Sam Bogner, artist in residence at Main Street Arts during the month of May 2017, is working on celestial sculptures and extra terrestrial relics. We asked her a few questions about her artwork and studio practice.
Q: Tell us about your background.
A: I am originally from Cleveland but I am currently living in Jersey City, NJ. I earned my BFA in Sculpture and Expanded Media at the Cleveland Institute of Art. This coming fall I’ll begin my graduate work at Rutgers University, where I’ll be studying archives and librarianship.
Q: Tell us about your work.
A: My work is almost always object based, but includes a range in size from miniature sculpture to large scale installation. My material range is also very broad and changes from project to project. I want to tease out sci-fi camp qualities from the material I’m using over any specific medium. My work stems from science fiction’s relationship to science—how as humans we have a cycle of wonder and inspiration, which leads to exploration and discovery. It is so enveloped in pop-culture that we can’t help but confront it. My work embodies the same visual language of classic sci-fi films. Campy effects are used in my installations and objects to create an other worldly experience—one that asks the viewer to suspend belief, to wonder where humanity can go, and what waits to be discovered in the cosmos.
Installation; Mylar, fabric, video, various color-changing lights, resin
Q: How would you describe your studio practice?
A: My studio practice is primarily research based. I spend a lot of time making an archive for myself of images, experiences, video, material, pop culture phenomena, etc. I also make a lot of models and plans for work that I don’t have the time or space to make, but maybe someday will realize it. There is something precious about this work for me, I can keep changing it and evolving it over years and when the opportunity strikes, it is ready and waiting. On residency though, I have time to make physical objects based on my research. I rarely have a direct plan, an artwork like this references bits of my archive, but often is directly involved in the experience of the material I’m using.
Q: What is your most useful tool in the studio?
The internet. Its an addiction. When I don’t have the time to re-visit a museum or library, it can fill the void. I don’t keep a traditional sketchbook, rather a large mess of files of interesting things I find. At any given moment I have 20 tabs of things that I want to search into more.
Q: Who are your favorite artists and why?
A: I am always interested in the works of Laurie Anderson, Isa Genzken, Lucio Fontana’s sculptures, Marsha Cottrell, Sarah Sze, Pipilotti Rist, Mike Kelley.
My favorites change a lot, lately I’ve been obsessed with the Instagram feeds of Laura Catherine Soto, Esther Ruiz Their range of material, texture, and experience are what keep me coming back to their work.
Q: What do you hope to accomplish during your time here?
A: I am working on a series of space rock formations based on NASA and SETI images. I am also continuing to make a series of extra terrestrial relics.
Q: Where else can we find you?
On instagram @samb0gner
