Review 1: Krista Franklin Guest Lecture

Today we had a chance to meet and hear a lecture by the talented visiting artist Krista Franklin.

Review

Krista Franklin is an artist that does not limit herself to a single medium. She writes poetry and is also considered an accomplished visual artist. Her art has been published and featured in various anthologies and books, and she remains active in her field and continues to produce art that is equally intriguing as it is creative.

Today Krista Franklin stopped by our ART 345 class as a visiting artist of the University of Nevada, Reno. We were in the midst of preparing for our Christian Marclay Vinyl Performance, from which she was very fascinated by. She was knowledgable about the history of vinyl-based art and the use of turntables in art performances. She commented on some of her favorites from the early days of hip hop and how they inspired her in her career.

After we showed her a little of what we were working on, we gathered in the classroom to hear more, directly from Krista, about her art. She started her lecture by telling us that, depending on who you ask, different people know her for different reasons. Some people know her as a poet, while others know her primarily as a visual artist. Sometimes these worlds collide, and she likes to change it up. I instantly related, as I, too, feel that branching out to other art forms keeps the mind fresh and continues to keep me challenged.

The range of Krista's talents includes college, hand paper making, installation, poetry, letterpress, altered bookmaking, and even performance. She incorporates elements from popular culture and the "dynamic histories of the African Diaspora."

Based on the work available on her website, I was most drawn to her collages. They reminded me a lot of the Triptych Montage collages we made in ART 245, where we merged scanned prints with digital photos. Krista's art is much more aesthetically pleasing, and she unquestionably has an eye for parts of the collage that work well together. The colors and objects she selected complement each other nicely. I also like that she incorporates ribbons and other materials into her work.

Overall, I was very impressed by Krista's art and skills as an artist. She was friendly, knowledgable, and an inspiration for our class. I am honored to have had a chance to meet her.

Questions

1. As an artist that works across so many different mediums, do you find it difficult to mentally switch gears from one type of art to another? Or do you find that they all work relatively well together? Is there one style of art that you're more interested in specializing in than another?
2. As a contemporary artist, how do you stay current with the latest art trends? Do you know of any up and rising art platforms that you're interested in exploring next?