Writing
Interview with El Putnam
I worked with the artist-philosopher EL Putnam when she had a solo exhibition at Emerson Contemporary in 2023. This conversation, published in the IDSVA student newsletter, is about her new body of work in collaboration with the celebrated, subversive novelist Mike McCormack. Putnam and McCormack are creating moving image art in response to how Ireland—specifically the coast around Galway—is plundered for corporate gain, while the local residents find their livelihoods and resources in peril.
This impressive exhibition provided me an opportunity to see artists I hadn’t yet know, such as Maria Gaspar, and artists I’ve known and loved for years, including Martin Wong. Activism and aesthetics beautifully complement each other here.
In this exhibition, I especially loved getting to know the artwork of Andrea Chung, whose installation whispered to visitors under a starry, seascape at night, and Josh T. Franco, whose installation was, as I put it “refreshingly disruptive.”