Artist Entry: Kevin Newark

I first encountered Kevin Newark's work last spring at the New York Photo Festival in Brooklyn. His work Protoplasm was showing and upon first glance, you would think you were looking into a microscope at an organism or through a telescope into space. However, his images are old, used trash bags in water. In an interview at the festival, Newarks says:

"Their spent utility a metaphor for our own mortal anxiety. [...] For me photography is a device for extending the visual experience, while also transforming the subject. A delay in cognition produces a kind of disorientation, which I’m quite interested in exploring. Perception and surface play an important role in my photography.” (Source)

On the Facebook event page, they describe Newark's series as "look[ing] to find solace for the exiled soul of the plastic bag." I feel like he is an important artist for me to report on not only because his work touches on environmental issues (whether or not he intends to, I haven't discovered) but because he is animating the inanimate. The photographs go deeper than what's in front of you, without the use of text and without being so literal. He does not have a website and the only information I can gather is from interviews with him. However, I think his quotes speak volumes about his work and indicate each photograph is completely intentional. His observation and concept influenced his execution.