Artist Info

FRANK HAMRICK
Ruston, LA
frankhamrick.com

BOOKS | Handbound sketchbooks

Penland Affiliation | Penland Instructor 2012, 2018

Artist Information | Studio artist; education: MFA New Mexico State University, BFA University of Georgia; teaching: Louisiana Tech University, Penland, Art Institute of Boston, Maryland Institute College of Art; exhibitions: University of North Texas Art Gallery, Record (Jacksonville State University, AL), SPESC Members Exhibition (MAINSITE Contemporary Art, OK), Art Melt (Capitol Park Museum, LA), Makers Marks (Masur Museum of Art, LA), Unbound 4 (Candela Books & Gallery, VA), Penland School Of Craft Annual Benefit Auction (Penland, NC).

Artist Statement | Water is universal, connecting people to one another and to nature. As the grandson of a well driller, I learned at an early age that water does not originate from a faucet, nor simply disappear after going down the drain. It was there all along is a limited edition artists’ book of wet plate collodion tintype photographs responding to water related issues, ranging from recreation, farming, transportation, flooding, to coastal erosion.
If a photograph is considered in the same manner as a single song, then an artists’ book is similar to an entire album of music complete with cover art and liner notes. Artists’ books allow for the combination of images with text and the incorporation of materials, like handmade paper, and processes, such as letterpress, staining, and layering various colors of paper to create limited edition works of art that can convey a more complete, realized idea than a single image is capable of doing.
The pieces I make have particular meaning to me, but I understand other people will see them in their own way. My artwork is not necessarily created to illustrate or provide answers. If anything, I would like for my art to generate more questions. I do not see them as endpoints, but rather starting places where I give the viewer ideas to ponder and allow room for their imagination to create the rest of the story.

Technical Information | Prints on handmade paper, handmade artist books