Artists "Review" Artists: Susan Constanse on Alexandra Silverthorne

The Artists "Review" Artists Project was launched on June 30, 2008.  Below is a "review" of Alexandra Silverthorne's work, I Remember #4, written by Susan Constanse.  Alexandra also provided a second image, I Remember #3, as well as a brief response to Susan's "review."

Alexandra currently resides in Washington, D.C., and Susan lives in Pittsburgh, PA.

If you would like to participate in this project, please email me at jtkirkland [at] gmail [dot] com.

                             
I Remember #4
digital photograph
20" x 20"
2008

The "Review"

My first thought as I looked at this work is that it is chilling. I get such an overwhelming sense of cold dampness from the work. It speaks of death; not corporeal but of some lost, intimate relationship. It is a disorienting piece. Although the palette is direct and powerful, it is dark, which contributes to its coldness. Even the red is cold, leaning as it does to the blue cast.

The depth is shallow, with a limited vista, forcing intimate involvement on the viewer. I felt impelled to choose my avatar within the work. But which represents me; the one leaving or the one left behind? In the circumstances of the work, neither prospect is particularly appealing. A diffusion of sorrow and melancholia emanates from the work. It brings to mind a long-lost relationship. The text further reinforces the diffuse quality, with meaning lost in the fragments.

I wouldn't usually comment on the format of a work, but it seems to me unusual that "I Remember" is presented in a square format. Too often, photography tends to utilize the default formats for the digital screen or the proportions of the film. It is always interesting to consider how those established formats are challenged, especially in the choice of a square format. It is difficult to imply movement and dynamic arrangement in such a static format, but this work accomplishes that admirably.

By Susan Constanse

                
I Remember #3
digital photograph
20" x 20"
2008

The Response

Many thanks to Susan for her thoughtful review.  Interestingly enough the I Remember series emerged from a body of text that I wrote for a good friend who passed away last year.  The full text is: "I remember the native son heartbeats from our city rise and fall rise and fall phoenix rising honu swimming pushing through waters making your own path. And I remember the hospital room the tubes and the machines sympathetic looks the smile the wink the stillness that followed."

By Alexandra Silverthorne

Previous "Reviews":
Pam Farrell on Ken Weathersby
Paula McCullough on Aric Calfee
Lee Gainer on Leigh Waldron-Taylor
Aric Calfee on Paula McCullough
Matthew Ballou on Heather Levy
Giovanni Garcia-Fenech on TJ Norris
TJ Norris on Giovanni Garcia-Fenech
Susan Tolbert on Mary Klein
Heather Levy on Gail Vollrath
Sharon Butler on Matthew Ballou
Mark L. Power on Steven Alexander
Steven Alexander on Mark L. Power
Molly Norris on M. Trigos
Ken Weathersby on Joseph Barbaccia
Sondra Arkin on Susan Tolbert
John M. Adams on Sharon Butler
Michael Paul Oman-Reagan on Brent Hallard
Daniel Mafe on Pam Farrell
Joanna Knox on John M. Adams
John Lucien Grillo on Joanna Knox
Brent Hallard on Lisa Klow
Joseph Barbaccia on John Lucien Grillo
M. Trigos on Michael Paul Oman-Reagan
Mary Klein on Imants Ozers
Richard Schemmerer on Michael Konrad
Michael Konrad on Richard Schemmerer
Jennifer Mawby on Lee Gainer
Lisa Klow on Molly Norris
Bob Barbera on Jenn Figg
Tom Wagner on Kimberley L. Lindsley
Michelle Hunter on Aaron McMasters
Gail Vollrath on Daniel Mafe
Aaron McMasters on Michelle Hunter
Demetrius Romanos on Chris Rywalt
Chris Rywalt on Demetrius Romanos
Imants Ozers on Sondra Arkin
Timothy Buckwalter on Rob Hitzig
Rob Hitzig on Susan Constanse
Carolina Mayorga on Timothy Buckwalter
Leila Holtsman on Carolina Mayorga
Grant Dale on Matt Hollis
Matt Hollis on Mel Prest
Mel Prest on Marina Reiter

Comments

[Art]

What a great series! I'll have to comb through the archives