Danie. Hands and Feet. Weapon of Choice.Madeline Crew
Name. Madeline Crew
Email. Madelinecrewphotography@gmail.com
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Madeline-Crew-Photography/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/madelinecrew/
MNArtists page. http://www.mnartists.org/artistHome.do?rid=263930
Bio~
Madeline Crew is a young photographer woking in St. Paul MN. With photography as her medium, she hopes to bring attention to contemporary issues that range from violence towards women, the economic crisis or water pollution in Minnesota. Although she enjoys creating a scene to photograph, she believes that photography is the best tool to examine our society and our world in attempt to present something about it, rather than focusing internally.
Crew is currently a junior photography major at the College of Visual Arts, in St. Paul. She has been instructed by many of the outstanding professors at CVA and is excited to be a graduate from such an excellent Bachelors program. Looking forward to senior year, she expects her work to continue to evolve through out the process of senior thesis. Upon graduation, Crew hopes to be living in the Northern Warehouse Co-op in Lower-town St. Paul, and become a part of the art community.
Circuit City 2010. Economic Crisis as Place.
Tell me about your work? What are you currently working on? How is this different from past projects?
My work usually revolves around a contemporary issue, and most of my projects are ongoing, I always want more out of them. For example, a series called, Weapon of Choice, where I look at the presence of violence towards woman and examine the choice for woman to carry weapons in order to protect themselves. Creating the series, I met woman from around the twin cities area who actively carry a weapon to protect themselves and then photographed them each with their, “Weapon of Choice”.
Another example of my work is a series I created called, Economic Crisis as Place. In this body of work I examine how our economic crisis has changed the landscapes and environments that surround us. With a 4x5 view camera, I photographed many run down businesses from around the twin cites and some in Madison Wisconsin to re-asses what the architecture represents now. Now stripped of what they were before the crisis, the buildings represent something completely different than what they had before, say when it was a Circuit City.
Currently, I have been working on a series that provides visual and textual information about the Superfund Sites of in Minnesota. A Superfund Site is a location that has been deemed chemically hazardous and contaminated, the list for Minnesota includes about 80 sites. The soil and ground water at these sites are contaminated, the groundwater is where most cities get their drinking water from. For the series I have been visiting each site and photographing them. I then have mounted the photographs to sheets of metal, over the photograph is a transparent overlay which has the hazardous level and information about each site. Then each piece is slid vertically into a metal box, that was a missile carrier from 1942. With this project I really wanted to stray away from the old frame on wall presentation, and present it in a way that the viewers become apart of it and experience it hands-on.
"What is Art?" is certainly too big of a question to ask here, but what do you hope your audience takes away from your art? What statement do you hope to make?
A lot of my work is very specific in subject matter, so I would like for the viewer to understand what the concept is and what issue I am presenting. Additionally, I want my viewers to have their own experience while observing the work and hopefully see that we are all connected through these issues, and reflect where they might fit into the topic.
Rather than making only a statement on these issues, I want to address and present them so the viewers are looking outside of ones self and at visuals that document our society.
What was the best advice given to you as an artist?
To do what you are passionate about, whether or not it is accepted by others, because that is the work that will speak and be successful.
To trust your gut instinct and run with it, don't be scared.
Wishing wont get you anywhere, you have to do it for it to happen.
Tell me about your work space and your creative process.
Still a student, I do not yet have my own working space but am privileged to have great working spaces and facilities here at CVA. I have all the tools I would need to make any type of project I would like. My creative process usually begins with something I have recently become aware of or angry with, to be honest. From there I brainstorm in my process journal how I can make and present the idea visually by writing and roughing out thumbnails. Once I have that down, I decide what process of photography best works with or matches the idea by deciding on negative size, color or black and white, digital or analog, or a mix of both. Then it kinda takes of from there.
Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?
Rhea Pappas- www.rheapappas.com
Amy Anderson- http://www.AmyAndersonPhotography.com
Lindsay Paczkowski- lpaczkowski.com
Angela Strassheim- http://www.angelastrassheim.com/
Evan Baden- http://www.evanbadenphotography.com/
Paula McCartney- http://www.paulamccartney.com/
If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?
We would go to:
Franconia Sculpture Park- http://www.franconia.org/
Northern Warehouse on First Fridays- http://www.nwacartists.com/
Chambers Bernet Gallery- http://www.lemeridienchambers.com/art
College of Visual Arts Gallery- http://www.cva.edu/gallery/
Minneapolis Institute of Art- http://www.artsmia.org/
Walker Art Center- http://www.walkerart.org/
Where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise?
