a new arrival...

Orjan Richard Oulahan...

one day late... the veterans in my life...

Paul Swanson, WWII Bronze Star Veteran

Drew Thomsen, Iraq War Purple Heart Veteran

Thank you.

collaboration in progress... continued

For the Marwen exhibition Marta and I were interested in exploring our perceptions of time through photography and video.  In the month of July we created a series of photographs titled "home/away." Marta was visiting home in the Ukraine and I was teaching/working in Milwaukee. We agreed to make a photograph a day at the same time (8 am in USA and 4pm in Ukraine) creating an archive of images taken at the same time worlds apart. Upon Marta's return we edited the work and were interested in some of the serendipitous pairings... there will be 14 diptychs from this work in the exhibition.

July 29, 2010 from home/away, Marta Shumylo & Sonja Thomsen

S: Home/away was a challenge for me but a fitting assignment for me to undertake as I was making my pre-college students take on the same challenge that month (although they didn't have a time limit).  It was an exercise in discipline (of which I failed at times) and thinking about my own domestic space as subject - something I never do. Although I often will photograph family and friends never do I pick up the camera in my own home for my art practice - curious.  I found myself paying more attention to the morning light than my home itself.  What was it like for you to be photographing in Ukraine which was once your home?

M: For me, working on our Home/Away project was extremely exciting but very difficult at the same time. This project is one of the main parts of our collaboration and yet I was physically so very far away from you, unable to get any feedback about my work.  Photographing every day made me pay attention to how my process was changing. By the end of this project I was very aware of how light looked at specific times of day, I learned my habits and became aware of my thinking that was related to the process. As time was passing by, I felt like I was  understanding the concept of being Home/Away more and more.

Visiting my home in Ukraine, a place where I was born, and thinking about time was a very strange experience. A lot of feelings and memories rushed back as soon as my plane landed, but for some reason this place no longer felt like home. I moved away only six years ago, yet to many changes happened during these six years. This experience also made me analyze myself and how I have changed during this time. That's when I had a moment of sudden revelation that transformations that happened to me are much larger than the ones that happened to the place where I was born and grew up. I am a different person now and no longer perceive things the way I did when I was living in Ukraine and that is why everything seemed so strange.

makes me laugh out loud...

Collaboration in progress

This past year have been working with MIAD student Marta Shumylo in preparation for our collaborative exhibition at MARWEN this December.

Marta is a MARWEN alumni and is very passionate about the school and its programming.  In December of 2009 she asked me if I would show with her in their alumni gallery. After almost a year and many long conversations about art making I asked Marta to reflect with me on our process.  I will post bits of our conversation and works here in the next few days...

Sonja: What is Marwen? What does it mean for you to show there?

Marta:  Marwen is an organization that offers free art classes for youth. It is a place where young artists go because they want to be there. It is a place that offers inspiration, support, education, feedback as well as many other things without asking for anything in return. It is a place that has changed my life because I am sure that if i did not have the experience I had at Marwen, there is a big chance I would not have ended up in an art school... 
Having the ability to exhibit my work at Marwen means a lot to me because I have a tremendous amount of respect for everybody there. By having a show there I wish to inspire the students that go there and hope to make the faculty proud. This would be my way of showing appreciation and staying connected.

S: When offered the opportunity to show at Marwen, why did you ask for a collaborative exhibition  instead of a solo show?

M: I was originally thinking about doing a solo show but eventually the idea of having such great responsibility became too overwhelming.  After talking to Arielle, Coordinator of Alumni Programs, I decided that it would be a much more enjoyable experience for me if I worked with another artist. 

S: When we started talking about the show last December I remember being moved by the enthusiasm and energy you brought to the table, it was impossible to turn down the opportunity to work with someone so motivated. I can't believe it has been almost a year since that first meeting, we are in the midst of final printing, editing of video and I am expecting my baby's arrival any day now!  It is interesting how our conversations about time and the ephemeral in photography became more palpable for me in my 9 months of anticipation.  

July 6, 2010 from home/away, Marta Shumylo & Sonja Thomsen

friend & performance artist Kristina Wong strikes again...

more about Kristina Wong here, here, here and here.

Mark Menjivar in Milwaukee...

Midwife/Middle School Science Teacher | San Antonio, TX | 

3-Person Household (including dog) | First week after deciding to eat all local produce.

Mark Menjivar

Milwaukee is lucky to have photographer Mark Menjivar in town this week.  Mark will be giving an artist talk at UWM's Union Gallery on Thursday October 7 @ 7pm, about his project You Are What You Eat.  His project is part of the Conspicuous Consumption exhibition on view through October 15.  

Who: Mark Menjivar

Where: UWM Union Gallery, 2200 East Kenwood Boulevard, Milwaukee WI between Stowell Avenue on the east and Maryland Avenue on the west, on the east side of Milwaukee.

When: October 7 at 7pm

 

video on website...

