Homeslice

Photograhy which engages both people and process.

Stephanie Diamond

Curated by: Dean Daderko

At CUCHIFRITOS art gallery/project space.

September 17th-October 15th, 2005

Opening reception:Saturday, September 17th, 4-6pm
Open daily, Monday through Saturday 12:00 noon to 5:30pm. Closed Sundays

Cuchifritos is pleased to present Homeslice, an exhibition of photography by New York-based artist Stephanie Diamond. The artistÕs work is notable for the way it engages both people and process. The selection of recent work on display also includes her archive of photographs, numbering nearly 80,000. The sheer number of photographs in this archive is the result of the artist being inseparable from her camera, constantly documenting her experiences and the world around her. It is a process, not simply of taking pictures, but of providing a vehicle for reflection and dialogue. She states:

"I take photographs as an artist, tourist, friend, New Yorker, and documentarian, among others. I work with snapshots, formal portraiture, lost images, archives, advertisements, installations, appropriated images, and professional images. My work has appeared as installations, performances, workshops, classes, on the street, in the subway, on windows, and in traditional museum and gallery settings."

Culled from her extensive archives, the photographs in Homeslice represent a variety of trajectories within the artistÕs work, and with varied implications. For instance, Diamond photographed an empty billboard around the corner from her home, and kept documenting it every time it was reposted. The resulting series of images become a calendar-of-sorts, and a poignant reminder of what was, as the billboard itself was eventually removed. Other series straightforwardly address traditional photographic genres like portraiture and still life. Casi Cada Day is comprised of more than 150 self-portraits of the artist in her studio while on a residency in Puerto Rico. The filmic progression of images, initially taken as a diary for self-reflection, captures not only examples of good and bad hair days and a lexicon of body language, but importantly, changes in attitude and a record of the artistÕs experience. Food features a never-ending array of the meals that have been placed on the table in front of Diamond, whether lovingly prepared by friends, ordered while on vacation, or picked up on the go as take-out sustenance.

DiamondÕs photographs are also temporal bookmarks and memory aids. With Reenactments, she physically revisits sites to create an admittedly faulty copy of a "tacky" vacation snapshot. The artist re-shoots these personal photographs from her archive, sometimes years later, to re-create and differentiate between two moments, and engages photographyÕs ability to function as a reminder of past times and emotions. For Do You See What I See Diamond steps behind and covertly photographs someone she sees taking a picture. Once this photographer moves away, Diamond moves into his or her place to shoot a companion image of what she thinks the other photographer may have been taking a picture of. These two images are united in a diptych.

A\Born, raised, and currently living in New York City, Stephanie Diamond received her BFA from Rhode Island School of Design 1997, and her MA at New York University, 2003. Diamond has had a solo exhibition at Galeria Sin Titulo in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 2004. Her work has been included in group exhibitions at P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center; The Studio Museum in Harlem; Contemporary Art Center in Vilnius, Lithuania; Art in General; and ArtistsÕ Space. Diamond has been an artist-in-residence at M + M Projects in San Juan Puerto Rico; Art Omi; The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture; and P.S. 1 Contemporary Art Center. As an educator, Diamond has served as the Director of Education and Community Relations at Socrates Sculpture Park and Education and Community Coordinator at P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center. She has been an artist-in-residence within the New York City public and private school system, and an Educational Consultant for the PBS series Art:21.

This exhibit was made possible by the following:

The Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, LMCC's Fund For Creative Communities/NYSCA, The New York City Economic Development Corporation, The Puffin Foundation, the Elizabeth Firestone Graham Foundation, The Greenwall Foundation, and the members of the Artists Alliance Incorporated.

CUCHIFRITOS is a project of Artists Alliance Inc.