photomap
An interactive web project combining the artists’ love of photography and travel
photomap is an interactive photography project by luke kurtis. bd wanted to find a way to present kurtis’s photos in a dynamic format. Given travel is a big part of the artist’s work, the idea of displaying images on a map seemed like a natural approach.
Visitors are invited to explore the map and travel the world. New photos are added on a regular basis.
The project consists of photography, html, css, & javascript, and makes use of the Flickr and Google Maps APIs. Photography metadata is managed with Adobe Lightroom.
Crayon Portraiture.
A multimedia project exploring how an historical medium can have new resonance for contemporary audiences
Artist’s Statement
Crayon Portraiture. is a multimedia and interdisciplinary body of work that draws from aspects of my previous INTERSECTION, muse, and Jordan’s Journey projects and, like those projects, incorporates photography, writing, design, appropriation, and video. The layering of humanity and technology is the core focus of the series, drawing upon the crayon portrait medium as an example of how technology and our use of technology has and will continue to evolve. By combining historical and antique imagery with contemporary digital processes, I’m able to shed light on the role of technology in the interpretation of history and probe questions about how technology and humanity interact and overlay upon our everyday lives. Ideas are the basis of my practice. My diverse techniques and methods are evident in this body of work, which is rooted in thought and writing.
—luke kurtis
An original essay by the artist, titled “Polishing The Gilt Easel,” is the cornerstone of this project. It was first published in Palaver, the digital interdisciplinary journal from University of North Carolina at Wilmington. It appeared in print in a slightly edited form in Georgia Backroads as the fourth in his series of original pieces for the journal. In his essay the artist combines literary analysis of the use of the crayon portrait in William Faulkner’s ”A Rose for Emily” with historical research on the crayon portrait medium itself and personal/genealogical storytelling to reflect upon the significance of photographic images in weaving such narratives.
Note: ”Polishing the Gilt Easel” incorporates elements of the artist’s family genealogy and therefore is published under his given name, Jordan M. Scoggins. The Crayon Portraiture. project as a whole, however, is not genealogy-specific and is under his usual artist name, luke kurtis.
the woods are watching video documents the artists’s installation art project of the same name. This environmental work uses the artist’s earlier genealogy-rooted work as a counterpoint to engage with his ancestral landscape and explore the connection between humans, technology, and nature. Watch the full series.
This series of prints, based upon illustrations from Jerome A. Barhydt’s book Crayon Portraiture (1892), reflect the technical process—the technology—once used to create crayon portraits. Everything from the necessary supplies and tools to the requirements for the artist’s physical studio space are very particular and unique to the antique medium.
baptism suite
baptism suite
A video art project constructed around the artist’s southern roots and the associated imagery of old fashioned baptism as practiced by his ancestors
baptism suite explores the role of history, religion, and family and how those forces have often opposed kurtis’s identity as a queer artist. The core of the project consists of several video works, ideally simultaneously projected in a dark room with surround sound in order to create an immersive and multimedia experience.
speak of the dead (2014/2015)
high definition video, stereo sound, 2 min 47 sec
baptism i, 1941 / baptism ii, 1941 (2017)
digital photos
baptism (2015/2016)
2 channel high definition video, 5.1 surround sound, 2 min 56 sec
creek (2015/2016)
high definition video, stereo sound, 1 min 17 sec
swimming hole (2015/2017)
digital print of original text
baptism (2013)
video, silent, 3 min 56 sec
baptism, ii (2013)
video, stereo sound, 1 min 18 sec
abstract(ed)
abstract(ed)
A selection of abstract(ed) photography by luke kurtis. This portfolio is automatically generated from his Flickr photostream and updates regularly.
flowers
flowers
A selection of flower photography by luke kurtis. This portfolio is automatically generated from his Flickr photostream and updates regularly.
landscapes
landscapes
A selection of landscape photography by luke kurtis. This portfolio is automatically generated from his Flickr photostream and updates regularly.
journey
journey
An experimental video art & performance art project: travel as performance; meditation as art
This portfolio showcases a selection of stills and production photos from the journey video art and performance art project. journey has been performed at the following locations:
- Villanow, Georgia, USA (2011)
- Skógafoss, Skóga River, Iceland (2013)
- Palatine Hill, Rome Italy (2014)
- Basilica of San Vitale, Ravenna, Italy (2014)
- New Smyrna Beach, Florida, USA (2015)
- Chapelle Notre Dame du Haut, Ronchamp, France (2015)
- Schilthorn, Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland (2015)
- Stone Mountain, Georgia, USA (2015)
- Angkor Wat, Siem Reap, Cambodia (2016)
- Bukit Tima Nature Reserve, Singapore (2016)
Learn more about the work on the bd Blog.
The Language of History
Over a decade of work by one artist responding to a national tragedy in a very personal way
The Language of History is a body of work by luke kurtis created in response to the tragedy of 9/11. Spanning the years 2001 to 2014, selected work from this series was curated and presented in an intimate exhibition at the Jefferson Market Library in New York City from 6 Sep to 4 Oct 2014. The exhibition featured photography, writing, artist’s books, and other work by the artist. The artist’s Langauge Tiles were created as a site-specific installation to complement the Tiles for America project which is permanently installed in the library.
A catalog was published by bd-studios.com and features an introduction by artist and Bushwick Art Crit Group founder Christopher Stout.
”kurtis is certainly looking for something additive to the traditional documentary narrative, and through [The Language of History] suggests a careful memorialization and honor to the living, and the dead, and also notably to the human process of grief.”
