Artists-in-Residence: 2006

Beatrix Reinhardt
January 2006

German artist Beatrix Reinhardt spends a lot of time knocking on doors or placing phone calls in hopes to gain access to members only clubs. Her series on clubs began in 2003. It has taken her to many places as far as Australia, Great Britain, and China, but in the end the series has returned her to her own neighborhood of the last one and a half years in Queens, NY, where membership clubs are plentiful and rich in photographic visuals. She views clubs as special entities that provide a community for their members while excluding everybody else. Membership dues can be minimal, but some exclusive clubs may require years on a waiting list and annual membership dues in the tens of thousands of dollars. In her photographs she is primarily interested in the marks left behind by members of the club. The images are devoid of people, though they speak volumes about the club's members. Since arriving in Syracuse for her residency, Beatrix has been printing color photographs from her recent venture to China, but has also approached a number of clubs nearby for access.

Lisa M. Robinson
February 2006

When Lisa Robinson asked for a residency in a snowy month, her request seemed simple enough. Syracuse receives an average of 160 inches of snow each year. However, one week into her residency in February, the skies were still mostly blue with just a few snowflakes to tease her. We have since received a mediocre amount of snow in this unusually mild winter, and Lisa has had to drive to surrounding areas to photograph her calm, wintery landscapes. She has been photographing snowscapes since 2003, looking for man-made, singular objects blanketed in heavy layers of snow. She describes, "I have always been interested in the human presence that remains even in the absence of a human. The images from Snowbound describe a cultural landscape in which the objects of our recreation and occupation harmonize with the natural world while subtly restraining it." Not short on new ideas, she plans to continue the work for at least a few more seasons.

Lisa lives in Jackson Heights, NY. She has shown her work internationally. Her series Snowbound is currently on view at Silver Eye Center for Photography in Pittsburgh, PA. It will continue on to the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA, Jack Leigh Gallery in Savannah, GA, and to the Galleri Image in Copenhagen, Denmark. Awards include fellowships at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts in Amherst, VA, the Anderson Ranch Arts Center in Snowmass, CO, and the Vermont Studio Center in Johnson, VT.

Abigail Hadeed
June 2006

Abigail Hadeed arrived at Light Work just as the World Cup started a globe-wide soccer frenzy. The West Indian Artist was equally eager to see her home team Trinidad/Tobago compete in the Cup for the first time. Abigail spent her residency experimented with many different printing techniques, including a range of silver gelatin papers toned with various techniques. She also learnt cyano and platinum printing. She returned home with a wealth of knowledge and many, many prints.

Abigail has made a name for herself with documentary and editorial photography. She recently published Trees Without Roots. The Caribbean & Central America, a book she dedicated to the "courageous Afro-Caribbean People of Central America." She has exhibited in the Caribbean, Belgium, Brazil, Cuba, Spain, the U.S., and other countries.

Don Gregorio Anton
June 2006

In the word's of Cameron Woodall, Don Gregorio Anton "explores the possibilities of the spirit and enhances our awareness of its existence. ... His work deals with the meaning of self and the spirit within and around that self." Don creates mystical retablos that look like sacred objects in themselves. They are intimately small and sit on little stands to be viewed individually. Each retablo is one of a kind. During his stay at Light Work, Don touched us with his generosity and humility.

Don's exhibition record spans coast to coast, as well as overseas. His work can be found in collections across the country, including the Baltimore Museum of Art, Consejo Mexicano de Fotografica, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, the Museum of Photographic Arts in San Diego, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and more. He has given lectures and workshops throughout the country. He currently teaches at Humboldt State University in Arcata, CA.

Philip Zimmermann
July 2006

Philip Zimmermann arrived at Light Work with good humor, a car of bookmaking-specific equipment and material, and lots of energy to jump into action. He spent his residency preparing several artist books for publication. Phil has been creating artists' book for 30 years, in fact his application for this residency was a large box full of artists' books that would have brought tears of joy into the eyes of any bibliophile. His books are heavily photo based, using text sparingly but to the point.

He has participated in artist residencies in Georgia, New Mexico, New York, and Pennsylvania. Recent exhibitions venues include El Museo Cultural de Santa Fé, Richard and Dolly Maass Gallery at Purchase College, New Mexico State University, Cuyahoga CC, Kohler Art Library, Deep Listening Foundation, and MASS MoCA. Phil has lived in many places around the globe, but currently lives in Rhinebeck, NY.

Kerry Skarbakka
July 2006

Kerry Skarbakka's Web site refers to German philosopher Martin Heidegger, who described human existence as a process of perpetual falling. This creates the frame work for much of the falling/tripping photographs in his series The Struggle to Right Oneself, for which Kerry has become known. However, he arrived at Light Work with a kayak strapped to his truck, ready to switch gears (and elements) to take his photographs underwater. He has since started to explore the murky waters of Central New York in search of fitting settings for his existentialist images. Early photographs in this new series, titled Fluid, can already be seen on his Web site. Central New York photographs are soon to come.

Kerry has shown his photographs internationally and has been acknowledged through numerous awards and grants, including a Creative Capital Foundation Grant in 2005. He has been featured in art magazines such as Aperture, Direct Art Magazine, Zoom International (Italy), Focus Magazine (Belgium), ArtReview International (UK), and more. He received his MFA at Columbia College, Chicago. His photographs can be viewed at www.skarbakka.com.

