Maxwell Place

Author/Artist Name

Leo FischerFollow

Files

Academic Level at Time of Creation

Senior

Date of Creation

Spring 2024

Artist Statement

Leo Fischer

Artist Statement SP24

Last summer, as I was packing my things to move, I found a stack of family photo albums in the attic. I spent hours sitting on the floor of my bedroom going through every single photograph. Many of my memories from the first decade of my life are foggy, as losing a parent at a young age is difficult, and blocking out unpleasant memories is an unconscious, yet common way to cope. There were some things I didn’t recall at all until I was holding pictures of them in my hands. Maxwell Place is a collection of work based on the nostalgia I hold around my childhood. These hazy memories and missing pieces of my childhood inspired me to create a series of prints dedicated to the things I can't quite remember clearly.

I use my screenprints to allow the viewer to see my memories in the same way I do. Screen printing allows me to incorporate my graphic design work as well as photographic and hand drawn elements into my pieces to create a narrative of my memories. To express these concepts in my pieces I play with opacity, layering, and abstract textures. I enjoy color blocking figures or backgrounds in my pieces, overlaying multiple images with varying transparencies, and incorporating handwritten typography into my pieces.

Recently I’ve been finding inspiration from Hollis Brown Thornton, a painter and printmaker who works with concepts of morality by using old photos and personal objects in a pigment transfer process. Another one of my inspirations is Geloy Concepcion, a photographer who works with color blocking and text in his photos. Seeing their works influenced me to use hand written text in my prints and gave me the idea to use puff ink to add more texture to my pieces. Printing in non-traditional ways allows me to explore my concept in ways I hadn’t discovered before. Printing on pillows, lamp shades, and furniture allows me to create an immersive view into my memories by allowing the visitor to experience a recreation of my childhood living room.

This exhibition is not only a narrative of my childhood, but a narrative of who I am now as an adult. Through my prints and installations I aspire to reach an audience that not only identifies with my art but also interprets it in their own unique ways. I hope the memories that I share with others remind them of their own forgotten memories.

Advisor/Mentor

Gregory Scott Cook, Nicole Hand-Bryant, Woody Leslie, Antje Gamble, Mike Martin

Description

This exhibition is a collection of screenprints I've created as an insight to my childhood memories and experiences. The majority are framed screen prints on paper; the rest of the show consists of installation prints on fabric. (eight 15 x 21 in screen-prints on paper, two fabric screen-prints on a pillow and blanket). I hope that the memories I'm sharing remind the audience of their own experiences. I chose screen printing because of the level of control I have over the placement and colors, and because printmaking has a more personal feel to it.I want this exhibition to feel nostalgic to the viewer and for it to remind them of their own childhood memories.

Photo Credit

Leo Fischer

Recommended Citation

Fischer, Leo, "Maxwell Place" (2024). B.F.A. Practicum Exhibition (ART 498). 131.
https://digitalcommons.murraystate.edu/art498/131