Artist Lecture: Amy Sacksteder

 
   I had the pleasure of attending both of Amy Sacksteder's lecture as well as helping with the installation of her exhibition, "Will Have Been" and spending time with her outside of the gallery space. Amy was a pleasure to work with and be around. While I was helping install her work, I did not have a great understanding of what direction she wanted to go in. I am not a fan of traditional landscape artwork. I think it is beautiful to look at, but for me at least, it does not go past that. I think Amy's work was a breath of fresh air.

   I think the gallery's idea of bringing in an outsider to give their interpretation of the Nevada landscape was incredibly interesting as I feel like as she has no love affair or distaste already in her mind connected to Nevada that her interpretation is incredibly honest. 

   During her lecture she spoke of previous residencies she attended in Iceland and Budapest. The work she that she created from those compared against what she created in the Sheppard Gallery clearly shows a complete connective style within her. She has the technical skill to create her artwork as well as concrete concepts that shape her work no matter which landscape she is being inspired by. 

   There were two other bodies of work she spoke about that intrigued me even more so than what she created in the gallery. One of these was a small project she mentioned in her introductory lecture. It consisted of simple prints that captured the famous last words of influential people, such as Virginia Woolfe. Sacksteder received her undergrad in English, so I thought it was highly interesting how she chose to marry her passions of art and literature. I am always interested in the various things that inspire different works, plus the images were simple and beautiful.

  The other work she spoke about in both her introductory and closing lectures was a work inspired by Amelia Earhart. Sacksteder created a series of maps/paintings/cutouts that were said to be the last flight plan of the female pilot. I had never seen any work ever done about Earhart, but what really intrigued me the most was how aesthetically beautiful Sacksteder was able to make such a tragic event, which is something that I seek to create in my own work.