Yee Ling Tang
September 2006

Yee Ling Tang has created a string of photo projects, each vibrant in color and excellent in technique, yet touching on a different aspect of humanity. She is curious about social behavior and its manifestation in body language. She is especially fascinated with body language vs spoken language, because, as she describes, the former does not require translation. While most of her work has been driven by vivacious colors, she is currently researching black-and-white methods that will take her work in a new direction.

Yee Ling has participated in artist residencies in France, Sweden, China, Holland, and the U.S. She is preparing for exhibitions in Tokyo and Amsterdam. She was born in Hong Kong, but has lived in the Netherlands since she was a child. Her work can be seen at www.yeelingtang.com.

Binh Danh
October 2006

Artist Binh Danh has quietly gained recognition on the international art scene for his Vietnam War inspired work. In his most recognizable work appropriated war images are printed directly onto leaves or grass. Using nature's ability to respond to light, Binh creates his work using photosynthesis. He came to Light Work ready to expand his work. He printed images of a former refugee camp and worked on images of The Swamp Thing, which he ties to the Vietnam series in its connection to memory and plants.

Binh Danh was born in Vietnam in 1977. He received an MFA at Stanford University and a BFA from San Jose State University. His work has been shown internationally, most recently in group exhibitions Picturing Eden at the George Eastman House in Rochester, Asian American Art Now at the Asia Society Museum in New York City, and Reconstructing Histories Project at the University of Hawaii Art Museum, and in the solo exhibition Ancestral Altars at Haines Gallery in San Francisco. He lives and works in San Jose, CA. His work can be seen at www.hainesgallery.com.

Barry Anderson
October/November 2006

Video artist Barry Anderson wasted no time to start shooting new video footage for his next project as soon as he arrived in Syracuse. Most of his work has been video and audio installations, but more recently, he also incorporates still photography with moving images. These are the projects he pursued while at Light Work. Barry's work addresses our cultural need to escape the onslaught of media input through isolated fantasy worlds. By slowing or re-interpreting space and time, he strives to identify the existence of introspective spaces within the everyday, proposing that we don't need to retreat, but to re-envision, re-think what is already around us.

Barry Anderson was born in Greenville, TX. He holds an MFA from Indiana University. His work has been shown throughout the country, as well as in Thailand, South America, Cuba and the UK. Recent exhibitions venues include the Schopf Gallery on Lake in Chicago, Gallery 210 at the University of Missouri­St.Louis, Hotcakes Gallery in Milwaukee, and the Centre for Contemporary Photography in Toronto. He lives in Kansas City. His work can be seen at www.barryanderson.com.

KayLynn Deveney
November 2006

KayLynn Deveney's residency at Light Work allowed her to realize her ambitious goal to scan and print over one hundred negatives in preparation for her book The Day-to-Day Life of Albert Hastings. Her project with Albert Hastings began when he was eighty-five years old, and KayLynn moved near his small flat in Wales. She recognized the preciousness of the rituals and routines that made up Bert's life. Their friendship progressed over time as KayLynn photographed many facets of Bert's day. Together they developed an illuminating method of storytelling that combines her images and his handwritten text. Bert's handwriting provides a profoundly poignant narrative of aging, living alone, and the small things that provide comfort and meaning in our daily lives. Albert and KayLynn maintained their friendship via telephone and post, until the recent news of his death in January 2007. He was ninety-one.

KayLynn Deveney holds an MA from the University of Wales and a BA from the University of New Mexico. She has exhibited nationally and in England. She currently lives in Albuquerque, NM and is pursuing a practice-based PhD in Photography from the University of Wales, Newport. Her work can be seen on her web site, www.kaylynndeveney.com. KayLynn's book, published by Princeton Architectural Press, was released to stores in July 2007, and is available through Amazon.com.

Blake Fitch
December 2006

Blake Fitch spent her Light Work residency creating a museum-ready portfolio of her ongoing project, Expectation of Adolescence. Her residency allowed her the focused opportunity to print, edit and prepare this project for exhibition.   Her series, now in its tenth year, focuses on her youngest sister Katie and their cousin Julia, documenting their journey into adulthood as it reveals the formation of physical and emotional identities in the context of societal expectations.

Blake Fitch is a fine art and documentary photographer. She has photographed extensively in the US and Central and South America and has been exhibited internationally. Her work is held in the collections of several museums, including the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.  She currently serves as the Executive Director of the Griffin Museum of Photography in Winchester, MA.

The work by artists who participated in the 2006 Artists-in-Residence program will be showcased in the Light Work Annual (CS142), to be published in summer 2007. The publication will be sent to all 2007 subscribers of Contact Sheet. Back issues of Contact Sheet and the Light Work Annual are available for individual purchase via the Light Work Online Store.

Light Work's Artist-in-Residence Program

Since 1976 nearly 300 artists have participated in Light Work's Artist-in-Residence program. Each year Light Work invites 12-15 artists to participate in this program. During their month-long residencies each artist is given the opportunity to create new work at our studio facility in the Robert B. Menschel Media Center at Syracuse University. Each Artist-in-Residence donates a few examples of their work to Light Work's permanent collection. The Light Work collection currently includes around 2,100 images.

Past Artists-in-Residence | 2007 | 2006 | 2005

How to apply to the Artist-in-Residence program