SUSAN BREITSCH
Biography
Susan Breitsch moved to NYC in 1984 after attending the Cleveland Institute of Art, Maryland Institute Collage of Art, and Skowhegan. In 1993, she was awarded the Bronx Museum AIM Fellowship. During her time in New York, she participated in exhibits at Sarah Bowen Gallery, PS 122, Sideshow Gallery, Hunterdon Museum of Art, Jersey City Museum, and international venues in Japan, Hungary, Mexico, Germany and England. In 2017, she moved to Philadelphia and showed at the Awbury Arboretum, Barnes Foundation and Temple University Library. In 2019, she received the Jan R. Lewis Best in Show award for alumni from the Cleveland Institute of Art.
www.susanbreitsch.com
Project Description
Light Box and Animation Research and Implementation
As an art student majoring in sculpture my work had close ties to painting—from a three-dimensional painted paper still-life that borrowed from Matisse, to a cast-bronze still-life table borrowed from Picasso, to a chair made to sit in the pond at Skowhegan that was covered in painted mosaic tiles and made me think of Impressionist painting. I used to say that I like MAKING sculpture but I love LOOKING at painting. So, when in 2004, I started working on collages using appropriated art images, it felt like ground that I had walked on before. Several years later, I completely stopped making 3-D work and have been making the collages ever since. I first compose the collages in Photoshop. I cull the images from galleries, museums, websites, books, etc. and import into Photoshop where I “curate” several images into a 16x20 inch composition. I search for images that inspire me to begin, and I continue to intuit which images should go together. I isolate parts, print them on quality printing paper, and then cut and paste them onto the background. Sometimes I augment them afterwards with paint, colored pencil, or occasionally yarn or thread, or in a few instances, even found objects. I usually decide that the electronic image is ready to become a paper collage when the title is revealed to me.
Two shows that I saw this year were Jeff Wall and Gillian Wearing. Both had works that were displayed in light boxes. Seeing those works piqued my interest in displaying some of my collages in light boxes to replicate the quality of light that I see on screen when I create the work electronically. In conjunction with the light box pieces, I would also like to explore the possibility for subtle animation in some of the works.
In order to begin making light-box or animated works, I will need to hire an expert, or take a class, since I have no knowledge at this point that would allow me to pursue this. Light boxes might involve printing on a substrate that I am unfamiliar with using, and may involve the need to outsource the printing. I will also continue making more of the paper collages and I hope that I will be able to engage with some new processes in the future. With the help of a grant, I could be on the way to achieving this.
Biography
Susan Breitsch moved to NYC in 1984 after attending the Cleveland Institute of Art, Maryland Institute Collage of Art, and Skowhegan. In 1993, she was awarded the Bronx Museum AIM Fellowship. During her time in New York, she participated in exhibits at Sarah Bowen Gallery, PS 122, Sideshow Gallery, Hunterdon Museum of Art, Jersey City Museum, and international venues in Japan, Hungary, Mexico, Germany and England. In 2017, she moved to Philadelphia and showed at the Awbury Arboretum, Barnes Foundation and Temple University Library. In 2019, she received the Jan R. Lewis Best in Show award for alumni from the Cleveland Institute of Art.
www.susanbreitsch.com
Project Description
Light Box and Animation Research and Implementation
As an art student majoring in sculpture my work had close ties to painting—from a three-dimensional painted paper still-life that borrowed from Matisse, to a cast-bronze still-life table borrowed from Picasso, to a chair made to sit in the pond at Skowhegan that was covered in painted mosaic tiles and made me think of Impressionist painting. I used to say that I like MAKING sculpture but I love LOOKING at painting. So, when in 2004, I started working on collages using appropriated art images, it felt like ground that I had walked on before. Several years later, I completely stopped making 3-D work and have been making the collages ever since. I first compose the collages in Photoshop. I cull the images from galleries, museums, websites, books, etc. and import into Photoshop where I “curate” several images into a 16x20 inch composition. I search for images that inspire me to begin, and I continue to intuit which images should go together. I isolate parts, print them on quality printing paper, and then cut and paste them onto the background. Sometimes I augment them afterwards with paint, colored pencil, or occasionally yarn or thread, or in a few instances, even found objects. I usually decide that the electronic image is ready to become a paper collage when the title is revealed to me.
Two shows that I saw this year were Jeff Wall and Gillian Wearing. Both had works that were displayed in light boxes. Seeing those works piqued my interest in displaying some of my collages in light boxes to replicate the quality of light that I see on screen when I create the work electronically. In conjunction with the light box pieces, I would also like to explore the possibility for subtle animation in some of the works.
In order to begin making light-box or animated works, I will need to hire an expert, or take a class, since I have no knowledge at this point that would allow me to pursue this. Light boxes might involve printing on a substrate that I am unfamiliar with using, and may involve the need to outsource the printing. I will also continue making more of the paper collages and I hope that I will be able to engage with some new processes in the future. With the help of a grant, I could be on the way to achieving this.