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Cleanse, a photograph by D. Morrison Lyman is hanging on the 888 space.

Artwork Statment

Looks at My Loves
The latest series by D. Morrison Lyman
D. Morrison Lyman, a queer Chicago artist and activist, has been shooting and compiling this body of work over several years. Looks at my Loves is a collection of fragmented portraits of people in Morrison’s life and community. The images are snapshot glimpses of a delicious assembly of her loves and community members in all of their grief and glory. Images made are observations of individuals and relationships between: the subject(s) and the environment, the photographer and the subject, and often the subject and the viewer.
Subjects are each part of Morrison’s world in some capacity, as a friend, partner, ally, or advocate. Gender or sexual orientation-wise, they often transcend a common label or definition. For example, some of the subjects may consider themselves lesbians, but others may consider themselves transgender, queer, genderqueer, or genderrevolutionary, as essentially all of these terms represent anything considered ‘deviant’ or ‘alternative’ to/ of the ‘norm’. What constitutes ‘the norm’ is anyone’s educated guess: the dominant ideology, the commonly accepted norms as defined by the majority, and/ or the people in power. In this way, the images of Looks at My Loves serve to inform as well as observe this lifestyle. Consider these photos a true representation of real, queer life in the contemporary Midwest, today. In regards to the April 2005 Your Art Here Billboard image, the artist writes, Untitled (Liz in the tub) is a portrait of my (now former) partner. This image shows the intimacy and vulnerability of being in a loving relationship, and all of the complex emotions that accompany it.

Artist Bio

Morrison Lyman is a Chicago artist, performer, and photographer, and teacher. Raised in a small Midwestern farm community by a single mother artist, Morrison was taught the value and necessity of self-expression at a very early age. She has since developed this need to express into art that comments on and explores such issues as gender, body image, class, relationships, and fractured identity.

Yucca Flat, Andrew Glenn

Detail from Yucca Flat, NV, by Andrew Glenn, is an image that coincides with his MFA Thesis Exhibition, April 13–24, at the Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, IN, is hanging on the 922 space. Andrew’s opening reception is Friday, April 15, 6–8pm.

Massachusetts Avenue billboards- D. Morrison Lyman and Andrew Glenn

Posted on January 7, 2005 - 7:49 PM by


Cleanse, a photograph by D. Morrison Lyman is hanging on the 888 space.

Artwork Statment

Looks at My Loves
The latest series by D. Morrison Lyman
D. Morrison Lyman, a queer Chicago artist and activist, has been shooting and compiling this body of work over several years. Looks at my Loves is a collection of fragmented portraits of people in Morrison’s life and community. The images are snapshot glimpses of a delicious assembly of her loves and community members in all of their grief and glory. Images made are observations of individuals and relationships between: the subject(s) and the environment, the photographer and the subject, and often the subject and the viewer.
Subjects are each part of Morrison’s world in some capacity, as a friend, partner, ally, or advocate. Gender or sexual orientation-wise, they often transcend a common label or definition. For example, some of the subjects may consider themselves lesbians, but others may consider themselves transgender, queer, genderqueer, or genderrevolutionary, as essentially all of these terms represent anything considered ‘deviant’ or ‘alternative’ to/ of the ‘norm’. What constitutes ‘the norm’ is anyone’s educated guess: the dominant ideology, the commonly accepted norms as defined by the majority, and/ or the people in power. In this way, the images of Looks at My Loves serve to inform as well as observe this lifestyle. Consider these photos a true representation of real, queer life in the contemporary Midwest, today. In regards to the April 2005 Your Art Here Billboard image, the artist writes, Untitled (Liz in the tub) is a portrait of my (now former) partner. This image shows the intimacy and vulnerability of being in a loving relationship, and all of the complex emotions that accompany it.

Artist Bio

Morrison Lyman is a Chicago artist, performer, and photographer, and teacher. Raised in a small Midwestern farm community by a single mother artist, Morrison was taught the value and necessity of self-expression at a very early age. She has since developed this need to express into art that comments on and explores such issues as gender, body image, class, relationships, and fractured identity.

Yucca Flat, Andrew Glenn

Detail from Yucca Flat, NV, by Andrew Glenn, is an image that coincides with his MFA Thesis Exhibition, April 13–24, at the Indiana University Art Museum, Bloomington, IN, is hanging on the 922 space. Andrew’s opening reception is Friday, April 15, 6–8pm.

