Pedra Furmall
Artist Statement
“Institution”

The institutions that we live in, do you ever stop to think about them? Do we have a choice but to live in them? I am the victim of these surroundings; schools, government policies, standards of society. I can not progress with out them and I can not escape them…ever.
Let me tell you about the intense pain I have felt as a result. As you look at these pieces, you are listening to my story first hand. Every color represents the emotions pulsing through me at a time I feared for my sanity. I thought I would burst. My only release, were the tears that flowed from my soul as I abused the canvas.
When I paint and draw, it is a dance. A very personal dance known only to me. Every line is a result of the rhythm of my body moving across the canvas. I must work big. I must break a sweat, cry, scream and sing as I create. As you view my work, you are looking at me, naked. I am stripped of flesh and bone.
Can you feel these emotions when you gaze into the eyes of my art? If not, then my endeavors have been unsuccessful. I know my work is very personal and may not appeal to all, however, aren’t the most personal themes also the most universal?

 Jenny Hirsch
Artist Statement
“Not Dunkin’s Donuts”

Not Dunkin’s Donuts take the lower class associations that accompany donuts, and promotes them, making the observer reflect about the importance of the “important” and the “trivial.” The idea for this piece came about in December when I was making art to give as presents to those who would appreciate them. I started twisting newspaper, and then I chose to sew the paper into loops, and that’s where the physical nature of these donuts began. I thought, “Ok, I have donuts, donuts come in dozens, so I’ll make a dozen and give them to people who have encouraged me to keeping working on my art.”
The donuts are hilarious! Every time I look at them, I get a kick; like the usual turned unusual, and comical. I went to Dunkin’ Donuts to get the box, little wax paper sheets, and a dozen little paper bags to give out individually. Each receiver of the donuts, when seeing the wrapping, honestly believed I was giving him or her a donut, (which was amusing to begin with), but then, to their amazement, a donut!
In my work I find interest in testing boundaries by blurring the edges of separate ideas, while retaining their distinct shapes. I then add something else – another variable to be thought about. I love that there are oh so many interpretations to every problem, to every situation, as well as to art. I would like to direct the viewers attention as to why she or he enjoys or dislikes “Not Dunkin’s Donuts.” How and why does this effect me? Art is my exploration, discovery, and experimentation of and with the world around me, in order to better understand and have compassion for it. Through art I see that I am not separate from it, from anything.

Anne Kelly
Artist Statement

I began photographing in 1996. My initial training was from Jim Maxwell in a vocational commercial photography class. This class was not focused on the type of art that I discovered that I make; however no matter what I did he was very supportive. I won an award my senior year from the vocational program, based on a recommendation that Jim Maxwell wrote for me. The award that was from the optional vocational program I attended my junior and senior year in high school. This award was based on the amount of time I spent in the darkroom exploring my own visions after school. I have studied under many art teachers; he gave me the greatest gift. He didn’t try to oppress my art. I feel many high school teachers did that, he supported my creative approach. He made me believe that I it was worth it to me to try to make it as an artist. The other people that gave me an important gift is my parents, they have always believed and supported my fascination with art. I know many talented people whose parents that that art is a waist of time.
I am currently exploring the original photographic processes. I feel that is probably where my work is going. However I have a hard time limiting my self specifically to one classification. I photograph what I see and feel, I see a lot. The work most satisfying to me are images of the fantastic. I prefer to manipulate and create images that are beyond the general realm of vision.

Triffin Constantine Koustas
Artist Statement

I’m not exactly sure what an artist’s statement entails, so I’ll just write about what my photo instructor told me she thought it meant. To me, photography is first about subjects, then about all the technical and “artistic” aspects. The photographs I am submitting to the Young Curators Exhibition are my favorites because of the subject matter. I find things I care about, that interest me, and I try to capture them as best I can before they disappear. Then, in the painting process, I try to make them look to others like they look in my mind. Thanks for looking at my work. I hope some of these subjects will move you as they move me.

