Contemporary Explorations of Vintage Photography

The new exhibit planned for February will feature images made using vintage styles and modes. In anticipation of the new dark room at Valhall Arts, photographs made with pinhole cameras, photograms and 'cliche verre' images will be exhibited. I am opening the exhibit to other local artists who would like to participate and are working with these historic techniques. See the call on Craigs List

Visit the website for more details.

Photogram image, The Circus, by Laura Brent

Expansion Opens at Valhall Arts

Opening Tonight, January 7, 2011, with a reception from 6-9pm, Valhall Arts has expanded! Tonight will feature a video installation by Laura Brent, "Moving Pictures", As well as the exhibition organized by the young curators from TR Paul Academy of Arts and Knowlegde, "Religions Around the World".

Stop in to see the new space, say hello and toast the New Year! This is also the closing reception of the TPAAK Young Curators, "Religions Around the World", so it will be the last chance to see this great show.

Visit http://www.valhallarts.com for more information.

TPAAK Young Curators and Artists Statement

For years and years wars have been fought over religion. In all of the art research that we have done in class on various religions, we found that artists work together to create beautiful symbols of unity and of peace. In our 4th grade classroom, in the small town of Fort Collins, Colorado, we have come together to re-create symbols that are found in religions throughout the world. As we created the artwork, our goal was to educate the community by displaying the different types of art that represent the most prevalent religions of the world. We took the symbols of the religions and we created art, together. Through unity, understanding, and learning from one another, we learned how to work together and in the midst of all this, we created something beautiful. In our seven canvass series, we hope that you too will discover what we have learned during the creation process. We are all in this together, loving, caring, helping, teaching, learning, creating, and understanding. Some times we have to step back in order to view the bigger picture. We hope you enjoy.

TPAAK Young Curators Install the Exhibition

Today was a blast with the entire 4th grade class installing the 7 artworks they created, researched, and curated. The groups all worked together wonderfully, and the show looks great!

Be sure to stop on in on Friday, Dec. 3, from 6-9 pm, at Valhall Arts, 201 S. College Ave, Plaza Level 2, Fort Collins, CO, and meet the students at the opening reception. The exhibition continues through Dec. 17. Visit www.valhallarts.com to learn more.

TPAAK Young Curators at Valhall Arts

Young Curators Group: A project of Front Range Community College and T.R. Paul Academy of Arts and Knowledge, Exhibition opens at Valhall Arts, Friday December 3, 2010, 6-9:00 pm

With help from Front Range Community College's Museum/Gallery Studies, Ms. Mockerman's 4th graders at T.R. Paul Academy of Arts and Knowledge have been working hard at becoming young curators. The Young Curators Group meets every Monday afternoon, with students, faculty and community artists that are part of the the Museum/Gallery Studies collaborative from Front Range Community College. All visit and attend field trips with TPAAK students to explain and engage in the process of a museum curator’s job.

Ms. Sarah Mockerman’s 4th grade class is learning about the art history of cultures around the world and more specifically, the symbols that are represented in each religion. In the spirit of the holiday season, TPAAK students have recreated pieces of art from each culture and will, as the Young Curators Group be curating and installing an exhibition of the work at Valhall Arts that will open Friday, December 3, 2010. The Exhibtion will run through Saturday, December 18, 2010.


Exhibition Theme ~ Religions From Around the World

Names of the artworks ~ Hindu Color Splash, Buddhist Prayers, Judaism Night Sky, Knots of Christianity, Islamic Crescent, The Short Days and Long Nights of Winter Solstice, Kwanzaa

Learn more about the T.R. Paul Academy of Arts and Knowledge, click here.

The American Dream: A Juxtaposition

Just entered my video into an exhibit in Chicago.
Below is my statement:

How does one define the American Dream? Is it the attainment of a collection of priceless objects, living the lavish lifestyle of wealth and fame? Or is it attained through our accomplishments? The often touted goal of "having it all", is this possible? How does one maintain the delicate balance of family, career, and personal accomplishments, without losing the personal sense of themselves? True happiness comes from the intra-personal relationship with one’s self, and the inter-personal relationships with others, through the interactions of a small community of close contacts. Ultimately, we are defined by our dreams. The American Dream is a personal institution, one that suffers in our disconnected, wired world, with its fast paced modernity. We offer only passing glances to others as we go about in our media focused consumerist culture, missing the greater things of value, a true awareness of the moments, and real connections. Only through living a valid life, doing what one loves, contributing to civilization in a lasting way, and engaging with others, can the American Dream be realized.

New Exhibit in the Works

The new exhibition planned for November is called "Moving Pictures". It is an installation with two video works by Laura Brent, that look more like photographs. It is an experimental piece, and the videos, in which very little happens, will make the viewer wonder about what they are seeing.
The title, used before in a 2002 exhibit at the Guggenheim (NYC), included works by Marina Abramovic, Vito Acconci, Kara Walker and Shirin Neshat, among others. The exhibit explored the affects of this new reproducible media in art making, it ability to render visible conceptual concepts and questioned the supposed objectivity of representation in itself .
This small solo presentation could never attain the drama of the museum's show, but I want the viewer to gain a sense of themselves, their youth, and their mortality. This piece follows my ongoing study of how we see things, how our media saturated culture has affected our way of looking, and visually experiencing and interacting with our environment. It is similar in feel to Brent's previous exhibits, Public Practice, and "pinching the light fantastic".