Brandon Crittendon

Curatorial Rationale

Despite my determination of being as great as I possibly can, my upbringing was not one my peers often believe it to be. My personality is that of an individual who has a joyful household, carefree most would say. The reality of it all is that I don’t possess this fantasy that is placed upon me. The artworks are realizations of my past life and what hardships motivate me to succeed. Concepts that fill my artwork are loneliness, betrayal, repetitiveness, and fear. These ideas are visualized through intentional colors and lighting I implement in my photos, as well as the locations and subject matter photographed.

As a child up until where I am now, I only had my imagination to get me through the day. The majority of toys I use are old hand me downs from my older relatives and siblings. Eventually these items fade and that leaves me in an empty room all alone. That experience benefits my inner creativity, but also haunts me. The group of work comes together allowing the audience to see history repeating itself through my younger relatives. However, where there is dark there is light, as seen in Illumination and Void. These uncanny and serious realizations push me to do better and break this cycle in my family of survival. When I make these artworks, I often use Gregory Crewdson as a reference. Crewdson is an artist who displays misunderstanding of someone’s everyday life in his artwork just like me. His use of lighting and location always affect the mood and interpretation of his artworks. I employed his use of ambient lighting in 5031 and Decay in order to take an ordinary photo and give it a grave connotation.

I employ the use of colored gels and lamps to light the spaces and subjects I photograph. Cold colors like blue appear more depressing and suspenseful, as seen in 5031, Decay, Death Trap, Remincise and Void. Whereas warm colors like red create a sense of comfort, like in Illumination, Batter and Judas. The works I chose for my exhibition represent my hardships in life from when I was just a young boy to now as a young man. Though I am progressing in life, I still feel skeptical and unassured. The artworks begin by showing some personal encounters that did not go so well. Works like 5031 and Death Trap have direct relation to my home life. While 5031 shows where I struggled, Death Trap goes into how I struggled in that place. Since these artworks are the earliest encounters of adversity out of all my works, they are placed to the right of the rest. This way ensures viewers will see these particular artworks first as they enter my exhibition right to left, and know there is an order in which time is displayed. I then shift from my experiences to the younger generation in my family and their hardships. In the photos Reminisce, Void, and Decay, there are children photographed. Within these photographs the children are shown playing with broken toys, scissors, and eventually fire. These are objects that children shouldn’t have in their possession but due to the circumstances of their households it’s a reality.

In these artworks the camera’s view is not just a snapshot, but rather what I see from my own eyes. The canted angles intertwined with the various lighting of each photo express the same idea but in different locations. Through this exhibition, viewers glimpse at my past and personal encounters then shift to how they reoccur in my younger relatives. Lastly, we explore where I am now and whether or not I am moving towards where I want to be, which can be seen in Batter and Dubious. I can only hope this body of work opens the eyes of those viewing it. Most people who are outgoing and energetic act that way to mask their imperfections. If their backgrounds were embraced more, then they would be able to show more genuine emotion and not feel misunderstood. We have to realize that no matter how great someone seems to be doing in life, their backstory isn’t always the best.

PLACE A BID