Artist Statement
Spring begins in Wisconsin when the snow starts to melt off the fields, and the streams flood their banks. During these times, I remember running up and down the hill by my house as the cars occasionally drove by. Spring was the time I tried to control the floodwaters in an attempt to keep a consistent water level in the stream. I created dams of leaves and dirt all the way up the street in an attempt to prevent the water from running into the stream. No matter how hard I tried to hold the water back, I never succeeded. When I look back at the things I once did in my childhood and compare them with larger events occurring in today’s society, I start to understand and question people’s and my own interactions with the environment.
Process Statement
Spring begins in Wisconsin when the snow starts to melt off the fields, and the streams flood their banks. During these times, I remember running up and down the hill by my house as the cars occasionally drove by. Spring was the time I tried to control the floodwaters in an attempt to keep a consistent water level in the stream. I created dams of leaves and dirt all the way up the street in an attempt to prevent the water from running into the stream. No matter how hard I tried to hold the water back, I never succeeded. When I look back at the things I once did in my childhood and compare them with larger events occurring in today’s society, I start to understand and question people’s and my own interactions with the environment.
Benjamin Stern was born and raised in Jackson County, Wisconsin. He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and his Master of Fine Arts (MFA) from Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville. Stern has been selected for juried and invitational exhibitions by Christian Rattemeyer, Ivy Cooper, and Michael Eastman to name a few. Corporations such as Sprint Systems of Photography, Inc. Pawtucket, RI, have also collected his work. Stern’s background in black and white photography as well as his interest in digital photographic process has led him to his newest body of work Topologies.
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