Intern Farewell: DesRee Taylor

 

Photo of me working on images for the website

It’s hard to believe the end of August is almost here and that my time at Flower City Arts Center is almost over. Reflecting on my time here, I have learned so much and had many great experiences. While I was here I kept a log of what I did everyday, and looking at it now there are a few projects and experiences that really stand out to me.

Photo of the Images I hung by the film drying station

One of my favorite projects of the entire summer was one of the first things I did, and that was reorganizing and archiving the class files. While that may sound painfully boring to many, I really enjoyed it and it was an important experience for me as a museum studies student as I think it helped me realize what type of work I’d like to do in the future. The other experience that stood out to me was being able to join the Studio Photography for Teens class on their field trip to the George Eastman Museum. I had the opportunity to meet David Levinthal and hear him speak about his own work as well as his process. I was also able to work with some of the artists in residence here and be present on the Flower City Arts Center’s social media. One experience that combined these things was when I was able to be a part of the live Instagram interview with AIR Megan May. Of course, these were not the only experiences that left an impression on me; everything I did here taught me something.

Photo I took during the field trip to the George Eastman Museum

Without Flower City Arts Center and the amazing staff here, I would not have had any of these experiences or opportunities and I am so grateful for the time that I have spent here. From the youth program, to the artist in residency program, to the internship program, and everything else this center has to offer, Flower City Arts Center is a unique part of the Rochester community and I am thankful that I was able to be a part of it for these past three months. I value the time that I have spent here so much, and I hope that my departure isn’t a “goodbye” and is more of a “see ya later”.

Photo of me with AIR Megan May after her live Instagram interview

A Day at the Museum

I had the opportunity to tag along with the Studio Photography for Teens class on their trip to the George Eastman Museum and document the experience. At the Museum we all met David Levinthal who gave us a tour of the exhibition of his work, David Levinthal: War, Myth, Desire. As he walked us though the exhibition Levinthal explained how he began taking photographs of toys and where the inspiration for many of his photos came from. He talked about his love for history and how it has influenced so much of his work over the years, and how pure experimentation and curiosity has affected his work as well.

Levinthal stated that problem solving is a very important part of this work. In fact, he said that was one of the main reasons he began to take photos of toys to begin with. He explained that early on he didn’t like to shoot in a studio and the toy dioramas allowed him to shoot almost anywhere and use simple lighting techniques as opposed to large studio lights.

At one point in the exhibition we saw an example of a diorama he had used. We got to see first hand the scale of the sets he was working with as he explained where he got his materials from, and how he composed many of his dioramas. He also showed us the notes and small stick figure drawings that he makes when planing out a diorama. He stated that he often has an image in his head and used this method to create it.

After Levinthal had walked us though the exhibition and explained his process and the thought behind much of his work, the students had a few moments to roam and take everything in for themselves. We then returned to Flower City Arts Center, where the students then had the opportunity to show Levinthal some of their own work. He helped them with their dioramas and he gave them some tips on how to get them to perform the way they want, as well as feedback on their photos. Then he stayed and talked with the students about their work and their interest in photography until it was time for the students to clean up for the day.

Over the next couple of days the students continued to work and create their own photos in the style of David Levinthal. Not only did the students take digital photos of their dioramas but they had the opportunity to use a Fujifilm Instax Wide instant film camera. After compiling so many great images the students crated an online exhibition of their own work.

Two Classes Made for Summer

Nature Photography

Whether you want to take the picture of a lifetime on a wild outdoor adventure or capture the squirrel in your back yard, this class can teach you all about the techniques you need to hone your nature photography skills. For more info & to register>>

Sports Photography: Red Wings

Take me out to the ball game! And learn how to take great pictures. In this  class you can learn all about sports photography and how to get those perfect action shots! For more info & to register>>

Get to Know Your Instructor: Jeremy Pinsonneault

Jeremy Pinsonneault is an instructor in the Photography and Digital Arts Department as well as an artist in residence in the Printmaking and Book Arts Department. Some of the classes Jeremy teaches in the Photography and Digital Arts Department are Intro to Illustrator, an advanced Illustrator Projects Workshop,  Intro to Photoshop, and Wild About WordPress. 

