Reactions from Nigel's Critique

     I have to say that while I enjoyed having the time to meet with Nigel in person and speak about my work, the critique itself was somewhat unhelpful. Nigel's background as a photographer was drastically different from the work that I create, and I could often sense that distance during our conversation. Nigel also mentioned that the fact that she didn't know me or my work made it difficult for her to give her opinion or offer any helpful suggestions. Yet, she was able to come into the critique as an audience member of sorts, which allowed me to gain a different kind of perspective on my work. 

     One thing that we did have in common was our fascination with collections, especially those of natural history museums. Nigel had the chance during college to work in a natural history museum's entomology department where she learned how to pin insects for display. It is where her interest was first sparked in using bugs as a subject in some of her earlier photographs. 

     Nigel thought that the strongest aspect of my work was the white background which I seem to employ in all of my pieces. She mentioned that it often gave an eery quality to my work and reference the rawness of nature. 

      While our critique was rather rushed, I was able to quickly mention my plan with the specimen paintings. Nigel liked the graphite drawings much more than the paintings. To her, the paintings often lacked something in the colors that the were painted in. I didn't quite understand what she meant by this.... 

Anyhow, I am off to work on a large sculpture collaboration with Stephanie Biller! We decided to collaborate at the beginning of this week on a very large installation that will incorporate surrealism, animal forms, and a play upon multiples. We are hoping that it will move both of our bodies of work forward once it is complete! 

PS - Please ignore the crappy quality of the image below, but for those who were not able to see, this is a recent specimen painting I completed of an Allen's Hummingbird. It was created in the illusionistic style of William Harnett who painted objects as though they were sitting directly on top of the surface of the wood.