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Artist Talk: Is That Another Ghost by Vanessa R. Thompson

Join lens based artist, Vanessa R thompson for an in-person discussion about her exhibition, "Is that another Ghost"


Saturday, July 20 | 10:30 AM

Salem Arts Association

159 Derby Street

Salem, MA 01970

There will be fresh donuts and coffee.

A photographic series of multi exposure self-portraits is an exploration of the haunted memories of eating disorders, sexual harassment, death and the shadows of family alcoholism, depression and anxiety all stirred back up by the hormonal whirlwind of aging.

There is no predetermined map to my photographs, just my camera, a pile of props, my body, and sheets of film ready for my thoughts to spill out on to light-stained, ground up bones. It is not until I am standing in my darkroom that I can begin translating the story the film has to tell me.

About the Artist 
Vanessa R. Thompson is a lens bases artist. She never listened when her mother she told her to stop playing with her food. She grew up in the suburbs of Connecticut on a steady diet of 1980s horror films and feminism, seasoned with a dash of disordered eating and splash of punk. Now working out of Salem, MA, she uses items of consumable comfort; food, ephemera, and toys, in her analog photographs that range from abstraction to absurd.

Thompson received an MFA at the Lesley University of Boston, MA, where she studied under Carrie Moyer and Julia Scher. Her work has been shown at Governs Island art fair in NYC, in bait/switch magazine. She is member of Salem art association and Cambridge art association. She uses a collection of vintage film cameras in her home studio populated by an army of creepy dolls, and cranky black cat. 

There will be fresh donuts and coffee.


Exhibit: Heroes and Legends

  • Saturday, August 03, 2024
  • 12:00 PM
  • Saturday, September 07, 2024
  • 6:00 PM
  • Salem Arts Association, 159 Derby Street, Salem MA

  • From Giglamesh to Cú Chulainn, Odysseus to King Arthur, from the ancient mists of time to our modern day, humans have held up and passed on the stories of our heroes and legends.  Whether those figures are more myth and legend, or true dyed-in-the-wool heroes of the modern day, their stories have stood the tests of time and serve as inspiration and guides to each of us.  But a hero doesn’t have to be well known to be a hero, and a legend doesn’t have to be taught in a classroom or even written down to exist.  We invite our member artists to reflect on the heroes and legends who have inspired their own lives.  Were they found in the pages of a comic book or a history book, or are those heroes and legends part of the fabric of your family history or chance encounters in your own life?  Whoever they are (or were), let them inspire you once more as you create an artistic tribute to them, or to their messages to you, in any medium.  Let’s keep their stories alive!

  • Reception: Friday, August 2, 2024, 6:00-8:00 PM
  • Exhibition Dates: August 3 – September 7, 2024

Open Saturdays and Sundays from 12:00 – 6:00 p.m.

    Salem Arts Association Galleries, 159 Derby Street, Salem MA 01970

    Contact gallery@salemarts.org with questions.

    Salem Arts Association
    159 Derby Street 
    Salem, MA 01970  
    Phone: 978-745-4850 
    Email: info@SalemArts.org


    Hours 
    Weekends 12-6pm

    Closed: Christmas, Thanksgiving
    and New Years Day 
    Parking: on street when available

                  

    © 2007 - 2024,  Salem Arts Association is a 501(c)(3 )non-profit organization

    159 Derby Street, Salem MA 01970