GREG GARNER



The project is a continuation of one begun for the Free Biennial in New York City. For the first part unique photography based images were reproduced digitally and/or photocopied and distributed inside the Whitney Museum of American Art during its 2002 Biennial. Three editions of a booklet were produced. The first featured images that were manipulated in Photoshop. In the second edition the images were reproduced to resemble the originals as much as possible but text was handwritten on each image. The third edition consisted of black and white reproductions of the previous images.

The second part of the project involves mailing 100 copies of a fourth edition to residents of Frankfurt. A letter will accompany the booklet of images. Half of the letters will request the recipient to hand deliver the booklet to the Free Manifesta area at Manifesta4. The other half of the letters will request the recipient write something in the booklet along with their name(s) and return to me in New York. Return postage will be sent along with the booklet.



HOW TO LOCATE

Copies of the booklet can be requested by emailing me at artguy212@aol.com or at the FREE MANIFESTA HEADQUARTERS at Manifesta4. People that received the booklet through the mail may request that a copy be sent to an individual or group.



ABOUT THE ARTIST

I have shown my photographs and assemblages in Massachusetts, New York and North Carolina. I was born in Morehead City, NC and received a BA in Communications from NC State University in Raleigh. While pursuing a BFA in photography at Massachusetts College of Art in Boston I studied under Barbara Bosworth, Abelardo Morell, Laura McPhee and Nicholas Nixon.



ARTIST'S STATEMENT

At the most basic level the photographs in my current work are about the self awareness of flowers; the flowers in these images know that they are pretty or beautiful, that they are desirable or lack in some quality generally associated with a flower. I use language to illustrate their self awareness and explore flattery and narcissism, that of the plant as well as the onlooker. It depends on the viewer‚s perception whether the words represent the thoughts of the flowers or are half of a dialogue between themselves and the flowers. Ultimately, that rests with how attracted one is to a particular image. One thing is for sure, these pictures aspire to make the viewer want to engage with them.

All the photographs originate from two negatives printed right side up or inverted. The negatives were made inside a tulip magnolia tree in Central Park with a portrait camera. The resulting images are printed on different papers, using a variety of chemicals and procedures. Often the paper is fogged intentionally and then bleached and/or toned. The words that are part of the pictures are drawn from the personality that emerges from each individual flower image during the process.



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