Eli Craven: August 2022

August 2022

Aurora PhotoCenter is pleased to host Eli Craven as our August 2022 Aurora + Herron Artist in Residence. During his residency, Craven will spend two weeks in the amazing Herron School of Art darkrooms experimenting with found negatives using physical collage, double/multiple exposure, and assemblage. Craven writes of the project, “In the work I would like to explore the photograph’s relationship to death, memory, and desire while re-evaluating ideologies of gender and sexuality often perpetuated through family archives. Can obstructions or alterations of the original images lead to new representations of the body, transformed views of sexuality, or new performances of gender?” Craven will also give a virtual talk about his residency and work in the Fall of 2022.

Eli Craven (elicraven.com) is an artist based in Lafayette, Indiana. He received a BFA from Boise State University in 2011 and an MFA from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2016. Craven’s research resides in the critical investigation of the image and its relationship to ideologies of sexuality, desire, and death. He is currently an Assistant Professor of Photography at Purdue University.

Craven writes about his work, “I work conceptually with photographic images by re-evaluating the physical and psychological potential of the picture through sculptural and digital interventions. The works exist somewhere between the image and object, attempting to connect the representation to some form of reality. I am interested in the ubiquitous and mundane imagery of family portraiture, self-help books, and instructional guides, which, upon close inspection, allude to a range of human fears and emotions. The research begins with the acts of looking and collecting then progresses to a critical investigation of the image and its relationship to ideologies of sexuality, desire, and death.”

The Aurora + Herron Residency would not be possible without the following partnerships.

Herron School of Art + Design will supply darkroom access, basic chemistry, and onsite support during the residency. Aurora PhotoCenter thanks Herron School of Art + Design for its generous support of this residency.

Tube Factory Artspace will donate lodging for the residency in their artist bed and breakfast located on Cruft Street in the Garfield Park area of Indianapolis. Aurora PhotoCenter thanks Tube Factory Artspace for its generous support of this residency.