, “The Artist Is”, Performance Mock Up 

LR: Is this work part of a series?
CL: Yes. As a follow-up and ode to Marina Ambromovic's "The Artist is Present," this will be the second performance in my personal series following up "The Artist is Not Present," in which I went to a very popular event (during a performance art show I helped organize with Molly O'Connor) and communicated only via social media. I had a hashtag #theartistisnotpresent to follow up with anyone wanting to communicate. "The Artist Is" will likely be similar, as I will be mute during the performance, much like art on the wall - you can't necessarily physically communicate with it, but it can still mean something to you and cause a person to think past the surface. 

LR: What do you like about performance work?
CL: I started writing this, "the biggest thing I like about performance art..." scratch that, "the two biggest thing I like..." and so on and so forth. That being said, I like a lot of things about performance art. I like the ephemerality of most performance art pieces, how you have to be present at the time of the performance to ever really see it. I like actions. I love art but have never been super interested in staring at pretty paintings on the wall, performance art takes art to an entirely new dimension and also brings in the fact that an action, a person, an event... can be the art. I know it's not the most widely accepted/understood form of art, but that is maybe another reason why I'm drawn to it. 

I personally also like performing. I would never call myself a "performer," I'm shy and a super introvert but being the main product/medium of an art work is really exciting and motivating. I'm not a very opinionated person but I feel like performance art lets me show my perspectives about art in a unique way. 

You can see my work at http://www.caylalewisart.blogspot.com/.

Momentum OKC opens March 7 & 8 with live music, performance, and visual art by 101 young Oklahomans. The exhibition remains on display until March 10 at the Farmer's Public Market OKC, 311 S Klein. Learn more or buy tickets at www.MomentumOklahoma.org

Blended Textures:Momentum Artist Anna Lee

This post is part of our series on Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition's Momentum OKC 2014. Momentum exhibits Oklahoma artists ages 30 and younger in a venue created specifically for them, helping them gain experience and meet new audiences. Today we are featuring Momentum artist Anna Lee from Oklahoma City, OK.

Laura Reese: What is your concept and inspiration for this piece in Momentum?

Anna Lee: Photography is my medium as an artist, but I’m also a graphic designer, so these pieces seek to combine those two elements. My pieces in Momentum this year are titled "Geometry 101”. I’m currently very drawn to geometric shapes being used as an artistic aesthetic, especially as a way to affect photographs. I like the combination of the organic landscapes in the photos and the hard lines of the digital shapes. It creates somewhat of a futurist sentiment for me.

Anna Lee, Oklahoma City, “Geometry 101 #2”,
Photography & Digital Art (printed on wood), 18x24, $250

LR: Please explain the technique and/or process you used to create this work.

AL: The photos were taken digitally while on trips in other states and countries. At the time, I was not taking them with an artistic end result in mind- just documenting my trips. However, they ended up being what I needed to execute my vision when I imagined this series. After toning the photos as I generally do, I overlaid the geometric shapes using Adobe Illustrator and Photoshop. The compositions are printed on wood to add another layer of blended texture.

Anna Lee, Oklahoma City, “Geometry 101 #1”,
Photography & Digital Art (printed on wood), 18x24, $250

LR: Is this work part of a series?

The two pieces that will be in Momentum do create a series that I hope to add more compositions to in the future.

Where else can the audience see your work? (website, gallery, etc.)

More of my photography work (portrait and art) can be seen on my website, blog, and social connections:

www.annaleemedia.com

twitter: @annaleemedia

instagram: @annaleemedia

tumblr: annaleemedia
Momentum OKC opens March 7 & 8 with live music, performance, and visual art by 101 young Oklahomans. The exhibition remains on display until March 10 at the Farmer's Public Market OKC, 311 S Klein. Learn more or buy tickets at www.MomentumOklahoma.org

Defining Selectivity: Momentum Artist Jenna Bryan

This post is part of our series on Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition's Momentum OKC 2014. Momentum exhibits Oklahoma artists ages 30 and younger in a venue created specifically for them, helping them gain experience and meet new audiences. Today we are featuring Momentum artist Jenna Bryan from Norman, OK.