The Patriot Art Series

Posted on November 16, 2004 - 2:15 AM by


Does Your Vote Count by Shana Berger

This series of four billboards was exhibited on the YAH Massachusetts Ave. billboards, leading up to the November Presidential Election of 2004. Each piece took a unique look at the media’s influence on the mainstream perception of ‘patriotism.’ Lies, Lies, Lies, by Owen Mundy, Does Your Vote Count?, by Shana Berger, #2, by Dan Reidy and Wendy Taylor, andDang, It Feel Good to Be a Gangsterer!, by Dana Sperry and Chuck Jones

Press

Politics, passion & property, by Paul F. P. Pogue, NUVO, Indianapolis, IN, December 15, 2004
 Off The Wall: Stories Behind the Art, Shana Berger, The Herald-Times Scene, October 7, 2004

*The Patriotic Art series was a new Your Art Here series. All art billboards were displayed on privately-owned buildings in Indianapolis, IN. All art billboards were paid for by the artists themselves. There was no affiliation with, nor did any additional funding for this series come from, any outside agency including, but not limited to, Public or Private Corporations, Political Parties, 527 Organizations, 501(c)(3) Organizations, Educational Institutions, Churches, or City, State, or Federal Governments. Additionally, Your Art Here does not endorse any candidate for public office.

 

Massachusetts Ave. Billboard Project: Arthur Liou

Posted on October 14, 2004 - 7:52 PM by


Artist’s “Blood Work” Based on Daughter’s Leukemia Fight.

Arthur Liou’s heart-wrenching witness to his little girl’s battle with leukemia serves as a mix of inspiration and anguish for his recent video and audio installation “Blood Work”, opening October 15 for a three-week exhibition at the J. Martin Gallery in Fountain Square.

Now two, Liou’s daughter Vivian was diagnosed with the disease when she was five months old. “In a way, the fight against cancer is a civil war within her, and the potent drugs leave devastating impact to the body,” explains Liou. “The chemotherapy affects both cancer cells and normal cells. My use of high-definition video allows the viewer to experience the similarity between the two types of cells and the treatment process.”

As medical-like as the videos “CBC” and “Blasts” seem, these non-scientific visualizations reveal a passion in the painstaking creation of the cell-like structures using dozens of little images of his crawling child and the barefoot bottoms of her feet, symbolically fading as the chemo takes its toll. The composition creates such a strong communication of the effects of leukemia that you may not at first notice the patient’s presence in the video.

Liou’s powerful representations have quickly gained attention and critical acclaim. “Blood Work” received a Rising Star Award in the Fotofusion 2004 conference, and is touring international venues, including the Asian American Arts Center, New York; Ukrainian Institute of Modern Art, Chicago; Atlanta Contemporary Art Center, Atlanta; Museo de Art, “Ángel M. De Rosa”, Buenos Aires, Argentina, and various electronic/video arts festivals in Italy and Brazil.

Liou is the Area Head and Assistant Professor of Digital Art at Indiana University in Bloomington. His previous exhibition, “Things that are Edible”, was reported by the Indianapolis Star to be one of the top five visual art events in Indianapolis in 2002.

Concurrent with the show, a still from “CBC” will be featured on a Massachusetts Avenue billboard by Your Art Here (YAH), a non-profit community arts organization that uses commercial billboards as public art spaces. Arthur Liou will benefit the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society with the sale of a limited number of DVDs. “Blood Work” opens October 15 and runs through November 7 at the J. Martin Gallery, 874 Virginia Avenue, Indianapolis, Indiana, 317-916-2874.

Billboard Generation II

Posted on March 12, 2004 - 7:37 PM by


Members of Your Art Here hanging a billboard with winnners from the Minnie Hartman School [Photo by Nathan Purath]

 

The second Youth Art billboard competition took place in Bloomington and Indianapolis, resulting in four billboards in each city. Eight different artworks made by students in grades k-12 responded to the question “What would you like to tell your community?” Winning themes included the effects of pollution on our environment, diversity, and the importance of community involvement.

Press

Around The Arts, The Indiana Daily Student, April 8, 2004

School 78 Art Appears on Billboard, The Indianapolis Star, March 2004
http://www.indystar.com

Galleries in the open air: Local students use artistic talent to strike conversations with community, By Jane Charney, The Indiana Daily Student, March 11, 2004

The Billboard Generation, By Paul F. P. Pogue, NUVO, March 10, 2004
http://www.nuvo.net/archive/2004/03/10/the_billboard_generation.html

Writ large: Kids speak out with artwork, By Nicole Berner, The Herald Times, March 10, 2004, Vol.127, No.256.
http://www.heraldtimesonline.com/stories/2004/03/10/news.0310-HT-A1_MCW46953.sto [log-in required]

Billboard contest features youth art: Bloomington, Indianapolis students submit art to compete, By Jane Charney, The Indiana Daily Student, February 19, 2004
http://idsnews.com/story.php?id=21476

Hey, kids, what time is it? (March is National Youth Art Month), IU Home Pages, January 16, 2004.
http://www.homepages.indiana.edu/011604/text/yourarthere.shtml

Arts Eye #30, Indiana Arts Commission, December 2003
http://www.in.gov/arts/publications/dec2003.html