Artist Statement and Other Writing

Sage Paisner-Artist Statement
My passion is the portrait and its ability to create a connection. I believe in the contemporary representation of culture. With a 4 x 5 camera, I work in the field and in the studio. I record family, friends and relatives using video and photography to bring an intimate perspective. While taking portraits I create a reciprocal relationship with my subjects who are given voice through videos of them talking about their portraits and life. I am interested in the concept and idea of the portrait and the effect it can have in our society when viewed by a large audience. Photographing and recording the narratives of friends and relatives from different cultures that are often misrepresented or not represented at all shows the complexity and diversity of human experience and ensures these stories are not left out.

“Mixing it Up-Family, Friends and Mentors” expands the focus on mixed ancestry as represented in several individuals who tell stories of exclusion and negotiating the complexity of mixed identities with pathos and humor. “In The 505” shows the flip side of my home state’s motto- “Land of Enchantment” with its historic, hysterical mix of cultures, races and religions locked in a passionate and often violent embrace documented in stark portraits of New Mexico’s diverse people.

Historically, photography has played a key role in how American Indians are portrayed and viewed by the outside world. I travel to communities and photograph American Indian Movement leaders, mothers, grandmothers, warriors, elders and relatives. Like Curtis and other 19th century photographers I shoot portraits in the field with a box camera and handprint gelatin silver photographs in the darkroom. But unlike those photographers who came from afar and imposed nostalgic dress on their subjects, I come from a place of diversity conscious of the issues of political sovereignty and self-representation in the portrayal of American Indians and photograph friends and their relatives, many that I have known since childhood, who present themselves on their own terms. Along with a large format camera, I bring video and digital equipment to enable each person to speak directly. I design exhibitions that show the dignity and diversity of people today with their portraits enlarged to mural-size installed along with projections and video screenings of them telling their stories. For the exhibitions, I bring out activists to give talks and participate in panel discussions to open up dialog and create a forum to present themselves and their issues in person. What excites me is the power of art to communicate. I am interested in using photography, video and new media to tell both personal and cultural stories that connect, inform and broaden understanding.

Sage Paisner-Arts Educator Statement
I am interested in how art makes people think and can lead to a conversation. Art can be used to create change. Photography, video and new media are effective tools for teaching and fostering activism and extending social networks and dialog among different groups of people. Art can tell a story, inspire positive action and create social movements that further human understanding. I am interested in telling stories through photography, text, video and alternative media to create political or personal narratives that give voice to people today who are often silenced and misrepresented.

As a teacher, I plan classes around assigned critical readings from diverse sources as well as from the general canon of writings on the history and critique of photography and art. I structure the class time with a balance of discussion, slide presentations of related art, and hands-on work in the studio and in the field, followed by class critiques.

As a photographer and visual artist teaching college students through the CalArts Masters Program in Photography and Media Arts and high school students with the Community Arts Program in Los Angeles, I honed my teaching and communication skills and my ability to connect with people of all ages and circumstances. This and other experiences, including giving gallery lectures and teaching ad hoc in the field, fuel my passion to share the rich history and process of photography and art with others.

I want to give students an excellent grounding with a broad range of photographic, video and new media tools, equipment, techniques and theory from black and white developing and processing to color, digital imaging, alternative processes and video production and editing backed up by a wide range of knowledge about photographic history and contemporary criticism. My goals are to teach students how to understand the history of photography and master the production of creating a photograph, video or other work of art. As a teacher, I guide students in the practice of refining a conceptual and formally consistent body of work. I teach the skills, protocol and language of discussing work in a critique setting and how to analyze the aesthetics, concept and effect of the work being critiqued. I include instruction on presentation (eg. matting and framing, etc.), exhibition design, installation and promotion to give the students the tools to get their art and stories out to the world. I mentor students individually on artistic and professional career direction, goals and strategies. Teaching is a natural part of my art practice. Interacting with students challenges and generates an exchange of new ideas that energizes and inspires.