What is your favorite subject matter to cover in class?

  • I enjoy covering different processes that have the best return on time invested. Everything I teach in the photo department is digitally based.  Because of this, it’s good to be cognizant of how much time is being spent in front of a screen. My favorite lessons are where a new tool is introduced that automates things you would otherwise need to do manually. Learn enough of these and you’ll find that you’re spending less and less time tied to a machine and more time enjoying the real world.

How long have you been an instructor here?

  • It’s going to be one year in August and I’m very excited about continuing.

What do you hope students take away from your class?

  • There are a few common ideas that I try to emphasize in all the classes that I teach. A lot of them focus on productivity, the general takeaway that you don’t have to spend your life in front of a monitor.
  • In teaching, I’ve noticed that a lot of my students have tried to learn the program before but have been unsuccessful. In my class I tell my students to ask me how to do something as many times as they like until it’s finally explained in a way that resonates with them. This is a community arts center and everyone has found us and is taking the class for different purposes. There’s nothing more rewarding than having someone exclaim in class “I finally get it!”

What is your favorite thing about Flower City Arts Center?

  • The supportive community and the different disciplines that are offered here. Being here you are able to interact with such a variety of people from all walks and stages of life. There is always something to be learned or a connection to make. There are people who have their work in museums and are so very friendly with imparting advice and knowledge.

Do you have a catchphrase? If not, what would you make your catchphrase if you had to choose one? Why?

  • “You Got This” – I have come to find that when it comes to learning art people are apprehensive because they are very unsure where to start. They look at working artists who are very prolific and are immediately cast in doubt in regards to their own abilities. Some of the most interesting solutions and art I have seen has come from those who have a different perspective precisely because they haven’t been an artist for all their life. With sincere encouragement it’s truly inspiring to see people becoming more confident in themselves and their artistic voice.

If you had a superpower what would it be?

    • The superpower I’d love to have: The ability to understand and speak all languages, including the tongues of the animal kingdom!
    • The superpower that I’m more realistically likely to have: Having two incredibly useful points of information on any topic that exists.
If you’d like to learn more about Jeremy, or see more of his work check out his online portfolio and photography website.

Where to Begin?

When beginning to look at something as dynamic as identity, it can be challenging to know where to begin.

 

Who am I?

What am I? 

Why am I?

 

These sort of questions have always been of interest to me. I’ve studied Buddhism to  Vedic Theology, Philosophy, Christianity, History, Society and Psychology, Critical Feminist Theory, Human Sexuality, Neuropathology.

I’m a seeker and a life-long learner.

 

Ultimately, I think I am interested in answers of harmony, expression, creativity, connection, personal accountability, wisdom, justice, and mystery.

 

For me, the use of the Archetype acts as a container for capturing an ongoing evolution into multidimensional awareness of being and becoming. I seek to encounter a wholeness of self/ Self-understanding.  

 

I like this concept of self because it has two layers. You are a ‘self’ with a small ‘s’: this is your ego, your personality, your human identity. Then, without fail you are also a Self with a capital ‘S’: an exalted, pure and ever-connected Self that is Source or Consciousness seeking awareness of itself through your individual process. This concept of self as an individual and collective polarity seeking harmony through recognition is foundational to the works of C.G. Jung, Kashmir Shaivism, Yoga, and countless other teachings.

 

In Short: I am a self seeking Self.

 

This is both an internal as well as an external experience. And these facets influence one another constantly. We are porous to our surroundings and our surroundings porous to us.

 

The body of work and teachings that will develop during this residency will focus directly on this personal relationship with my self/Self-development as I nurture it with awareness.

 

I want to take a moment to discuss the significance of the term Archetype as well, as it is a foundational concept that will be guiding much of my creative research.

