3/04 Artist Lecture: Amy Stein

Shooting with a Mamiya RZ on a tripod, Amy Stein described her most recent series as one where she approached her subjects by jumping out of her car and running right up to the folks stranded on the side of the road. Stein’s thesis piece for graduate school titled “Stranded” is focused around finding a unique style of portraiture when dealing with people and their vehicles broken down on the side of the road across the country. This exciting collection began after Stein lost her job in the Internet business and decided to go back to school in her thirties. Attending the School of Visual Arts in New York, Stein earned her MFA in photography and began her new career path in the arts.
Stein’s early project, “Women and Guns”, was shot on the eastern shore of Maryland during the time of the D.C. sniper. She traveled through this area of town and photographed women who use and recreate with guns. Growing up in an area where gun use was very violent and abnormal, Stein took a great interest in these women who found true enjoyment taking their guns out and going hunting for the afternoon. Stein shot this series with her Mamiya 7 and found a channel into her next series titled “Domesticated” with one of the last photos she took while out in Maryland.
Moving towards work with taxidermy, Stein got involved with a community in the northern part of Pennsylvania and began working closely with a taxidermist named Dave Clarke. Stein spoke very highly of Clarke and he helped her get all of the materials and animals needed to carry out her shoots for this series. Stein spent a lot of time in the community talking to everyone and began to take note of all of their “animal stories”. She then used those stories as inspiration for each of her images for the “Domesticated” series. She said that each of the images was her interpretation of the stories that the community had share with her. For example, her image titled “Howl” was about a story of coyotes that stalked the Target parking lot in the late hours of the night. Target employees were hesitant to walk out to their cars once off of the late shift because the coyotes would be out howling at the large lights that lit up the parking lot. Stein figured the large parking lot light was similar to the light that the moon radiates. Stein took a taxidermy coyote out to the Target parking lot and shot him howling up at the light with beautiful light and composition.
I thoroughly enjoyed her lecture today and felt like I could relate to her struggle to get to where she is today. Listening to her speak was quite an inspiration for me and a true encouragement to keep up with my work and stay motivated in the arts.

Amy Stein Photography