Laura Reese: What is your concept and inspiration for this piece in Momentum?
Jenna Bryan: My work, "High Brow Low Brow" is probably one of my most straight forward pieces in terms of concept. As a recent college graduate in fine arts and a manager for a commercial print shop, I am constantly hopping between "low" and "high" art. It has been very interesting to see how others define art and what qualifies something as good art. For me, there is no specific answer or formula for good art and have difficulty trying to define it. In the same way, I have difficulty limiting my art to any certain standard or genre. I find it extremely entertaining what makes something more important than something else. This piece sort of trivializes the whole idea of high brow and low brow art by using playful imagery of eyebrows and mixing them interchangeably.

Jenna Bryan, Norman, “High Brow Low Brow”, Woodblock Print, 24x18, $80

LR: Please explain the technique and/or process you used to create this work.
JB: Primarily my work involves some form of printmaking. I gravitate more towards printmaking because it allows me to create multiples of my image so that I am able to reach more people with my work and offer more affordable prices. For this print, I chose to do a woodcut in which I played with positive and negative space. On a piece of MDF, I cut the line work and text into the block to make the Low Brow image. For the High Brow image, I cut around the brow and text. The block was then printed on a press with relief ink.

LR: Is this work part of a series?

JB: This work is a solo piece although, it is strongly connected to a previous work, "The Poop Block Series," in both appearance and concept. Both works share existentialistic themes that cause the viewer to question the significances of anything and everything. However, I think there is a light-heartedness that leaves a more optimistic after taste. There is somehow comfort and great responsibility in knowing that we are the ones who give things importance.

LR: Where else can the audience see your work? 
http://thingsthatcomeoutofme.tumblr.com/

Momentum OKC opens March 7 & 8 with live music, performance, and visual art by 101 young Oklahomans. The exhibition remains on display until March 10 at the Farmer's Public Market OKC, 311 S Klein. Learn more or buy tickets at www.MomentumOklahoma.org

Nostalgic Collages: Momentum Artist Christopher Lee

This post is part of our series on Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition's Momentum OKC 2014. Momentum exhibits Oklahoma artists ages 30 and younger in a venue created specifically for them, helping them gain experience and meet new audiences. Today we are featuring Momentum artist Christopher Lee from Oklahoma City, OK.

Laura Reese: What is your concept and inspiration for this piece in Momentum?

Christopher Lee: I attempt to sustain emotion through fragmented imagery and tonal collage work by creating moments that feel nostalgic and meaningful for the viewer, amidst the ever changing visual landscape. '1984' represents my birth year, but I think that year can insinuate different meanings to the audience, drawing their conclusions due to their own experiences or the literary work based off the same title.  

Christopher Lee, Oklahoma City, “1984”, Digital, 20 X 27, $500

LR: Please explain the technique and/or process you used to create this work.
CL: I enjoy showcasing my love of printmaking and found type through a process involving forgotten design layouts and artworks, multiple textures(found or photographed) and other typographic elements. In this case, I collected imagery from 1984. I like the idea of taking images or type from pre-existing layouts and taking them out of context to convey a completely different mood or meaning. I bring these images into the computer where I'm able to try multiple layouts and layering before finalizing a piece.

LR: Is this work part of a series?
CL: No, it's not part of a series, but most of my work follows the same themes of found images and typographic manipulations.

LR: Where else can the audience see your work?
CL: My work can be found at insertemotion.com, which also includes my design work and photography.

Momentum OKC opens March 7 & 8 with live music, performance, and visual art by 101 young Oklahomans. The exhibition remains on display until March 10 at the Farmer's Public Market OKC, 311 S Klein. Learn more or buy tickets at www.MomentumOklahoma.org

Material Perceptions: Momentum OKC Artist Erin Raux

This post is part of our series on Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition's Momentum OKC 2014. Momentum exhibits Oklahoma artists ages 30 and younger in a venue created specifically for them, helping them gain experience and meet new audiences. Today we are featuring Momentum artist Erin Raux from Norman, OK.

Laura Reese: What is your concept and inspiration for this piece in Momentum?
Erin Raux: Savoy Truffle and many other works I create are continually affected by a fluid social environment and the ever-changing definitions of gender. The inconsistency of how a person is perceived and how a person desires to be perceived weighs heavily in my practice.  My work is an instinctive progression of gathering, sorting, and associating in order to evoke and define volume and space. Using a wide range of mainly domestic and mundane consumables, I explore their captivating qualities and sense of tactility in a manner that addresses humanity without utilizing the human form until recently. I have a desire to unite materials that are stereotypically labeled as feminine or masculine. I acquire materials from across social divisions to create new identity and re-define or invade predefined roles and preconceived notions. 