 

There once were two Western Psychoanalyst, their names were Sigmund Freud and Carl Gustav Jung. In the beginning, these men were cohorts, collaborating on the emerging field of Psychology and Psychoanalysis or the study of human mind and emotion. Their paths ultimately diverged at the topic of what Jung termed “The Collective Unconscious.” Freud dismissed the work of dreams, symbols and automatic writings as junk or excess of the conscious mind. Carl, on the other hand, sought deeper understanding. He studied mysticism, eastern philosophy, cultural mythology and kept a brilliant journal of his own dreams and symbols. The general understanding of the Archetype as we know it today comes from C.G. Jung’s preliminary work in this field.

 

An Archetype is a recurring expression of human virtue found in cultural mythology and literature. An Archetype is a quintessence of a particular set of character traits which are inherently subject to flaw and scrutiny.

 

What’s important about Archetypes is they can shape our understanding of ourselves without our conscious knowledge or consent and/or they can serve as a map for personal growth and self-knowledge. Idealized Archetypes might cause us to fragment ourselves into specific categories of social acceptability without questioning the validity or reality of the Ideal.

 

For example, a contemporary Archetype dichotomy is the virgin/whore. The virgin is sort of like the girl next door type: pious, virtuous, loyal and good wife material. The whore is a woman who enjoys sex for the sake of pleasure, dresses sensually, maybe uses lewd language. Up until recently it goes without saying which of these categories is idealized in a patriarchy and such idealism gives rise to slut shaming, victim blaming and rape culture. Women that dress and act a certain way are in some way asking for violence.

 

As a woman, this sort of cultural mythology has played itself out in my personal choices about how to act, dress and behave to remain safe, even if simply in terms of social harassment and exploitation. This has also affected the way I have categorized other people and their worth and how or whether I interact with them.

 

The influence of a cultural Archetype thus has far-reaching effects on the habits and emotions of human society.

Some Archetypes I will be engaging are collected from Traditional Jungian Psychology, Goddess Mythology, and Current Cultural Milieu. The Queen, the Mother, the Lover, the Old Woman, The Creator, The Destroyer, Drag, Mother Earth, the Witch, the Martyr, the Wolf Woman, the Shamaness, The Spiritual White Woman and the Cyborg.
If you’re interested in learning more or if you want to add to the conversation consider attending one of my courses at Flower City Arts. The first one, Superheroes, Archetypes and Idols, starts next Thursday, July 12 and runs for 6 weeks. We’ll talk further about reclaiming feminine archetypes and femininity through Archetype work and self-portraiture.

**Pictured: She Blooms in the Desert, 2016  a collaborative piece addressing symbols, connection, and ritual in everyday objects. The Art of Ritual.

Get to Know Your Instructor: Christopher Cecere

Chris Cecere is the Sports Photography instructor here in the Photography and Digital Arts Department.

April 27, 2017; Pittsford, NY; USA; Andrew Russell (9) and Frank Imburgia (5) during a Section V high school lacrosse game between the Pittsford Panthers and the Victor Blue Devils at Pittsford Sutherland H.S. Victor won 6-3. Photo: Christopher Cecere/Inside Lacrosse

How long have you been an instructor here?

  • Six years

What would you consider to be the most important thing for students to do in order to reach their full potential in your class?

  • Understanding that one can still cover sporting events, even if you do not have expensive equipment. Keeping this in mind allows the student to learn skills to compensate for not having the latest and greatest camera or lens.
July 26, 2014; Rochester, NY, United States; Blake Davis (10) and Doug Bernier (17) during Rochester Red Wings vs. Indianapolis Indians at Frontier Field. Photo: Christopher Cecere

What do you hope students take away from your class?

  • Trying something new from the class or outside of their normal positioning/angles on the sidelines will give them a new perspective on how they plan to shoot a game.
June 13, 2015; Rochester, NY; USA; during Louisville City FC vs. Rochester Rhinos at Sahlen’s Stadium. Photo: Christopher Cecere

What are some benefits of taking a summer session class?

  • By taking a summer class, we are not limited to indoor events. Also baseball and soccer are the key sports during the summer.

Do you have a catchphrase? If not, what would you make it? Why?

  • I like to say “cool story bro” a lot. Usually as a joke when someone won’t stop talking.
March 08, 2013; Rochester, NY; USA; Luke Adam (72) during Rochester Americans v Abbotsford Heat at Blue Cross Arena. Photo: Christopher Cecere

If you had a superpower what would it be?