"Figure Ground" lightboxes from Re:Current from sonja thomsen on Vimeo.

Just posted this video documentation of the two installations of "figure ground" on my website.  The livebooks hosting of Vimeo video is really seamless - its a great help for a web neophyte like me. 

Collaboration in progress...

more soon...

Jones Island Water Reclamation Facility

Monday I took my students in the WATER course to tour the Jones Island Water Reclamation Facility. I am hoping it will help them contextualize their daily use of water and its connection to Lake Michigan.  It was a visceral experience, the sights, sounds and smells.  I took this short video of one of the water clarification pools toward the end of our tour. Hundreds of plastic bags clung to the pool as the water spilled over the edge - why aren't plastic bags banned? 

 

Milwaukee pride...

Thanks to Anne in KY I was tuned into this program about my hometown.  Listen to State of the Re:Union, Milwaukee City of Vision.  This city is small enough that I have a personal connection to each of these stories. Seeing home through new perspectives is always a good idea.

Back to School & Catching Up...

I apologize for the delay in posts this summer.  I am hoping to get back into the rhythm of a weekly update this fall.

I am back to teaching and pleased to be teaching two courses that I created at MIAD this fall, Historical Perspectives and an interdisciplinary course titled, Water.  They are two great groups of students and look forward to seeing their work evolve this semester.  I hope to share some of the treasures here as the semester progresses.

I am in the process of giving my website a bit of a face lift. Thanks to the good people at livebooks.edu I am now able to host video on the site, stay tuned for new video works to be posted here. 

PhotoMidwest is a month long celebration of photographic art held in Madison, WI, September 24 - November 9, 2010.  I will be on the other side of the table as a reviewer for the PhotoMidwest Porfolio Reviews, Saturday Sept 25.

   figure ground (2am), 2010  featured in CAS auction  (c) sonja thomsen

The motion sensitive light boxes from re:current, titled "figure ground," will be on view in two locations this fall:

• The biennial faculty exhibition at MIAD opens next week and includes 2 "figure ground" pieces.  I will be teaching until 7 but will pop by from 7-8pm, if you're in town it looks like an interesting show this year.  
• Opening Thursday, September 16 from 6-8pm,  MIAD 273 E. Erie St., Milwaukee WI 53202
• The Milwaukee Art Museum's Contemporary Art Society Auction features "figure ground" (2am), 2010.
• Preview Party Thurs, Oct 14, 5:30–8 p.m. Gallery Talk  Tues, Oct 19, 1:30–2:30 p.m.
  CAS The Art Auction  Saturday, Oct. 23, 6 p.m., MAM 700 N. Art Museum Drive Milwaukee, WI 53202

San Francisco bound...

So excited to be heading to my favorite city for a long weekend with Cain!
Haven't been back since 2007 - I am long over due.
Hope to see many of you in the Bay Area!

Teaching Pre-College at MIAD

I have been consumed by the 3 week intensive course that I am currently teaching. The high school students have been stepping to the charge and producing a lot of work in both analog and digital media. Check out the class blog and their "photo a day" posts here...

Sonya Kozlova

 Liz Folkman

 

Sarah Nasgowitz

  

Emily Tierney

WI Triennial update...

Recent review of the Triennial by Mary Louise Schumacher... here
Triennial Blog written by curator Jane Simon... here

6 weeks into the show (5 more to go) and the lacuna piece has shed 2,550 reproductions from its stacks with 900 left for the taking.  The piece has changed rapidly in this very public space (the museum is free and my piece accessible from noon til midnight) and I have learned a lot from this installation. Here are a few images...

day 1

day 21

day 40

For the ladies...

Two GREAT grants for female photographers...


Women in Photography 2010 WIP-LTI Project Grant : DEADLINE EXTENDED: extended the submission deadline for the WIP-LTI/Lightside Individual Project Grant by one week. You now have until Thursday, July 22nd at 11:59 EST to upload your application.

The Tracy Baran Award: DEADLINE - September 1st, 2010 

new to me...

So excited to shoot all weekend! Recently acquired a used 50mm lens for the Hasselblad and am eager to put it to work. Also loaded up on plenty of Fuji Instant Color 100C for the weekend.  Time away from the computer with husband, family and camera! sign me up...   Have a good weekend all!

Nazraeli Press + Fed Ex=

latest edition of One Picture Books delivered yesterday = JOY

David H. Gibson
Eiji Ina
Alec Soth
Mark Steinmetz


It's crazy not to subscribe to the the series - huge savings and incredible books! win win

from May 2007...

oil study from 05/07, sonja thomsen

I was curious - what does it look like? How does it smell? How different is my used motor oil from crude oil? How can I understand its economic and political implications?

Now that an unimaginable amount of this toxic fossil fuel is suspended in the gulf waters this inquisitive gesture has become my responsibility...

Part of a drawing from today...