Erin Raux, Norman, “Savoy Truffle”, found metal ring,
kneehighs, casted plaster teeth, wax, 12 X 12, $300

In the work I create, objects are accumulated and given a new form and community. The original products achieve new meaning, but they also are the bridge between the viewer and the new ideas and questions I propose. They are physical proof of our lives, and therefore allow viewers to connect with the work by way of their existing, past, and fantasy relationships with ordinary things.  I seek to evoke a sense of wonder, humor, mischief and sexual innuendo through familiar, intrinsically understated objects. 
Teeth are strange unique things, especially when they are removed from their original context, the body.  Once removed from their origin I believe they address identity.  Without scientific research, one cannot decipher whether the teeth belonged to a male or female, etc.  In this way I feel the piece is masking identity or taking it away.

LR: Please explain the technique and/or process you used to create this work.
ER: I feel that a majority of my time spent in the studio is playing. I collect found objects and materials that are innately interesting to me. I spend my time addressing these objects and pairing them with others to create a dialogue. I found the metal ring, I love that rust! Through trial and error I then pulled a knee-high stocking over the ring. It’s amazing how far a knee-high can stretch.  The teeth are plaster casts. I shoved them into the same kind of knee-high I used for the ring and dipped them in wax just over the teeth and then placed them inside the knee-high encased ring. The title Savoy Truffle comes from the Beatles song… “But you have to have them all pulled out after the Savoy truffle…”

LR: Is this work part of a series?
ER: I suppose it is because I’ve been using the teeth in other works, but I haven’t really thought of it as belonging to a series.

LR: Where else can audiences see your work?
ER: I have an upcoming show at the De Mattias Fine Art Center’s Steckline Gallery at Newman University in Wichita, Kansas on March 28th from 5pm-8pm.  A selection of work can also be viewed @ erinraux.wix.com/erinraux

Momentum OKC opens March 7 & 8 with live music, performance, and visual art by 101 young Oklahomans. The exhibition remains on display until March 10 at the Farmer's Public Market OKC, 311 S Klein. Learn more or buy tickets at www.MomentumOklahoma.org

Gems and Symmetry: Momentum OKC Artist Alaina Hunt

This post is part of our series on Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition's Momentum OKC 2014. Momentum exhibits Oklahoma artists ages 30 and younger in a venue created specifically for them, helping them gain experience and meet new audiences. Today we are featuring Momentum artist Alaina Hunt from Norman, OK.

Laura Reese: What is your concept and inspiration for this piece in Momentum?

Alaina Hunt: My chief inspiration for delta II and many of my other pieces comes from my fascination with how gems and minerals form in nature and the minute intricacies that every specimen has that make it exceptional in its own way.  

LR: Please explain the technique and/or process you used to create this work.

AH: Over the years I've collected hundreds of specimen photos and have even taken some of my own specimen photos and used them in my digital collages.  I like to create my own superclusters of minerals or highlight a particular feature of a specific specimen through digital collage to bring out the its unique aesthetic properties.  The tiniest facet, scratch, or inclusion, when mirrored or layered digitally, can change the way you see the mineral entirely.  

 

chrysocolla, celestite, smoky quartz, native silver and arsenic  (delta II)by Alaina Hunt, photo collage, digital print, $75

LR: Is this work part of a series?

AH: delta II is the second piece in a three-piece series examining the geometric harmony of the triangle illustrated through shapes found in my favorite mineral specimens.  

Where else can the audience see your work? (website, gallery, etc)

The delta series as well as my other digital works can be viewed on my website http://www.alaina-hunt.tumblr.com

Momentum Tulsa opens March 7 & 8 with live music, performance, and visual art by 98 young Oklahomans. The exhibition remains on display until March 10 at the Farmer's Public Market OKC, 311 S Klein. Learn more or buy tickets at www.MomentumOklahoma.org

Constructed Ephemera: Momentum OKC 2014 Spotlight Artist Elliott Robbins

As a part of Momentum OKC, three artists received $2,000 Momentum Spotlight commissions to create new artwork with feedback from guest curators, Nathan Lee and Samantha Dillehay. Selected Momentum Spotlight artists are Eli Casiano of Oklahoma City, Elliott Robbins of Midwest City, and Katy Seals of Norman.

