My work presents a cultural riddle; existing as a focal point that maintains a blurriness. I’m creating something new that does not yet have a fixed and predictable identity despite a nagging sense of mutual familiarity – you recognize something in the work, it recognizes something in you. The content I’m working with is reconciling with myself as an artist and trying to understand how exactly I fit into culture and why I’ve made these things for myself and the viewer to look at, interact with and think about. The awareness of self as artist, ego, sexuality and masculinity all come in to play. I like to think about why objects, locations and trends were designed and rise to popularity in society and how I as an artist, can exploit, twist or manipulate them for my own intrigue. I spend time away from the studio, looking at objects and design, trying to create a catalog of references and understanding for the details and perhaps the philosophy behind them. This practice generates works of culturally appropriated imagery, materials and modes of production.
In residence at the Naked State, I will aim to produce new video work. Potentially completing entire new works, but certainly taking advantage of the unique landscape and freedoms of Bare Oaks to capture video for upcoming works. My work in the past has dealt with ego, identity, sexuality and my body directly in methods of performance. As the primary character/subject in my work, I see this residency, a situation in which I as a person will be directly and physically effected, as having a great potential to impact my practice. Additionally after investigating the Bare Oaks website, a previously abandoned project has resurfaced and I will produce a series of floating pens in advance of, and to bring along to, the residency.
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Martin Lang is an artist living and working in St. Louis, MO. He received his MFA in Transmedia at the University of Tennessee and his BFA in Photography from Webster University. He’s currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Webster University and an Adjunct Professor at Lindenwood University. He’s exhibited nationally and internationally at Unix Gallery in New York, Gallery Protocol in Gainesville, Tranzit.sk in Bratislava and Stern Studio in Vienna among others. He’s received a variety of grants and awards. In 2016 he completed a residency at the Museumsquartier in Vienna, Austria and lectured at Tokyo University of the Arts.