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Frances Forman Artist Statement
With a background in psychology, design, and photography, I am influenced
by the photographic potential of fabricated worlds and the surreal
intersection of portraiture, dreams, and memory.
My
collaged images begin with the humble tintype portraits of anonymous
mid-19th c. Americans. Dressed in their finest, posed in the itinerant
photographer’s makeshift studio, they sat immobilized, then waited to
receive copies of their new ‘instant’ likeness. They paid a penny or
less and presented their tiny metal images to loved ones, perhaps to mark
a special event in their lives, or before they headed off to battle. Their
desire was to be remembered.
I
photograph and re-assemble these images and ‘paint’ a fabricated
environment; I incorporate objects as clues in an attempt to suggest a
buried narrative and a connection to their past and future. Through them
and the worlds in which I place them, I try to make sense of issues of
time, relationships, and connections.
My
inspiration derives not only from 19th c. photography but
chiefly from the 20th c. artists using visual narratives and
symbolism to convey ideas and interpretation of the human condition: the
juxtaposed assemblages of Joseph Cornell and Max Ernst, the paintings of
Rene Magritte, the poetry and photography of Duane Michals, and the
ordinary but surreal imagery of Ralph Eugene Meatyard.
Technique:
My
photographic equipment consists of an SLR (Nikon), a Canon digital camera,
and an HP scanner functioning as a camera. All images are re-assembled on
a Mac G4. The artwork is created at a minimum of 300 dpi, and often at 600
dpi. Prints are archival quality: printed either on an Epson Stylus Pro
with pigment-based archival inks on Epson archival paper, or
printed on Fuji ColorCrystal Archive silver halide photographic paper. The
prints are matted on conservation-quality acid and lignen free mat board.
Inks
and paper are rated by Wilhelm Imaging Research Inc www.wilhelm-research.com
to last at least 76 years when framed behind glass.
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