Acutely aware of art history, and unsatisfied with its presented diversity, Elliott Robbins creates his own narratives, inserting himself into art history to build his own, more accurately representational stories. Robbins received one of three Spotlight awards for his project “Constructed Ephemera”, debuting at Momentum March 7th & 8th.

Into the Vortex, Elliott Robbins, Woodblock, 27x21”, 2012

Using sculpey clay and found objects, Robbins’ spotlight project will feature three figures, approximately 3' tall, in various stages of development, showing the progression of his self-referential protagonist. Featuring mobile suits, props and sets for an imaginary landscape, the installation creates a narrative for the viewers, and recontextualizes the toy in a fine art setting.

Inspired by Kara Walker, Disney and Japanese toy designers, Robbins' inserts himself into various narratives to defy historical norms.  His young, black, male protagonist travels through his printed work and sculpture to re-examine history and its telling.

    

process shot of Momentum Spotlight Artist Elliott Robbins working 

Interested in the “narrative of American Illustration,” Robbins’ work references and appropriates art history to question traditional narratives. His protagonist confronts the “omission of blackness” in art history and creates a new narrative to challenge previous historical exclusivity.

Submissions for Momentum OKC are due by January 27, 2014 at 5 pm. Oklahoma artists aged 30 and younger are eligible. Momentum OKC opens March 7-8, 8-midnight, at the Farmer's Public Market, OKC. www.MomentumOklahoma.org

End-in-Itself: Momentum OKC 2014 Spotlight Artist Eli Casiano

As a part of Momentum OKC, three artists received $2,000 Momentum Spotlight commissions to create new artwork with feedback from guest curators, Nathan Lee and Samantha Dillehay. Selected Momentum Spotlight artists are Eli Casiano of Oklahoma City, Elliott Robbins of Midwest City, and Katy Seals of Norman.

Blending painting, sculpture and sound, artist Eli Casiano explores the false sense of pleasure perpetuated by media and society. Casiano was awarded one of three Spotlight awards for his project “End-in-Itself”, which debuts at Momentum March 7^th & 8^th.

process shot from End-in-Itself by Eli Casiano, acrylic, 2014

Casiano’s project includes four 5x5’ square canvases arranged around a cube, each side emitting audio loop, composed of musical arrangements related to the imagery. Suspended from the ceiling of the venue, this sculpture will confront the viewer with bright depictions of familiar pop-culture images and “skewed musical progressions.”

Rehashing images from movies, comics and TV, Casiano’s work draws in viewers with its recognizable imagery while challenging our connections to these representations. Casiano’s paintings and sounds mimic the bombardment of information we face in an age of increasing technological communication. 

Momentum Spotlight Artist Eli Casiano working on his project

Concerned with hedonism and its consequences on cultural identity, Casiano‘s dark mash-ups interrogate our culture that glorifies an unachievable end through wealth and sex. These colorful and elaborate hybrids question our reasoning and act as “metaphors for bodily transformation, depravity, and sexual aspirations.”

Submissions for Momentum OKC are due by January 27, 2014 at 5 pm. Oklahoma artists aged 30 and younger are eligible. Momentum OKC opens March 7-8, 8-midnight, at the Farmer's Public Market, OKC. www.MomentumOklahoma.org

Honky Tonk Ennui - Momentum OKC 2014 Spotlight Artist Katy Seals

As a part of Momentum OKC, three artists received $2,000 Momentum Spotlight commissions to create new artwork with feedback from guest curators, Nathan Lee and Samantha Dillehay. Selected Momentum Spotlight artists are Eli Casiano of Oklahoma City, Elliott Robbins of Midwest City, and Katy Seals of Norman.

Airing dirty laundry, artist Katy Seals explores the complicated emotions brought up by divorce. Seals received one of three Spotlight awards for her project “Honky Tonk Ennui”, debuting at Momentum March 7th & 8th.

Preliminary sketch for "Honky Tonk Ennui" by Katy Seals

The installation includes twenty pieces of over-sized women’s underwear, embroidered with lyrics from the Kitty Wells’ song “Honky Tonk Angels.” These lyrics are embroidered by hand, and lend rawness to the delicate fabric. The work is staged as a laundry line, poles anchoring the cords from which the garments are hung, moving private items typically found in a rural residence, to a public sphere accessible by many.

