Artist and Educator

I produce work that is often situated around a specific person, community, or place.  My projects are rooted in the relationships that I develop with others, and my subjects span a broad range—from the men of a dying religious order, to women living in a YWCA residence hall, to a variety of performers (a choir, a conductor, a Michael Jackson impersonator).  With background in photography, I use the camera to initiate contact with people I would otherwise not encounter, to gain access to a particular community or site, and to familiarize myself with the unfamiliar.  As an artist, what I struggle with, and what I have interest in examining further, is the tension between the relationships formed in a community and the role of the “artist”, who is ultimately in charge of the work.  When it comes to the final product, who decides what is revealed and what is not?  Can the relationship be equal- and what are some of the ways to create this?  The tension between the role-of subject and director—is at times unsettling, but provides a space to inform a dialogue about current models and ethics of working within communities.