Jason Malone
Artist Statement

Finding myself continually submerged in an eternally evolving world of art I have regularly found myself being interested in the ideas of minimalism. I often find myself being inspired by the works and artists such as Jasper Johns, Jackson Pollock, and Agnes Marten, all of whom seem to be masters at maintaining a strict focus upon a single theme. This sort of extreme focus upon an idea is quite intriguing since it is most commonly spawned from a meditative source. I frequently spend weeks at a time studying patterns and ideas with deceptively minute details, which contributes greatly to creating a technique that I can call my own.
Another source of inspiration is from the process in which art in general can be created. I feel that the process an artist chooses is quite possibly the most important of all the contributing factors that go into a successful piece. If an individual can find a process they feel comfortable with, they can produce anything their soul desires, because they have the confidence in themselves, their process, and their medium. In creating a process that I can call my own, I have found that it is more important to listen to ones instinct more that the advice of others because, after all, a process that already exists cannot be considered entirely your own. For me, art is the understanding of both the simple and complex environment of my surroundings. To apply them in a unified way to recreate my own vision in a tangible form is my mission as an artist.

Marieclare McKnight
Artist Statement

 I am a printmaker. All of my life, I have been passionate about communicating my ideas, desires, and emotions through my art. My hand is my tool and my inspiration is life. Most recently the focus of my art deals with identity, as I suppose it always more secretly has. Growing up as the youngest of four girls, the overuse of the spoken word enabled me to find a different outlet for communication, art. My elder sister Sarah could always be found with her nose in a book; I on the otherhand could be found in a heap of paper, pencils, and crayons. The making of art is a necessary part of my life. Everything about it turns me on. Like a kid in a candy store craving caramels, art supplies whet my appetite for creation. The sharpening of a pencil, its precise point and familiar smell, the loose stream of pen and ink being eaten up by the porousness of new paper, the tug of war with canvas over a newly built stretcher, make the possibilities seem endless, and they are! For, I’ve only just begun.
My favorite medium is printmaking; it is my attachment, my love, my calling. I am an artist. I am a printmaker. Living in Santa Fe for the past four years, I’ve found the love an artist dreams of – a medium that informs you; this process I liken to dancing. I am the lead and the process is my partner. Its multifaceted nature and future excite intimate relationships with ideas that will inspire you for a lifetime.
Depicting the figure, I examine the issue of identity. For instance, I’ll juxtapose a small female figure with a chaotic balance of color that yields a man’s face; I attempt to elicit an emotion from the viewer of power-struggle and the attainment of autonomy. Each color, line, and texture laid down breaths layers of incarnate conception into my pieces.
Process and product are twinborn. The dialectic between the two informs my artistic evolution. Finding printmaking has allowed me to experience the process of true artistic growth. It has opened my eyes to progressive decision making. This evolution has informed my vision, and propelled me onward, lusting for new ways to communicate my visual language.
The physicality of printmaking is ecstasy for me. Pulling and pushing color through a screen yields release. So gingerly, so tenderly, I lay down a piece of paper on my plate, covering it with blankets as I send it on its journey toward a new reality.
Dialogue is everywhere. Since my first exposure to printmaking, I find myself being informed by a high desert moonrise in early morning, as easily as a lecture by a native artist. The native artist tells stories in my classroom about passion and struggle, about suffering and triumph, and about the artist as the maker of the new day. The moonrise teaches me about color, space, light and dark, and the endless possibilities for new beauty.

