A.centric Artist Profile: Beth MacDonald

Welcome to the A.centric artist profile. This time around, we are pleased to have Beth MacDonald. She is currently studying film theory at UofT and her work has been popping up in galleries around town since last year. Beth was kind enough to answer a few questions for us.

When did you start taking photographs and why?

Photography has been a part of my life longer than I can remember. Photography as an approach to art, on the other hand, began later — possibly in high school — once I started learning about the subject, and becoming more conscious of what I was taking photographs of, how, and why. Actually, to be honest, sometimes I still don’t know why I capture what I do. The ‘why’ factor is often not my driving photographic force, the ‘why’, more often than not, comes later. The concepts that have become the most rewarding upon their completion begin with some sort of unprecedented fascination, lacking that ‘why’ factor.

Interview with Vjosana Shkurti

Undubbed Husband. Vjosana Shkurti. Video. 2010.

how would you describe your work to someone who doesn’t know you?
analytic, symbolic, poetic without being sentimental.

why do you work in the medium that you do? what drew you to the medium?
video because it’s not tangible and takes time to reveal itself. it’s full of surprises and potential.

who is your favourite artist right now?
nelson henricks (video artist)

if you could have anything, what would your last meal be?
yogurt.

Interview with Donia Almassi

Continued shameless advertising for “Coterie 21” brought me to classmate Donia Almassi.

Untitled. Donia Almassi. Digital and chemical print. 2011.

how would you describe your work to someone who doesn’t know you?
My work involves the marriage between chemical photography and digital photography in collage form. I develop prints in the darkroom, scan and incorporate them into found digital photograph. The result is often surreal: it is hard to identify objects, yet it feels like something is being described, which is just out of grasp.

why do you work in photography? what drew you to the medium?
I enjoy the “flawlessness” of photography. There are no direct indications of craft, no human error in the shapes and forms that the camera captures. Yet at the same time, it is highly orchestrated. The framing, settings, staging, and developement can all reveal a personality as effectively as a painter splashing paint on the canvas. I like to create photographs which replace the drawing/painting hand, yet still captures the essence of personal expression.

if you could have anything, what would your last meal be?
A can of Eagle’s condensed milk. (I’m allergic to sugar)

Interview with Jenny Pham

In my continued efforts to shamelessly promote the upcoming show “Coterie 21“, I interviewed another classmate: Jenny Pham.


Yes, I’ll Hold. Jenny Pham. 5 hour performance. 2010.

Interview with Sarah Ubbi

In an effort to shamelessly promote the Visual Studies Thesis Class’ Exhibition “Coterie 21“, I interviewed a classmate (or class colleague. har har.): Sarah Ubbi!