Actually, I do not surf the web for resources as much as I find them in the real world or through speaking with other artists I know. One website I do go on a lot though, is springboardforthearts.org, they have a lot of great posts for artists whether for employment or open calls.
What things do you have going on now and in the near future?
My work usually revolves around a contemporary issue, and most of my projects are ongoing, I always want more out of them. For example, a series called, Weapon of Choice, where I look at the presence of violence towards woman and examine the choice for woman to carry weapons in order to protect themselves. Creating the series, I met woman from around the twin cities area who actively carry a weapon to protect themselves and then photographed them each with their, “Weapon of Choice”.
Another example of my work is a series I created called, Economic Crisis as Place. In this body of work I examine how our economic crisis has changed the landscapes and environments that surround us. With a 4x5 view camera, I photographed many run down businesses from around the twin cites and some in Madison Wisconsin to re-asses what the architecture represents now. Now stripped of what they were before the crisis, the buildings represent something completely different than what they had before, say when it was a Circuit City.
Currently, I have been working on a series that provides visual and textual information about the Superfund Sites of in Minnesota. A Superfund Site is a location that has been deemed chemically hazardous and contaminated, the list for Minnesota includes about 80 sites. The soil and ground water at these sites are contaminated, the groundwater is where most cities get their drinking water from. For the series I have been visiting each site and photographing them. I then have mounted the photographs to sheets of metal, over the photograph is a transparent overlay which has the hazardous level and information about each site. Then each piece is slid vertically into a metal box, that was a missile carrier from 1942. With this project I really wanted to stray away from the old frame on wall presentation, and present it in a way that the viewers become apart of it and experience it hands-on.
Ring Leap. Dancer.
"What is Art?" is certainly too big of a question to ask here, but what do you hope your audience takes away from your art? What statement do you hope to make?
A lot of my work is very specific in subject matter, so I would like for the viewer to understand what the concept is and what issue I am presenting. Additionally, I want my viewers to have their own experience while observing the work and hopefully see that we are all connected through these issues, and reflect where they might fit into the topic.
Rather than making only a statement on these issues, I want to address and present them so the viewers are looking outside of ones self and at visuals that document our society.
To do what you are passionate about, whether or not it is accepted by others, because that is the work that will speak and be successful.
To trust your gut instinct and run with it, don't be scared.
Wishing wont get you anywhere, you have to do it for it to happen.
Comfort. Nymph Series.
Tell me about your work space and your creative process.
Still a student, I do not yet have my own working space but am privileged to have great working spaces and facilities here at CVA. I have all the tools I would need to make any type of project I would like. My creative process usually begins with something I have recently become aware of or angry with, to be honest. From there I brainstorm in my process journal how I can make and present the idea visually by writing and roughing out thumbnails. Once I have that down, I decide what process of photography best works with or matches the idea by deciding on negative size, color or black and white, digital or analog, or a mix of both. Then it kinda takes of from there.
Who are some of the Minnesota artists you enjoy?
Rhea Pappas- www.rheapappas.com
Amy Anderson- http://www.AmyAndersonPhotography.com
Lindsay Paczkowski- lpaczkowski.com
Angela Strassheim- http://www.angelastrassheim.com/
Evan Baden- http://www.evanbadenphotography.com/
Paula McCartney- http://www.paulamccartney.com/
If I were to follow you around to see art in Minnesota, which places would we go? What would we see?
We would go to:
Franconia Sculpture Park- http://www.franconia.org/
Northern Warehouse on First Fridays- http://www.nwacartists.com/
Chambers Bernet Gallery- http://www.lemeridienchambers.com/art
College of Visual Arts Gallery- http://www.cva.edu/gallery/
Minneapolis Institute of Art- http://www.artsmia.org/
Walker Art Center- http://www.walkerart.org/
Where do you go online for good art resources, whether to find a new artist, or to see what is going on in the art world locally and otherwise?
Actually, I do not surf the web for resources as much as I find them in the real world or through speaking with other artists I know. One website I do go on a lot though, is springboardforthearts.org, they have a lot of great posts for artists whether for employment or open calls.
Open. Nymph Series.
What things do you have going on now and in the near future?
I have work up at Altered Esthetics for this month (July 2011) as part of the "Hope of the Union" show, and was mentioned in the City Pages for that show. I also have received a position as an Art Director at the St. Paul University Club. I have been working with filmography and may have more showings of my films in near future.
