honorable mention
Eric Kunsman united states
title
Thou Art... Will Give...
On that trip, one of my University of Arts professors, Heidi Kyle, introduced us to the American Philosophical Society's conservation lab. Almost as soon as we entered the conservation lab, I noticed three books titled 'Eastern State Warden's Logbook: I opened it idly ... and then spent the entire visit pouring over its pages.
The Warden's entries brought the Penitentiary to life for me. Through his words, the space now felt inhabited and connected to deep emotions - infused with new meaning. Though his writing is detached, the warden clearly got to know the prisoners far more personally than one would expect. The logs include details about prisoners' families, whether they could read or write, whether they felt guilty about their crimes, whether they were penitent. While my photographs from the earlier visit captured a lot of the physical presence and feeling of the Penitentiary, it was the writings that started to, literally, flesh out the functional and human effects of this altruistic, but ultimately disastrous, Quaker experiment with reforming criminals.
The body of work has received 12 solo exhibitions and I plan on exhibiting the work further. Part of the exhibition includes my artist talk which emphasizes the utilization of solitaire today and how it affects Deaf inmates and their mental health just as it affected all inmates at Eastern State Penitentiary. The next phase of this project
Currently, is a working photographer and book artist based out of Rochester, New York. Eric is a Lecturer for the Visual Communications Studies Department in the National Technical Institute for the Deaf and also teaches for the School of Photographic Arts & Sciences both of which are part of the Rochester Institute of Technology. He was formerly an Assistant Professor at Mercer County Community College where he was also the coordinator of the photography program.
He has taught workshops and lectured on digital printing & digital workflow processes Internationally and continues to teach seminars on a regular basis. Eric holds his MFA in Book Arts/Printmaking from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia and holds an MS in Electronic Publishing/Graphic Arts Media, BS in Biomedical Photography, BFA in Fine Art photography all from the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York.
His photographs and books have been exhibited Internationally and are in several collections. He currently owns Booksmart Studio, which is a fine art digital printing studio specializing in numerous techniques and services for photographers and book artists on a collaborative basis.
back to gallery
entry description
In 2003, shortly after moving back to the Philadelphia area, I brought a group of my photography students from my class to the Eastern State Penitentiary on a field trip. It was a great photographic site. But there are a lot of abandoned spaces like that, so my first trip to the site would probably have been my last if I didn't return to Philadelphia on a completely different class trip.On that trip, one of my University of Arts professors, Heidi Kyle, introduced us to the American Philosophical Society's conservation lab. Almost as soon as we entered the conservation lab, I noticed three books titled 'Eastern State Warden's Logbook: I opened it idly ... and then spent the entire visit pouring over its pages.
The Warden's entries brought the Penitentiary to life for me. Through his words, the space now felt inhabited and connected to deep emotions - infused with new meaning. Though his writing is detached, the warden clearly got to know the prisoners far more personally than one would expect. The logs include details about prisoners' families, whether they could read or write, whether they felt guilty about their crimes, whether they were penitent. While my photographs from the earlier visit captured a lot of the physical presence and feeling of the Penitentiary, it was the writings that started to, literally, flesh out the functional and human effects of this altruistic, but ultimately disastrous, Quaker experiment with reforming criminals.
The body of work has received 12 solo exhibitions and I plan on exhibiting the work further. Part of the exhibition includes my artist talk which emphasizes the utilization of solitaire today and how it affects Deaf inmates and their mental health just as it affected all inmates at Eastern State Penitentiary. The next phase of this project
about the photographer
Eric T. Kunsman (b. 1975) was born and raised in Bethlehem, PA he was heavily influenced by the death of the steel industry and its place in American history during his high school years. The exposure to the work of Walker Evans during this time is what hooked Eric onto photography when he was planning on a career in fine arts. Eric had the privilege to study under Lou Draper who became Eric’s most formative mentor. He credits Lou with influencing Eric’s approach as an educator, photographer, and contributing human being.Currently, is a working photographer and book artist based out of Rochester, New York. Eric is a Lecturer for the Visual Communications Studies Department in the National Technical Institute for the Deaf and also teaches for the School of Photographic Arts & Sciences both of which are part of the Rochester Institute of Technology. He was formerly an Assistant Professor at Mercer County Community College where he was also the coordinator of the photography program.
He has taught workshops and lectured on digital printing & digital workflow processes Internationally and continues to teach seminars on a regular basis. Eric holds his MFA in Book Arts/Printmaking from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia and holds an MS in Electronic Publishing/Graphic Arts Media, BS in Biomedical Photography, BFA in Fine Art photography all from the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York.
His photographs and books have been exhibited Internationally and are in several collections. He currently owns Booksmart Studio, which is a fine art digital printing studio specializing in numerous techniques and services for photographers and book artists on a collaborative basis.
back to gallery