  • I don’t think you could beat the ability to fly. Never having to deal with the airport shenanigans again would be fantastic.

Community Art Connect: Teen Empowerment

 

With the help of The Fay Slover Fund at The Boston Foundation 2018 is the second year that Studio 678 has been able to produce a special photography project.

Of the Community, By the Community, For the Community increases access to art in Rochester’s neighborhoods by placing student photographs for permanent exhibition in various community locations. One such location Teen Empowerment!

Here’s a behind the scenes look at the artwork going up.

 

 

 

Special thanks to the following students’ who worked hard to create the beautiful photographs now on display at Teen Empowerment.

Michael Failing

Miguel Sanchez

Michael Peterkin Jr.

Mohamed Hussein

Zoria Hughes

 

 

AIR Introduction: Megan Joy May

Let me just start off by saying how much I truly love Rochester so far. The first night in town (after a harrowing 4-day drive across the United States in my 2002 Camry with all my possessions stuffed inside) I was greeted by the most beautiful site, lightning bugs!!! I know, I know, a common sight in this part of the world, but coming from Southern California I am more accustomed to the sight and sound of coyotes, crickets, and tumbleweeds. I was touched by the little glowing bugs as I enjoyed a perfect burger and summer pilsner at The Owl House.

The people, food, beer, music and natural surroundings of Rochester New York have me feeling very excited about my decision to move across the country.

I am writing this first post from inside the exposed brick walls of the Flower City Arts Center’s Photographic Library on the second floor of the building. There is a coffee pot used solely for heating water for film development in the winter, and shelves of dusty books with titles like “Celebrating the Negative” and “The Photography Cookbook.”

There is the sweet, musty smell of paper sewn together for decades all around me.

Swoon.

But why am I here? Why, besides good beer and lightning bugs would I move to Rochester from Sunny California?!? Great question. (I always love a great question).

I am fortunate to have received a position as the new Photography Artist in Residence here at the Center!

For the next 10 months, I will be developing a body of work based on a personal and cultural inquiry of the dynamics of female and feminine identity. My current project uses mythology, archetypes, and the gender binary to expose a multi-dimensional understanding of gender performance and personal mythology relevant to the exploding culture of identity politics and gender outliers.

I am interested in complicating currently accepted perceptions of femaleness and femininity for the sake of nuance and socio-cultural progress, and ultimately looking at the question: What is the New Feminine Archetype Beyond the Patriarchy?

My project is a reclamation of parts lost and a reimagining of a whole self.

Interested in knowing more or have something to add to the conversation???

Then please join me for Superheroes, Archetypes, and Idols: Reimagining Feminine Roles Models Through Self-Portraiture Thursdays 6:30-8:30 pm from July 12th- August 16th.

We will be exploring and discussing these topics together, while working on the creation of personal feminine archetypes, giving vision to something powerful inside you. Our work together will culminate in a self-portrait of you adorned as your avatar.

Looking forward to meeting more of the Rochester Community and discovering where this wild and honest idea will take me over the course of the residency!

Actual Image of AIR Megan May Dropping Knowledge from an interdimensional portal

arrivals/departures – The End of the Beginning

Time fly when you are having fun, that is true. I am writing this post from my house, in Medellín, Colombia, after my six-week residency at the Flower City Arts Center.

I arrived two months ago with the idea of working on migration. But, what is migration after all? I could make such a long list starting, of course, with people coming from abroad looking for opportunities, following with laws and migration quotas, walls, Border Patrol, minimum wages, working conditions, et cetera. Migration is also related to transit, dreams, plans, changes, failures, and routes. That was what I looked for.

However, six weeks is such a short time… and last, but not least, in the United States, we can only find people who finished their migration path. I decided to start this project during the residency, but I will continue to work on it in the coming months, probably years. Rochester was the first stop, then I’m back in Colombia, where a lot of people wants to get out, and then I would like to go to the countries in between, probably Central America, where there is a lot of transit.

