Website: https://www.krissanford.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kris.sanford/
Artist Bio
Kris Sanford grew up in southeast Michigan. She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally, including group exhibitions in Amsterdam, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Detroit, Houston, London, Miami, and New York. She is currently a professor at Central Michigan University. Her art explores mental health and relationships through the use of appropriated images, alternative photographic processes, video, and text.
Work Statement
The Normal Mind Series
The Normal Mind is a series of cyanotypes exploring mental health, objectivity, and sexuality. "What is the essential characteristic of the normal mind?" was a question posed in a 1924 psychology text covering "mental hygiene" in children. Although some principles outlined in the pages still hold true today, many aspects embody the troubling approach that there is some objective standard by which we should be measured. Deviations from the norm were seen as problems to be fixed, which is now considered to be an abhorrent view. This series uses vintage textbooks about anatomy, health, and psychology as source material to explore the errors and tension found in these once instructive books. The cyanotype process references the idea of creating blueprints for psychological development.
Abnormal Cravings
Cyanotype print (1/5)
13” x 16" matted print / 14.25” x 17.25" framed
2021
$350
Anxiety
Cyanotype print (1/5)
13” x 16" matted print / 14.25” x 17.25" framed
2021
$350
The Pursuit of Meaning
Cyanotype print (1/5)
16” x 13" matted print / 17.25” x 14.25" framed
2023
$350
The Wearing of Masks
Cyanotype print (1/5)
16” x 13" matted print / 17.25 x 14.25" framed
2023
$350
Through the Lens of Desire series
Relationships, real or imagined, are at the center of this work. Growing up queer, searched for a history that spoke to me—included me. In my family history, there were no couples that mirrored my own intimate relationships. That didn’t keep me from imagining such couples. Through the Lens of Desire creates implied narratives using snapshots from the 1920s-1950s. Vernacular photographs from that era were created as private keepsakes and the unselfconscious intimacy they depict feels authentic and relatable. As modern viewers, we witness personal moments that were never intended to be public. By purposefully selecting images that picture men together and women together I am creating an imaginary queer past. I am drawn to the subtle points of contact and the spaces between the figures pictured. Each gesture or distracted glance holds a story, and it is these stories that reflect my own desire and experiences.
This project brings a contemporary rereading to old photographs to address sexuality and relationships in a subtle way. My images are works of fiction, where I project my own dreams onto moments from the past.
Boots
archival pigment inkjet print (1/20)
10.25" print / 11.5" framed
2015
$500
Box Camera
archival pigment inkjet print (1/20)
10.25" print / 11.5" framed
2016
$500
Intertwined
archival pigment inkjet print (6/20)
10.25" print / 11.5" framed
2015
$500
Lei
archival pigment inkjet print (1/20)
10.25" print / 11.5" framed
2015
$500
Navy
archival pigment inkjet print (1/20)
10.25" print / 11.5" framed
2016
$500
Necklace
archival pigment inkjet print (4/20)
10.25" print / 11.5" framed
2016
$500
On the Ledge
archival pigment inkjet print (1/20)
10.25" print / 11.5" framed
2017
$500
The Mentor, 2015
archival pigment inkjet print (1/20)
10.25" print / 11.5" framed
2015
$500
Touched
These stereographs give the viewer a glimpse into queer intimacy. Each set of images depicts a private moment between a gay or lesbian couple in their own space. The anonymous scenes straddle the line between sensual and sexual. When viewing the images through a stereoscope the act of looking becomes almost voyeuristic, as the image is isolated and appears in 3D. The viewer is left feeling either aroused or uneasy by their proximity to this intimacy.
Touched
Stereographs with replica stereoscope silver gelatin prints
3.5” x 6.5” prints
8.5” x 5.25” x13” viewer
NFS