abstract

September Update

Things have been super crazy while I've been getting ready for my two exhibitions coming up in October. Therefore this will be a short blog! Amongst all of the chaos I did manage to create some new art! I also recently finished a cross-stitch commission based off of an 8-bit video game called, Chrono Trigger.  

End of Semester Critique

Yesterday I had my final critique of the first year of the MFA program at U of M. I installed new work I had made since my midterm critique in one room, and I installed the work that I made in the first half of the semester inside of my studio.

 

Staying within the medium of digital art, I've been pushing myself even further with this new approach. I am using the computer to make complex patterns from drawings, paintings, and photographs. There are multiple layers with varying degrees of transparency. Sometimes I cut and paste sections into random places on the image or I delete sections altogether. My process has become very collage based and I like to recycle old works into new ones. My practice continues to surprise me and it is in a constant state of transformation and development. 

I'm so happy with the work that I have produced during my time in the MFA program. I never could have imagined this is what my art would look like. One of the most valuable things that I've learned this year is that artists need to take chances and try new things. I believe that this is the only way artists truly reach their full potential.

I'm excited to return home in 9 days! I can't wait to spend time with friends and family. I'll be working several jobs including sports photography, coaching indoor and beach volleyball. The rest of my summer will be spent playing beach volleyball, hiking, running, biking, and making art.

Familiarity, Intrigue, and Beauty: The Mundane Urban Landscape

Sunday, December 6: 

Yesterday I spent a couple of hours roaming the streets around my neighbourhood. I walked along Corydon, Osborne, River, and Wellington Crescent. Although I am often inspired by my natural surroundings (don't get me wrong the trees in this area are large and beautiful), I found myself being drawn towards abstract shapes and lines found in the urban landscape.

The Royal Crest: Photo-Walk, Winnipeg, MB, Digital Photograph, 2015, Mallory Donen 

I began by walking along Corydon towards Confusion Corner when I found myself bored of looking at the storefronts on the main strip. Every time I walk down this street I find myself drawn to the alleys and spaces in between the buildings.

Untitled: Photo-Walk, Winnipeg, MB, Digital Photograph, 2015, Mallory Donen

The alleys and hidden sides of buildings are filled with bizarre imagery that make for interesting documentation of architecture. While photographing these types of images, my goal is to capture unique perspectives that juxtapose elements of nature and the man-made. Alternatively I also attempt to combine various shapes, textures, and patterns, that exist within the immediate urban environment.

Untitled: Photo-Walk, Winnipeg, MB, Digital Photograph, 2015, Mallory Donen

Although these things often seem mundane and functionless, they are strangely interesting to me as I can read a sense of character, animation, and life within them. They're intriguing because they are uncanny elements of the urban landscape that seem unfamiliar yet familiar at the same time. These shapes/structures are repeated within various architectures within the urban setting. But we do not pay attention to these often hidden components, therefore making them seem unique to us when we eventually take the time to notice them. 

For some reason I have always been fascinated with taking photographs of fire hydrants and fire hose connections on the sides of buildings. No matter where I am in the world these are two objects or shapes that are always present. They often look slightly different in shape or color, but it is something I immediately look for when travelling or visiting a new place. Now some may think this is totally strange and there must be something wrong with me right?! Wrong! The reason I do this is to feel connected to home as well as feel more comfortable in my current surroundings. There's satisfaction in knowing that these are things that connect all of us around the world. Some may think this is far fetched, but I truly believe in the power of these mundane signifiers as a way of bringing about a sense of comfort and belonging.

Untitled: Photo-Walk, Winnipeg, MB, Digital Photograph, 2015, Mallory Donen

Untitled: Photo-Walk, Winnipeg, MB, Digital Photograph, 2015, Mallory Donen

While on this photo walk I found myself discovering the mundane urban landscape by seeing things with a new and unique perspective. This meant I was looking up, crouching down, tilting sideways, and basically every other way of looking imaginable. Looking is a powerful thing, but sometimes you need to remind yourself that just because you can see does not mean that you see things.

Windows: Photo-Walk, Winnipeg, MB, Digital Photograph, 2015, Mallory Donen

I was walking past this building when I noticed something beautiful. I walked across the street so that I could get a better angle of what I had just seen. The photograph above (Windows: Photo-Walk, Winnipeg, MB) is what I had seen, a window within a window, within a window. The moment was filled with lines, windows, shapes, and all in all a very interesting pattern formed by architecture, design, and destruction. A man walking by the window looked up in curiosity and confusion. He asked me why I was photographing the window when it was cracked, old, and in his opinion not very beautiful or nice to look at. I simply answered that I thought it was worth photographing and that I'm not interested in what everyone thinks should be photographed, but rather things that get overlooked or forgotten. He seemed happy with my answer and continued on his way, while I continued photographing the moments in the urban landscape that I found intriguing, familiar, and beautiful.