—Christopher Stout, Artist & Founder of Bushwick Art Crit Group
INTERSECTION
bd’s first museum exhibition and several related works explore the artist’s rural southern roots and how that past intersects with his present day creative practice
INTERSECTION is a poetic interpretation of the artist’s roots in the rural south focusing on landscape, nature, and architecture. The photos were taken mostly in northwest Georgia in Chattooga, Walker, and Whitfield Counties. Early works from the series and the related Jordan’s Journey project were first displayed in 2012 at the Summerville Library in Chattooga County. Work from these projects has also been on view at local events in LaFayette and Villanow, GA and has been shown in galleries and alternative spaces in Chattanooga, TN; Dalton, GA; Portland, OR; Raleigh, NC; Richmond, BC (Canada); and New York City. Articles and photographs from the project have also been published in Georgia Backroads, a journal devoted to the artist’s home state. INTERSECTION is the artist’s first museum show and largest solo show to date. The show was funded by a successful Kickstarter campaign. It opened at Massillon Museum in March 2014.
An exhibition catalog was published by bd-studios.com. Several other publications were part of the overall INTERSECTION project, including the INTERSECTION zine, The Mountain zine, the singing postcard set, and the We Are One People multiple.
”His landscapes are presented very unconventional and unusual. I like to be surprised. I see that in his work. He composes in such a way that it looks fresh, not like something you’ve seen 1,000 times before.”—Bradley Wilson, former gallery director, Creative Arts Guild (Dalton, GA)
”The images [in INTERSECTION] function like metaphorical mile markers on a road trip to bridge what was once an emotional and psychological chasm between the rural then of kurtis’s southern life and the now of his creative life in New York.”—Tom Wachunas, ARTWACH
Having backed the INTERSECTION exhibition with a successful Kickstarter, I made a series of short behind-the-scenes videos to share with my backers. These videos documented the process of putting together the exhibition. Watch the full series.
INTERSECTION zine
zine
INTERSECTION is an artist zine by luke kurtis. It contains work from his archives as well as recent work created specifically for the zine. Publication began in February 2013 with copies distributed to a small group of friends. The zine was first available to the public in November 2013 as part of the artist’s Kickstarter campaign in support of his debut solo museum exhibition, also titled INTERSECTION. A full set of all twelve issues, housed in a custom stamped envelope, is available from the bd Library.
INTERSECTION no. 2 (inside):
”which parts are me? and which did i imagine?”
(INTERSECTION no. 1, Feb 2013)
(INTERSECTION no. 1, Feb 2013)
”he’s such a creative young boy”
(INTERSECTION no. 2, Mar 2013)
(INTERSECTION no. 2, Mar 2013)
”the materials feel delicate yet grounded”
(INTERSECTION no. 3, Apr 2013)
(INTERSECTION no. 3, Apr 2013)
”all is sacred; all is art”
(INTERSECTION no. 4, Jun 2013)
(INTERSECTION no. 4, Jun 2013)
”don’t blink”
(INTERSECTION no. 5, Jul 2013)
(INTERSECTION no. 5, Jul 2013)
”the gay cousin”
(INTERSECTION no. 6, Aug 2013)
(INTERSECTION no. 6, Aug 2013)
INTERSECTION no. 4 (left), no. 7 (top right), no. 8 (bottom right):
”what’s that on your arms?”
(INTERSECTION no. 7, Sep 2013)
(INTERSECTION no. 7, Sep 2013)
”psoriasis is much more than skin deep”
(INTERSECTION no. 8, Oct 2013)
(INTERSECTION no. 8, Oct 2013)
”hey, wait a minute… i’m writing… poetry!”
(INTERSECTION no. 9, Nov 2013)
(INTERSECTION no. 9, Nov 2013)
”photography is a lie”
(INTERSECTION no. 10, Jan 2014)
(INTERSECTION no. 10, Jan 2014)
”it has all happened before and will happen again”
(INTERSECTION no. 11, Feb 2014)
(INTERSECTION no. 11, Feb 2014)
”bigotry, stereotyping, and xenophbia”
(INTERSECTION no. 12, Mar 2014)
(INTERSECTION no. 12, Mar 2014)
Iceland
Travel is an important component of my artistic practice, and perhaps never more so than when I first visited Iceland. This portfolio represents some of the work I produced from my travels in Iceland and includes photography, video, and a written article.
I created the “Invocation” (2014) video art piece as a music video for composer Michael Harren’s “Invocation” single. I put this together exclusively from footage I shot while in Iceland. The video features my journey medition walk performance piece.
My “Less is More” essay with original photographs appeared in the print edition of Iceland Review (Vol 52, April-May 2014: 40-44).
Attending the annual lighting of Yoko Ono’s Imagine Peace Tower was one of the highlights of my trip that I wrote about in the “Less is More” article.
I published this documentary video “Icelandic Video Art” in Iceland Review Online (8 Jan 2014).
People who haven’t visited Iceland tend to think it’s nothing but… ice. But that’s far from the truth. There are many varieties of flowers and plant life to discover in Iceland.
Also, one of my photos was selected by National Geographic senior editor Kurt Mutchler for the online annex of an exhibition titled “The Art of Travel Photography” at PhotoPlace Gallery (Middlebury, VT). The photo, taken at Reynisfjara Beach in Iceland, was also published in the exhibition catalog.
Iceland is a must-visit country–espeically for us photographers. There’s no shortage of breathtaking views to enjoy.
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