Not only does Seals' work display the uncomfortable emotions of divorce and separation of a relationship, by enhancing the size and scale of these intimate garments, she confronts the viewer, and makes the topic unavoidable. Seals invites viewers to interact with the laundry, in turn becoming a witnessing party to an overwhelming event like divorce.

Katy Seals and her spotlight project in process

A witness to divorce, Seals herself has struggled with the emotions involved in fractured relationships. This work attempts to deal with these difficult emotions through simulating the experience for the viewer: going through someone else’s dirty laundry.

Seals is “interested in creating a visual commentary on low-brow American culture and folklore” and in “Honky Tonk Ennui” the country-western lyrics along with large scale laundry on a line create an interesting dynamic of both sharing intimate feelings, while laughing with, but not at, the appearance of rural American sub-culture.

Submissions for Momentum OKC are due by January 27, 2014 at 5 pm. Oklahoma artists aged 30 and younger are eligible. Momentum OKC opens March 7-8, 8-midnight, at the Farmer's Public Market, OKC. www.MomentumOklahoma.org

"It's your show" - Artist Bryan Cook on Momentum

This post is part of our series on Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition's Momentum OKC 2014. For young artists, Momentum is often the first major group show, and a great experience. But, the application process, and potential rejection, can seem intimidating. In an attempt to demystify the process, I sat down with various artists to discover their experience with Momentum. Today we are featuring highlights from an interview with artist and Momentum committee co-chair Bryan Cook.

Bryan Cook, OKC, Coconino National Forest, Photograph, in 2011 Momentum exhibition

Laura Reese: Could you tell me a bit about your experience with Momentum as an artist?
Bryan Cook: The first Momentum I was part of was 2011. It was the first show I sold something in.

I think it played its role perfectly; I learned about the things expected of a submitting artist, watching people look at my work, of course the initial surprise and satisfaction of selling work, the things Momentum is about. Without hesitation I credit my initial experience with Momentum for anything I may have been able to pull off since then.

Momentum OKC Co-Chairs Bryon Chambers & Bryan Cook
(photo by Angela Hodgkinson)

LR: What is your experience as a committee member?
BC: If you have something to say about the show, how it's presented, promoted, or otherwise handled, being on the committee is the way to make yourself heard. I've learned a lot about show organization, committee operation, fundraising, and promotion of events.

I've also been lucky to work with some really great people who are dedicated to making it better than the last year. Those are committee members, volunteers, and OVAC staff.

LR: What does Momentum offer to artists?
BC: It's one of the biggest and most accessible shows in Oklahoma, and it's about young and emerging artists. If you're new, or have a new idea, it's your show.

LR: How have you been impacted by Momentum?

BC: I wouldn't have an art practice without [Momentum].

LR: Do you have any encouraging words for young artists who want to apply to Momentum?  
BC: Submit. You aren't the one that decides if your work belongs in any show. That role belongs to someone else. Your job is to show them what you can do.

Submissions for Momentum OKC are due by January 27, 2014 at 5 pm. Oklahoma artists aged 30 and younger are eligible. Momentum OKC opens March 7-8, 8-midnight, at the Farmer's Public Market, OKC.

Samantha Dillehay - Emerging Curator Momentum OKC 2014

This post is part of our series on Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition's Momentum OKC 2014. 

Guest curators for Momentum OKC are Inclusion in Art founder and artist Nathan Lee and emerging curator, Samantha Dillehay. I had the privilege of communicating with Dillehay via e-mail to understand more about her background and process as Emerging Curator of Momentum OKC 2014. Below are highlights from our question and answer session.

What is your interest in curating? Where do you think this stems from?
I feel that as an artist it is important to know the process of the creative life from all angles. So, curating is just another branch to explore.

Samantha Dillehay interacting with art work

As a past Momentum Artist, what do you think you can bring from that experience to curating?
 Having been on both sides of the fence, I would like to be a more proactive curator.  I think there is a barrier between the artist and the curator that needs to be more relaxed.

What do you find to be the most important thing about Momentum in the role of young artists?
Exposure and experience! All young artists need that first show to feel a little bit of confidence in their work. Momentum is the diving board for young artists, and Oklahoma is the pool. 