This long path is a different way of working for me. I used to make short projects instead of longer ones. For me, it was just like I had an idea, wrote some lines down, do the shots, and everything is done and gone, in six months or less. But in this case, it is going to be different. The subject matter is so wide and complex, that I would feel uncomfortable and irresponsible just doing a light or superficial approach. Showing a couple of pictures of Colombians guys surrounded by American flags or Mexican fellas in a McDonald’s restaurant. I don’t want to diss those approaches, please do not get me wrong. But the subject matter, in the actual political climate, does not allow simplifications.

I tried to make pictures related to the idea of being and feeling a migrant. That could probably be a good start. It was not that hard because I am a migrant myself. I know how it feels to arrive at a foreign land, feel the language barriers, the fear, the uncertainty, the cultural shock. That is what I tried to show in my pictures, those are the feelings that ruled the experience. That is why there are barriers and things being in-place and out-place.

Was I successful? For me, it is to soon to answer that question… working with film, developing and scanning by myself, really slows the process down. And a deeper understanding of the situation, require time, work and commitment. I am actually happy with the results. I think I made a good selection of images, that are faithful to my initial idea. I enjoyed the process, learned a lot, and especially, got to know realities that I could not even imagine. That is the most important experience for me. My path was apparently clear, but things changed and I had to find new ways. I got moved and touched by the changes and the routes.

I would like to thank the Flower City Arts Center staff for their kind support over this period. Without their help, consideration, time and generosity, this would not be possible. Also thanks to Beth Peters, who generously hosted and took me around the city during this time. Thanks to the Ministry of Culture of Colombia and The Medellín Town’s Hall too, who supported this project thru a series of grants.

Finally, I would like to share some data about my journey:
Number of flights: 5
Miles by bus or train: 1400
4×5 color film sheets used: 40
120 color film rolls: 14
120 B&W film rolls: 3
35mm color film rolls (36exp.): 1
35mm B&W film rolls (36exp.): 2
Times I ate at McDonald’s: 1
Miles rode (in the bike): 390
Miles walked: 67
Cold days during my residency: all but two
Average number of coffees by day: 4
Times I get lost in Downtown Rochester: 27

Thanks for reading and see you back soon!

Get to Know Your Instructor: Jon Merritt

Jonathan Merritt (Jon) is an instructor here in the Photography and Digital Arts Department. He mainly teaches darkroom classes such as Intermediate Black and White Photography, Cyanotype, and Kallitype.

Tannic Cyanotype behind glass, 2016

What is your favorite subject matter to cover in your classes?

  •  For my black and white film/Darkroom courses I love teaching Split Grade printing. I think it’s a fantastic problem solver for students, encouraging them to approach their prints tonally rather than “is it too bright/is it too dark.” For my alternative process classes, I think I’m particularly a fan of toning Cyanotypes. It’s exciting seeing how far you can push the color from blue.

What would you consider to be the most important thing for students to do in order to reach their full potential in your class?

  • For all my classes I’d say it’s the determination to make one more print. Because there’s often more labor involved with wet printing process, it can seem frustrating when you’re so close to your “best” print, but there’s just one thing you still need to do to make it shine. I think this determination develops as you bond with the process, but I’m here to help too.

Utah, August 2017 (Silver Gelatin Print)

What is your favorite piece of equipment?

  •  Light sensitive paper! You don’t need a camera to make great work.

What is your favorite thing about Flower City Arts Center?

  • The Center has such a great vibe. Its facilities allow for privacy and for camaraderie. That’s a tough feel to pull off. Dan’s room is the best Darkroom I’ve ever used, too.

Closeup detail of a Deep Tannic Cyanotype, 2017

Do you have a catchphrase? If not, what would you make it if you had to choose one? Why?

  •  I don’t, but if I did it would probably be “walk and explore.” Corny I know, but I think one of the best things about photography is that it encourages you to explore areas you wouldn’t otherwise. Photography (hopefully) breaks the routine of job > home-and-done-for-the-day.

If you had to choose a television/ movie universe to live in, which one would it be?

  • I would love to live in a Hayao Miyazaki film. Think Spirited Away or maybe Porco Rosso. So colorful and full of mystery. I could get lost there.