Flying House in Progress

I have been shooting and reworking shots for the Flying House project I am working on with CD Mitchell (show and publication to come in August 2012). Collaboration is going beautifully! CD's story centers around Clovis, a Pentecostal,  hoofed-foot, schizophrenic born of an incestual relationship. He experiences what he believes to be the Rapture...but alas...it is only Clovis hallucinating!

The dark tale gives me much to work with, but I am nowhere close to finished! Images shown below are not the finals...at least not yet. There is much, much more editing, reworking, and setting up to do!

Stay tuned for more updates!

Text under my images are excerpts from CD Mitchell's story, The Cloven Hoof

His mother knew she would name her son Clovis, after her father’s brother, the fire and brimstone full-gospel preacher who later plead guilty to statutory rape and incest for their affair.

The exorcism seemed to work. Clovis no longer heard the voices from inside his head. The demons had been cast out and now walked along with him, beside him, behind him, everywhere he went, taunting and tormenting him.  They even included the bloodied, torn images of Benny Rice and Sammy Jones.

NEW LOCATIONS

I have scouted out new locations, and more elaborate set-ups. Images below are from an abandon mental hospital in Illinois. Set-ups and new shoots at this location will take place in the next month.

Jennifer Moore, 2012

Jennifer Moore, 2012

Jennifer Moore, 2012

Solo Show Closes

My solo show, Parts of the Whole at the Photo Four Gallery located inside South Suburban College closed today. The show included a mix of pieces from a few bodies of work from 2005 - present. See images below (excuse the camera phone pics! I forgot to bring my real camera to the closing!)

 

Flying House!

I am more than thrilled to say that I have been chosen to  participate in Flying House 2012,  an annual collaboration project that kicks off each Spring with the announcement of five artist-writer pairs.Once the pairs are chosen, the collaborative projects begin. When the work is completed, there is a show, a reading and last but not least, an anthology for all of our lovely sponsors, friends, family, and participants to enjoy. The books are on sale online through the Flying House website, at the show, and hopefully soon, at independent bookstores around Chicago. 

I have been paired with CD Mitchell, who has a long list of publications, including "This, too, is Vanity" and "Stud Fee." He also has a laundry-list of life-time experience ranging from defense attorney to professional boxer.


His Flying House Bio is listed below: 

CD Mitchell’s stories are at once realist, and insanely far-fetched. His submission, God’s Naked Will, centers around a southern preacher heading north in search of a solution to his problem (he’s a virgin and needs a woman––unknown to his parish––to remedy his virgin situation), and at the same time it’s a story of entrapment––by God, and by a sly prostitute named Delilah. CD turns the table of expectations in a Flannery O’Connor sort of way, which makes for nice surprises. 

CD has a large list of publications to his name, as well as Pushcart nominations. He holds an MFA with concentrations in fiction and creative nonfiction, and currently teaches at Middle Tennessee State University. As he puts it, “I was a boxer, attorney, carpenter, fry cook, daddy, and an ex-husband four times. But I have never been a best man.”



My Flying House Bio is listed below. Pretty cool.  And, as always, check me out here.


Jennifer Moore is currently a professor of photography at the Illinois Institute of Art, Chicago.
Her themes draw on personal experiences rooted in relationships, family, birth, death, sexuality, gender roles and religion. She explores the commonalities inherent in these themes through photography and digital art, hoping to better understand humanity, motherhood and womanhood. More often than not, she incorporates text directly into her work.

Jennifer earned both a Bachelor of Arts degree (2002) and a Master in Arts degree (2005) from Governors State University. Her award-winning photography has been shown in exhibitions all across Illinois, and very soon in the Regional Museum of Natural Science in Turin, Italy.

All Ready for Italy!

Matted, framed and packaged! All ready for the show in Tourin, Italy.

Unnatural Annihilation, 2012

You eat the earth without regret, without regard for her. You treat her as one would treat a cheating lover. Forget her beauty. Forget her graciousness. Forget her ability to give selflessly. Forget her.  Use her like she will be there forever. Use her like she means nothing. Use her like she is a whore. Use her. Abuse her. Consume her without regret. No need to reach for her. She submits. She takes your abuse. Sometimes it looks like she enjoys it. You assume she will always be there. You assume she’s yours alone. You assume she cannot fight back. You mistake her calm for weakness. But one day you will feel her wrath. You will feel how wrong you were. You will feel regret. You will feel shame. You will feel like the whore.

-Jennifer Moore

Perfection. Period.

Keeping progress...

One week ago Monday, I shot a model at a very beautiful location. I'm in the middle of editing those images possibly to use for the ART, ENERGY, FUTURE exhibit in Turin, Italy. I'm in the middle of editing 2 very different types of shots/images. Here's one...

There She Becomes
Trapped in a sea of broken parts, she wants freedom. Freedom is such a difficult thing. She is torn between becoming a slave to her ideals and her expectations.

 

There She Goes Again

Trapped in a sea of broken parts, she allows herself to be pinned down. “No, stop. Don’t pin me,” she utters. But secretly she wants to be pinned, to have decisions made for her. Make my decisions, but I will blame you for making them.

When I'm interested in clearing my head and letting creativity flow, I run. Since it's been relatively warm in Chicago this week, I've taken my runs outdoors where I can let my mind wander.

Original Sin

I'm working on a new series, Original Sin, A Necessary Evil. The subject matter is slightly grotesque: animal parts, but the theme is centered around Christian theological doctrine (of which I am not an expert, but am researching!)

A Necessary Evil

According to St. Thomas, evil is a privation of form or order or due measure. The existence of evil began when Adam and Eve ate from the Tree of Knowledge against God’s wishes. From that point forward, men were born with Original Sin. Christian theological doctrine states that Original Sin is humanity’s state of sin resulting from the fall of man when Adam and Eve ate that fateful fruit. 

Prior to Adam and Eve eating from the Tree of Knowledge, they knew no pain. They lived in a beautiful, lush garden, had plenty of food to eat and lived a pain-free life without death. So why did they choose to eat the fruit that God had forbidden them to? As God made us intelligent, inquisitive beings capable of thought, wasn’t it just a matter of time before Adam and Eve disobeyed Him?

Without evil, would we know that good existed? I am interested in exploring the idea of good and evil coexisting. I am interested in exploiting the contrast between good and evil through their coexistence. Without evil, perhaps good would cease to remain good. Perhaps evil is as necessary as good. 

-Jennifer Moore