Amelia Opalinska
Artist Statement

Currently enrolled at the College of Santa Fe, I am a twenty year old student from new Jersey, whose passion is photography. About four years ago as a sophomore at Roxbury High School I decided to take a photography class. I was very excited about the class and could not wait to get into the darkroom. I started out taking pictures of my little brother who loved the attention. He was my model for the first two years of my photography classes. My first teacher, Mr. Schwab, was a very knowledgeable photographer and he taught me a lot of different processes and techniques which enabled me to experiment and find what I wanted to express through my pictures. He was a very inspirational teacher and his enthusiasm about my work has helped me to continue with the field. Most of my experience has been with black and white photography. I have taken four photo classes at the College of Santa Fe. Currently I am taking another black and white class with the visiting artist at the college. Last semester was the first time that I have had a chance to work with color photography. I was very skeptical at first because I was so used to printing black and white. The class turned out to be amazing and I am very satisfied with my pictures. Through my many years of photographing I have taken pictures of a lot of different subjects but I noticed that most of my photos consist of people. That is what I really enjoy. Working with people is a great experience and although I am used to taking pictures of people that I know, this semester I am challenged to go up to strangers and ask for permission in order for me to take pictures of them. It is going to be very difficult for me to talk to strangers but I think that it will be a great experience and even thought I have to ask them for their permission I hope that they will not be forced to pose. I like taking pictures that are natural and usually don’t like when there is eye contact with the camera. People are my inspiration, they help me express my self through photos, it is a very cathartic experience for me as an artist.

Rose Bean Simpson
Artist Statement

I don’t believe that my generation of Native American youth is fully understood. I am in my junior year at the Santa Fe Indian School, and for several years I have watched my Native peers and tried to duplicate what’s going on through my drawings. I watch as we love and go through the pain that follows, I watch as we deal with drugs, alcoholism and what society promotes as “cool.” I watch as we deal with racial issues, I watch the immense pressure to succeed which we can’t always live up to.
I want to relay this message to others, what we are going through, so maybe we can be better understood. Maybe I can break the stereotype and we can begin representing ourselves, and grow stronger as a people with the future in our hands.

Adam Shaening- Pokrasso
Biography

Adam is 17 years old and is a junior at Santa Fe High School. He is currently enrolled in a number of honors courses as well as Studio Art with Mr. Gary Myers with whom he has studied for the last three years. He is also enrolled concurrently in a printmaking class at the College of Santa Fe and an analog editing class for video at the Santa Fe Community College.
Adam’s community service activities include assisting with monotype programs at the Santa Fe Children’s Museum, and in working on a web site to extend access to art and cultural material for youth. He also assists in the Monotype for Youth printing sessions held in conjunction with the College of Santa Fe Monothon. In addition, Adam participated as a professional artist in the Monothon for six years.
From a very early age, Adam has shown an affinity for art and enjoys all forms of expression, including painting, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, poetry and film. As the son of an accomplished artist, Ron Pokrasso, he has always been surrounded by art and artists.

Melissa Inez Walker
Artist Statement

Color photography is a way to explore my subconscious and all of the dreams that exist within it. These visions appear in many ways. My photography started by shooting everyday instances, but that was not quite satisfying. By using various tools and different models I began to choreograph a performance and then photograph the results. This results in the subjects displaying an unordinary and often doll-like look.
This began by experimenting with different elements’ effects when added to the skin. This started with the art of tattooing. By changing the viewpoint of the frame the viewer was forced to start deep within the image. The idea of body art lead to the actual painting and non-permanent effects done to the subject’s skin.
The most recent experiment has evolved into projecting my own images onto nude skin. In this way the images become the skin’s garment and therefore its decoration. Whether the photographs are made by changing the actual model’s appearance, or by creating a fantasy scene, the result is an image transformed from my imagination.

Minori Yoshida
Artist Statement

I first got my interest in photography when I was about 13. I started reading books, going to galleries, museums, and try to take classes. Last year, I took an independent study class in which I worked in the darkroom. I spent over 100 hours learning and experimenting with techniques I learned from books. Some of these pictures, such as “Tokyo” and “Doll,” reflects some of my Japanese background. I like to focus on a single idea and moment perhaps giving it a “zen” like quality. But I don’t really like taking pictures of people because I believe that the things we decide to have around us tell us more about us that what we look like.