Where are you from originally?
East Aurora, New York
What is your medium?
Photography
How has Buffalo influenced your work?
Buffalo has greatly influenced my work. It is through the documentation of the familiar that I have been challenged to sharpen my eye and strengthen my technique. Buffalo’s artist community has also played a pivotal role in my evolution as a photographer. They have developed and fostered an atmosphere of inclusiveness that encourages collaboration and experimentation.
Where do you draw your inspiration from?
Most often I derive inspiration from the natural and built environment. I am captivated in studying these subjects both as distinct entities and as deeply intertwined–how they relate, interact, and oppose each other. My offering to the viewer is a space in which they can interact with each component without distraction, including those that would otherwise be a temporary part of the landscape. A photograph provides a means by which one can distill the beauty of the every day into an image to be perceived with all the senses.
Name an artist (or more) that most inspires you?
There are far too many, and I am continuously adding to the already lengthy list. However, I would be remiss if I didn’t cite photographer and environmentalist Ansel Adams as one of the very first. His works (and my Father’s love of them) captivated me in my early years.
What or who first prompted you to venture into the art world?
I credit my older brother Jonathan for instilling the love of the arts in me at a very young age. I finally decided to venture into showing my photography after a longtime artist friend of mine, Amanda Benton, encouraged me to after seeing a photograph that I had taken of the London Eye several years back on a business trip.
Have you been schooled in art? Are you planning on attending art school? If so, where?
I have no formal training in photography. In fact, i have no formal training in any number of pursuits that I have undertaken over the years. The recurring lesson through such a methodology is a valuable one:
I am able to create and make manifest my truest desires without the persistent need for perfection. And I am best able to explore the vastness that only an untrained mind can produce.
Where is your favorite venue in Buffalo to exhibit?
When I first returned home from Washington, DC, I had a solo exhibition at Allen Street Hardware Cafe, which ranks high on my list of locally owned businesses in Buffalo. Mark Goldman was extremely supportive of my work and allowed me the latitude to create a first rate show on a shoestring budget (offsetting a lot of the costs himself). It might be nostalgia talking, but it still remains my favorite venue to this day.
Is there a gallery in Buffalo that you would like to show your work in, but haven’t yet?
Over the past several years I have focused on showing my work in alternative and community spaces, locally owned businesses, and both print and online media. Metamorphosis is the first collection that I have shown in a formalized gallery space. My hope is that this will serve as an entree to more opportunities to do so.
Name one person that you would like to sell a work of art to?
There are two: Colin Dabkowski and Paul Hogan. When I have gained the respect of those that are as supportive as they are of the arts–and with such a critical, well-developed eye–I will be deeply satisfied.
Where is your current/next show in the city? Dates? Opening night?
Metamorphosis, Mundo Images, 500 Franklin Street. Opens during the Greater Allentown First Friday Gallery Walk on November 1st., 2013 from 6pm to 9pm. The show runs through December 3rd.
What is the title and theme of the show/s?
Metamorphosis is a constant state. As living beings, we experience transformation all of the time, whether felt or unfelt. Natural life cycles support this truism. Our life expressed through countless interactions mimic this seamless ebb and flow. The long periods of stasis help to establish our sense of place and purpose in our environment while the short intervals of change, sometimes perceived as chaos from an outside perspective, can be profoundly catalytic — an invitation to interact with forces that may otherwise be underutilized. In my personal experience, they are creativity, wonderment, and the ability to (once again) reinterpret and define myself. As I am, presently. Not as I was.
All of the pieces in Metamorphosis were shot over the span of the short interval from June 2013 to October 2013, at the height and depth of internal inquiry and external movement. It is a manifestation of countless conversations between the id, ego, and superego. And, it is a proclamation of rejuvenation through the application of an expanded vision and a more developed eye. In its entirety, this collection is a statement to the unfiltered, naturalist self that values being above all else.
Sarah Bishop Photography: Facebook
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