Eric Vaughn's Projects

MFA Alumni

Major: Photography

Graduation Year: 2012

Artist Statement:

Through my artwork, I seek to elicit ideas addressing experiences of everyday life and the constructs of subjective knowledge by utilizing the means of making, the formal display, and the contemporary discourse regarding photographs. My work is rooted in traditional approaches to photography, while forwarding a deeper consideration of the medium and its presentation as part and parcel of the artworks. Retaining the photographic trace of observable phenomena operates as a guiding principle in my art practice through which essential tenets of the medium are both critiqued and used to demonstrate key concepts. The strictly prescribed modes of image production I use directly inform the content of every project.
The trajectory of my art practice began with a commitment to the formalist practice espoused by the likes of Alfred Stieglitz and Minor White, which transforms everyday subjects into transcendent aesthetical photographs. Over time, my working process has shifted toward a contemporary critical engagement, exploring how photographs might operate as source material that point to ideas realized within the reading of artworks on display. I want to draw the viewer in with beauty and invite an active participation via subjective interpretation of that which is intelligible.

Biography:

I am an artist, educator, and photographer living in Cleveland, Ohio. Through my art practice I seek to elicit ideas utilizing the means of making, the formal display, and the contemporary discourse regarding photographs, to address experiences of everyday life and the constructs of subjective knowledge. I received a 2017 Individual Excellence Award Grant from the Ohio Arts Council. In 2016, I was selected to execute a public art commission resulting in a 20ft. x 30ft. mural; awarded a Baie Ste Marie Residency in Nova Scotia, Canada; and selected as a winner of Life Framer’s “Street Life” theme. My work has been exhibited via solo exhibition, curated group exhibitions, and juried group exhibitions. Magnum Photos photographer Bruce Gilden recently described my work as “visually distinct, and quite challenging” with “a depth of ideas.” I began producing commercial photography in 1993, teaching college level photography courses in 1998, and have always made artwork. Born in Mississippi, raised in Northeast Ohio, I earned an AA from Lakeland Community College, a BA in Humanities from Ursuline College, and a MFA in Studio Arts from Maine College of Art.