18 / 24
16
Interview with the Artist
Susan Aurinko is a professional curator, life-long artist,
and photographer of LUMA’s upcoming exhibition
Searching for Jehanne — the Joan of Arc Project
. Aurinko’s
travels in France sparked a personal obsession with the
figure of Joan of Arc and led her to visit and photograph
all the sites where Joan of Arc had lived, prayed, fought,
stayed, or passed through in her short life. Aurinko layered
images of depictions St. Joan from artists and sculptors
onto her photographed sites to create beautiful photo-
based objects. This exhibition explores the iconographic
female saint through the lens of popular culture, literature,
feminism, and theology.
Susan Aurinko’s exhibition will be on view in LUMA’s
main galleries through October 21, 2017.
How did you come to photography?
Actually through film. Although I went to art school for
painting and graphic design, it definitely sharpened my eye
as a photographer. I planned to be a filmmaker, and my
professors in grad school said: “Your work is like a series of
narrative still photographs.” I started to give photography
a try, and I liked it. I wanted to learn darkroom, so I went
to Columbia College for five semesters.
What is your philosophy/approach as a photographer?
My approach is to be ravenous and to never say never about
anything. I’ve had reviewers of my work call me a street
photographer, but I am not so sure that I am. I think I am
just a photographer. I also incorporate other things to create
photo-based objects, like in
Searching for Jehanne — the
Joan of Arc Project
. I’ve been trying to reach beyond the
matted, framed photograph, and make something else out
of photography.
Can you tellme a little bit about your exhibition
, Searching
for Jehanne — the Joan of Arc Project?
I love photographing old things and run-down places. My
best friend, her two sons, and I were at Cheateau de Chinon
in the Loire Valley in France. I was off doing my own photo
thing, and I heard a lot of heavy footsteps, voices, and all
kinds of noises. But no one else was in the tower with me. I
went to the other tower where my friends were, and I asked,
“Did you see people? Did people come out of here?” They
responded, “No, you were alone in there.” I kept that saying
something strange was going on. And my friend, being
very pragmatic said, “There will be something about it in
the gift shop.” And there was. There was a bookcase filled
with books on the Chateau de Chinon. While I decided
which book to buy to figure out what happened in the
chateau, my friend said, “I don’t think that is the bookcase
you want, I think this is the bookcase you want.” And I
turned around and it was a whole bookcase about Joan
of Arc. While reading these books, the project came into
my head. I took four trips to France to create
Searching for
Jehanne — the Joan of Arc Project
, which ended up being
my focus for three and a half years.
Amanda Malmstrom talks with Artist Susan Aurinko