Recently, I’ve been intrigued by the relationship of a work of art to its surroundings, in particular in museum settings. My enthusiasm in this area is rooted in my affection for both art and education. For me, museums are special, sacred places where I have the opportunity to interact and experience art in a personal way, very different from encountering it online or in a book. Lately, I have had an insider’s view of an art museum, befriending a coworker who is a museum curator. In assisting her in the installation of several shows, I’ve begun to understand how the environment in which the art is placed affects how I as a viewer experience it. Using photography as a medium. I began creating images that show not just the environmental or architectural qualities of museum spaces, or the artworks in isolation, but the convergence of the two. To overcome the challenges inherent in low light and mixed light indoor photography situations, I chose HDR processing; taking several images of the same scene and combining them together. This allowed my images to appear more like what the human eye sees, with all areas of the photograph fully exposed.
This forum will explore the special challenges artists experience when creating a body or work or a series; the equivalent of a research in the arts. Join us for a unique perspective on creating and communication an idea in a visual form as Mrs. Respress shares her most recent photographic series, The Museum Experience.