Happy New Year!

(note- some submissions aren’t publicly viewable to non-group members- join the Flickr group to see them all)

Click on the little expand box in the lower right hand portion of the screen for a full-screen view

About the Show

Our first juried show celebrating Launch Pad’s 4th Anniversary!
The goal of this show is to highlight artists working with analogue light sensitive materials (film in all formats, photograms, Van Dycks, cyanotypes, wet plates, Daguerreotypes, direct positives, super 8s, Polaroids, etc) to produce work in an increasingly digital age.

As any one who has ever developed a picture in a dark room (or gotten back an entire roll of accidentally burned out negatives) knows, film and associated analogue processes are essential magic- finicky, delightful, physical. Coaxing out an impossible range of tone a la Ansel Adams or pushing contrast out the window to convey your subject matter can almost be achieved digitally, but the element of time and uncertainty that analogue presents can never be duplicated.

Although the show will only have between 15 and 20 images selected by a jury of 4 local photographers, artists, gallerists and community leaders, all of the work submitted is on a flickr group for you to view and comment on and come to your own conclusions. I encourage you to use this on-line group as a source of inspiration and a resource for meeting your fellow light sensitive material enthusiasts!

SELECTED ARTISTS

Natasha Bacca, Robin Bogert, Jessica Caisse, Michelle Chorwat, Larry Cwik, Mark Fisher,
Cheyenne Glasgow, Tricia Hoffman, Gregory Lancaster, Hunter Lydon, Alyssa Noches, Linda Nussbaum,
Conor Peterson, S. Rockoff, J. Swofford, Anni Tracy, Benjamin Wooten

About the Work

Misha Capecchi

“This body of work seeks to examine issues of self-recognition, identity and sterotypes. My methodology for making the masks is always the same. The process starts with a composite photo that I have either found or constructed. Based on the photo I make a mask from found or reclaimed fabric, finally I translate the mask to a two-dimensional media specifically picked for the subject matter. I am interested in how the portrait changes through various forms of translation, represented through the use of different media. Some of the media allows for a literal translation, while other media requires information to be either added or subtracted. Using this methodology I try to address a variety of themes such as feeling lost in translation, feeling beautiful, feeling part of a larger movement, fear of aging, and genetic profiling in comedic, sensitive and distressing way. ”
Read more about this artist’s processes and interests…

Jeff Betz

“Much has been written on the subject of the mask, its representation and purpose, by far more learned people than myself. While I am still no expert on the matter I have undertaken my own personal research into mask making cultures and it is within these cultures; African, Northwest Coastal Indians, Oceanic and Hispanic that I have drawn inspiration from. For these cultures the mask is not a work of Art but an integral part of their spiritual belief systems, rituals and ceremonies. Assigning great significance and power to masks which might be boxed up and hidden away until it’s presence is required. I am speaking historically of course and not of the contemporary tourist trade masks.

As for myself, I am a contemporary who has been nurturing an interest in Art for many years through drawing, painting, printmaking and sculpture. I have always had a fascination for the face and figure and the experience of making a mask brought me a heightened sense of personal expression and identification. Without the purpose of a mythology, rite or ceremony I could suggest that my masks are in some way a self-portrait. A scary thought but we all stem from the ancient and at best a work of art might still have the power to bring that ancient experience back into our world today. Such is my quest.”
Read more about this body of work…

LINKS

Please note: Launch Pad is happy to ship work anywhere in the world.

To inquire about a piece or arrange purchase, please email or call. Contact us today!

Big thanks to our performers! Check them out on-line at their websites

Easy Facebook invite Here

About the Show

Recent Idaho transplant Kelly Rundle will fill the gallery with her fabulous soft sculptures, creating an environment populated by familiar yet fuzzily distorted objects. Her pieces feel like alien interpretations of everyday American household goods, constructed out of available (kindergarten classroom) materials without an understanding of their intended purpose (for an interesting related factoid, see cargo cults)

Artist Statement

“When I look at everyday items, I think about what they would look like hand stitched out of felt. My objects aren’t seamless in the most literal sense because I want them to have the feeling of being handmade. A sewing machine would complicate my process and take away from the aesthetic of my work. When I stitch an object it is like I am making my sketch and final piece simultaneously. I don’t make a pattern. I trace, measure and study the object and then make a haphazard replica of it. The result is simple, childlike and imperfect.

For Another World I have created five vignettes. Living Room, Lawn Machine, Studio, Bathroom and Parked Bike; these environments are created through the transformation of industrial and familiar objects into individual works and eventually into environments. Typically I start with a key item and create an environment around it, creating pieces necessary to complete the set.

“Another World” is a combination of work from my undergrad created 2007-2008 and my most recent work created from June-August 2009. With this work, I hope to create an inviting environments with the merging a simple craft item “felt” into distinct works that are humorous, whimsical and light-hearted.

A note about the materials
The majority of the products used to create my work are purchased second hand. The stuffing is a combination of old pillows; partially used bags of stuffing and left over scraps of felt. I use Eco Felt for all my pieces. Eco Felt is created from post consumer plastic bottles. A special thanks to Scrap for letting me work in exchange for much needed materials.”

Kelly Rundle

About the Artist

Kelly Rundle is an artist, whose primary medium is felt, she transforms a typical craft medium into narratives of everyday life. Her felt work begin her senior year at the University of Idaho. After watching “The Science of Sleep”, Kelly felt inspired to sew. Her first work was a felt camera made as a Christmas gift for her boyfriend Mike. Her collection of sewn items quickly expanded. She created pieces without thought as to how they would correspond to one another. She began studying the work of Liza Lou and her work titled “Kitchen”. This beaded environment solidified the need for her to create narrative environments with her own work. Kelly has been working with felt for three years and is continuously creating. Kelly graduated from the University of Idaho in 2009 with bachelor degrees in Studio Art, Art Education and Special Education. She lives and works in Portland, OR.

LINKS
Website
Resume