El P - Stepfather Factory
2 weeks ago
Friday, November 6, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Meet Robert Featherson
Artist Statement: My Love for photography started when my uncle returned from the Navy on leave and his last stop was Japan, where he bought me a Yashica camera. I began taking photos just for fun, but as I got older and developed my style it became clear I wanted to take more photos. I continued to take photo classes in high school and decided to go to an art school (Columbia College) to study photography.
After ten years of working in the I.T. industry my photography stopped and I missed it deeply. After following the advice of a friend I decided to buy a digital camera and return to the one thing that brought me joy. When I started shooting I remembered why I love taking photos so much... I LOVE THE HUNT FOR INTERESTING PLACES TO PHOTOGRAPH AND REDISCOVER THE CITY THAT I LOVE.
I feel that photographer's are the keepers that record moments of time that will never occur again. Photographs allow people to see things and places that they might not be able to see.
After ten years of working in the I.T. industry my photography stopped and I missed it deeply. After following the advice of a friend I decided to buy a digital camera and return to the one thing that brought me joy. When I started shooting I remembered why I love taking photos so much... I LOVE THE HUNT FOR INTERESTING PLACES TO PHOTOGRAPH AND REDISCOVER THE CITY THAT I LOVE.
I feel that photographer's are the keepers that record moments of time that will never occur again. Photographs allow people to see things and places that they might not be able to see.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
CONCRETE SCHOLAR Artist Statement
Understanding my life and who I’ve become is connected to understanding the evolution of my art. I use art as a means for communicating and expressing ideas, after examining the questions I have about life and the situations I have been through. Through my classical studies and the influence of graffiti art and hip hop culture, I developed a symbol and concept that often reoccurs in some of my work. I call this idea Concrete Scholar. It is a simple symbol of a man wearing a hood with a shadow over his face sitting in a meditative position and praying with both hands.
Concrete Scholar was born while I was attending art school at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. There I received classical training – studying anatomy, illustration, oil painting, still life, design, figure studies, and digital media as I worked to find a balance between renaissance style and graffiti. By graffiti I mean abstract lettering designs. The meaning of the art goes beyond the word that is intricately written. I draw influence from the beauty of other written languages such as Arabic, Sanskrit, and other forms of hieroglyphics. Today my work can be found on canvas. My pieces are often painted with a combination of spray paint and oil paint.
While attending the Academy I was a student in need of affordable housing. I lived in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District, a neighborhood full of drug dealers, prostitutes, and drug addicts. Here I witnessed violence, emotional anguish, and the constant struggle and hell of American poverty. The experience of living there changed my perspective on the world and made me view life in a different light. I became less interested in fantasy art creating creatures from my early years and became more captivated by things that are real. I was fascinated by the urban landscape and the people who dwell in it. During this time I learned a lot from the school and the street. This is how Concrete Scholar got developed. The concept of Concrete Scholar is about praying and meditation in the street and transcendent hip hop. It is about reaching a higher consciousness in a material world. The main concept of my work is to portray the street as a school.
I moved away from California back to Evanston because I was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The disease still bothers me to this very day. I have gone through so much from being suicidal to being placed in restraints in the hospital and not being allowed to see my family. Today the illness isn’t as bad as it was before, yet it still troubles me. I find refuge in my art work because it is one of the only escapes from the symptoms.
Concrete Scholar was born while I was attending art school at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco. There I received classical training – studying anatomy, illustration, oil painting, still life, design, figure studies, and digital media as I worked to find a balance between renaissance style and graffiti. By graffiti I mean abstract lettering designs. The meaning of the art goes beyond the word that is intricately written. I draw influence from the beauty of other written languages such as Arabic, Sanskrit, and other forms of hieroglyphics. Today my work can be found on canvas. My pieces are often painted with a combination of spray paint and oil paint.
While attending the Academy I was a student in need of affordable housing. I lived in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District, a neighborhood full of drug dealers, prostitutes, and drug addicts. Here I witnessed violence, emotional anguish, and the constant struggle and hell of American poverty. The experience of living there changed my perspective on the world and made me view life in a different light. I became less interested in fantasy art creating creatures from my early years and became more captivated by things that are real. I was fascinated by the urban landscape and the people who dwell in it. During this time I learned a lot from the school and the street. This is how Concrete Scholar got developed. The concept of Concrete Scholar is about praying and meditation in the street and transcendent hip hop. It is about reaching a higher consciousness in a material world. The main concept of my work is to portray the street as a school.
I moved away from California back to Evanston because I was diagnosed with schizophrenia. The disease still bothers me to this very day. I have gone through so much from being suicidal to being placed in restraints in the hospital and not being allowed to see my family. Today the illness isn’t as bad as it was before, yet it still troubles me. I find refuge in my art work because it is one of the only escapes from the symptoms.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Cool NU Graduate student
Meet Ethan Caldwell, a African History PHD student at Northwestern University in Evanston. Ethan came by ATE20 and picked up the kicks he photographed below. GREAT PHOTOGRAPH!
"I got into photography when my dad showed me how to use his old Olympus SLR from the 1970s. From then to now, I'm just having fun capturing and recreate moments through my perspective."
"I got into photography when my dad showed me how to use his old Olympus SLR from the 1970s. From then to now, I'm just having fun capturing and recreate moments through my perspective."
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