joel Sampson - Artists Statement

My art, like life, has taken many twists and turns. However my common theme has been photography, and now digital imaging. I got started by developing Kodak Brownie 127 film in my parent's basement and making contact prints. The IBM computer, in my hometown of Springfield, Illinois, used vacuum tubes and took up three floors of Franklin Life Insurance. Little did I know I would be making 4x7 foot color prints with a laptop computer and a printer. Feet, not inches! I love technology!

Another consistent theme is my subject matter - urban landscape. While I've done my share of trees and rocks while living in Illinois and Ohio, I've always been drawn to the man made objects that break up the landscape. I love the icon of a grain elevator rising from the fields. I guess it's a product of growing up in central Illinois and occasionally baling hay and driving a tractor on my grandparent's farm.

Today I shoot digitally but still travel the back roads and cities looking for interesting subjects. I was late getting to my honeymoon in Santa Fe four years ago. I got delayed photographing the wonderful structures on Route 66. Fortunately, my wife, Maureen Brouillette, is a painter and understands. I image in-studio with an Epson 9880 printer, which uses archival pigment ink. I can print 44" wide on paper or canvas. The image is very stable, and rated for over 200 years.

Series - I usually work in a series. Current series include:

Loo Series - I always carry a small, high-resolution, point and shoot camera, which is used for this series. The images are self portraits shot in public restrooms. They can be elegant, funky, and sometimes famous. The images are printed on paper.

Route 66 in Texas - I drove every mile of old Rt. 66 within Texas, 180 miles. There were many interesting subjects. After a couple more trips I plan on publishing a book and will have a series for an exhibit.

Paris (Texas) - While I love the name, Paris also has many interesting sites and is another book and exhibit project.

Text on Canvas - This newer series is found text or text written and set by me. I convert the image to lines (vectors) and print them large on canvas.

Collage / Mixed Media - I print images on 90 lb. Arches watercolor paper and combine the images with acrylic paint and various drawing materials. The work is typically 24" square on panels or canvas.

Influences - I have a background in art history and look at a lot of art. I have been influenced by Walker Evans photography, Stuart Davis painting and almost anything by Robert Rauschenberg and Ed Ruscha. Also precisionists Charles Demuth, Charles Sheeler, Ralston Crawford, and Gerald Murphy, plus Marcel Duchamp and others in the Dada movement.