Samantha Dillehay Private Life, Momentum Tulsa 2012 Spotlight

What did Momentum provide for you?
 So many things! Momentum gave me the opportunity to network with so many local artists, and arts advocates across the state. When I was a spotlight artist, it allowed me to create a body of work that had lived in my sketch book for months. Now it is giving me the experience to know both sides of the field, from creating to curating. 

Anything else you’d like to add?
For me, curating should be about selecting the work that seems to be participating in a larger conversation than what an individual piece is saying.

Submissions for Momentum OKC are due by January 27, 2014 at 5 pm. Oklahoma artists aged 30 and younger are eligible. Momentum OKC opens March 7-8, 8-midnight, at the Farmer's Public Market, OKC.

Nathan Lee: Momentum OKC 2014 Curator

This post is part of our series on Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition's Momentum OKC 2014. 

Guest curators for Momentum OKC are Inclusion in Art founder and artist Nathan Lee and emerging curator, Samantha Dillehay.

Acting as curator for Momentum OKC 2014, Nathan Lee is an artist, curator and art activist from Oklahoma City.

Lee is no stranger to Momentum, as his art was in the very first Momentum in 2002. Since then, he had served on the committee in 2003 and was part of the initial team that helped mold Momentum into the event we know today.

Nathan Lee, Momentum OKC 2014 curator

Nathan Lee is founder and Executive Director of Inclusion in Art, an  non-profit dedicated to promoting racial diversity in Oklahoma's visual arts community. Through Inclusion in Art, Lee helps promote emerging and established artists of color and connects them with resources and opportunities.

Protection by Nathan Lee 

Lee's art explores the figure through multi-disciplinary techniques. 
He also co-produced the film TRANSCEND, which explores the lives of five black artists working in Oklahoma. This film was shown recently at the IN COLOR film festival.

Lee has recently founded Creative Entrepreneur Support, a company that helps creative professionals grow for the next stage in their career by helping develop methods of organization for success.

Submissions for Momentum OKC are due by January 27, 2014 at 5 pm. Oklahoma artists aged 30 and younger are eligible. Momentum OKC opens March 7-8, 8-midnight, at the Farmer's Public Market, OK

"Everyone Wins" - Artist Alexandra Knox on Momentum

This post is part of our series on Oklahoma Visual Arts Coalition's Momentum OKC 2014. For young artists, Momentum is often the first major group show, and a great experience. But, the application process, and potential rejection, can seem intimidating. In an attempt to demystify the process, I sat down with various artists to discover their experience with Momentum. Today we are featuring highlights from an interview with artist, professor and Momentum committee member Alexandra Knox.

A current Art 365 Artist, Alexandra Knox credits some of her artistic success to Momentum.
"I have found that my confidence in my work and myself has been boosted, as well as my communication skills with curators and gallery directors," Knox said of Momentum.

Knox performing at Momentum OKC 2012

Though she has seen major successes with her art career, Knox is no stranger to rejection. "The first time I applied to Momentum, I was not accepted," said Knox. However, she used this rejection to propel her artistic practice. " I went to [Momentum] to see what my competition was, and what I needed to do to be one of those artists.  I used that opportunity to educate myself, and it worked."

Momentum does not just hold value for those young artists who do get in, however, as Knox is eager to point out: "Momentum offers the Oklahoma community a chance to educate the public on contemporary art. The opening nights for Momentum also give press to bands and local music, which just enhances the local and homegrown creative scenes of Oklahoma.  Everyone wins."

As a member of the committee Knox also gets to use her experience to benefit the next generation of Momentum artists "I feel as though since I am a veteran of Momentum, I can contribute some valuable information that can help create the best Momentum yet," she said.

Knox in her studio

What does Alexandra Knox have to say about the application process?

"Some encouraging words for young artists wanting to apply to Momentum:  JUST DO IT!  I have observed many students and young artists that are afraid of rejection and failure.  But ya can't win if you don't play, and you have to be able to take rejection as an artist.And even if you don't get accepted this time, go to the opening-- OVAC can put on a great party!"

For more information on Momentum OKC 2014 and how to submit as an artist, visit www.MomentumOklahoma.org

Submissions for Momentum OKC are due by January 27, 2014 at 5 pm. Oklahoma artists aged 30 and younger are eligible. Momentum OKC opens March 7-8, 8-midnight, at the Farmer's Public Market, OKC.