DREAMS AND ALLEGORIES, THE
MASHUP



I approached this mashup in its true spirit and
hyperlinked directly from my artist’s statement (in bold below) as this
collection's organizing principle. And because the gravy ranneth over, make
sure you see
the
whole collection on mnartists.org!


In
my current work,
dream
and
allegory
inspired
narratives
take on
politics,
pop
and
art
history. Playing off the
factual
nature of photography, it shows
representation
as a
fantastic
theater of
moral
ambiguity and
contemplation.
Topicalities are engaged and opened to change by showing them in new
relationships and symbol systems. Characters either confront or stand in for
the viewer, inviting one to re-view its themes and stories and see the
deeper
ritualistic and ceremonial manners inherent in culture.


—Sean Smuda






Editor's note: Sean has taken
full advantage of mnartists.org's "make a collection" software capabilities,
interjecting his stream-of-consciousness, often haiku-esque curatorial
insights throughout the collection as it is assembled on mnartists.org. The
effect is that of having Sean personally guide you through this tricky,
surreal, delicious collection of innovative photography one work at a time.



About the
curator: Sean
Smuda is a photographer and founder of Minneapolis'
Shoebox
Gallery. You can browse through a provocative suite of thirteen new
photographs by Sean Smuda
entitled Dreams
and Allegories on display at
Flanders Contemporary Art
Gallery through April
28.

access+ENGAGE Issue 15.2: Twisting the Lens
Click here to read the web (HTML) version of the issue of a+E on innovations in photography which originally featured this collection.

Radio mnartists profile: Sean Smuda
Click here to listen to Marya Morstad's intriguing audio portrait of Sean Smuda.

Shoebox Gallery on mnartists.org
Keep up with the current shows and news from Shoebox Gallery.

An mnartists.org review of Smuda's new show, "Dreams and Allegories"
Camille LeFevre offers an insightful decoding of Smuda's provocative new exhibit, "Dreams and Allegories".

access + ENGAGE, Photography