ARTIST STATEMENT
Each of us contain a unique past and a potential future- associations already in place, those we are poised to form. I use photography, unique installations and book structures to explore how we perceive, navigate and negotiate our environments. I embrace the experimental side of art making- from alternative book structures to a step van turned into a camera- my curiosity is always rewarded with the unexpected, leading to new understandings about the process of creating work, and the process that made the work possible. I grew up on the road- the maps, text and images I experienced as well as the practice of navigating the physical space of highways were the first memories forming my visual foundation. My work explores this process of traveling and the spaces in-between. The action of travel suspends our sense of being, sometimes giving us two worlds at one time, where we are and where we have been, sometimes repelling, at times attracting- and often an experience we may share together. How we perceive and use our surroundings reflects our choices- where and how we live, the resources we choose to consume (or not) and writes a narrative for future consequences and generations. The photographic images I create about the road and the places connected by them help me understand and process that experience. As we individually navigate these common spaces, we all own unique views of a larger map- with the hope that the images can begin a conversation about the intersections we share. |
Joel Beaman
ARTIST BIO
C. Joel Beaman was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1971. The son of a traveling artist, he grew up on the road- the maps, text and images he experienced as well as the practice of navigating the physical space of highways were first memories forming his visual foundation. Naturally he gravitated to photography, though he also uses unique installations and book structures to explore how we perceive, navigate and negotiate our environments. He embraces the experimental side of art- from alternative book structures to a step van turned into a camera. His curiosity is always rewarded with the unexpected- leading to new understandings about the process of creating work. That curiosity led to the creation of the Pinhole Van- a step van converted into a camera obscura. The Pinhole Van documented Chicago and the surrounding area changing landscape from 2000 to 2005, with each exposure taking several hours, often resulting in a unique photographic record of the time and place. The photographic images created about the road and the places connected by them help him understand and process the experience of the road. As we individually navigate these common spaces, we all own unique views of a larger map- and he hopes these images can begin a conversation about the intersections we share. Joel earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Florida State University in 1995, and in 2003 a Master of Fine Arts from Columbia College’s Book & Paper Arts program. He is an art educator for middle grades students, and works to cultivate in their minds an awareness, appreciation and love of art. He has won several awards for his art, including the Albert P. Weisman Memorial Scholarship, and an award from the Union League Civic & Arts Foundation, and most recently a Community First Cares Foundation Grant for Creative Arts & Cultural Entrepreneurs and the Vision Grant from The Cultural Council of Greater Jacksonville. |
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