SALEM KRIEGER

ARTIST STATEMENT:

I use photography to capture or create images. Humor, light and abstract concepts are my basic building blocks to transform my thoughts into a visual reality. My work reflects the times I live in. Thoughts I have from listening to the news to how does one survive in New York city, where I live, all become starting points for projects. I find it ironic in taking subjects such as war, climate change, rent or money to make artwork that incorporates a humorous point of view to look at these serious life issues.

Influences in my life started when I was in my teens with cartoonist Robert Crumb to teachers and artists I have worked with such as; Dan Winters, Andrés Serrano and Krzysztof Wodiczko. They all gave me insight about context and image creation.

“Chew on This”, is an examination of my mind at work while I’m chewing gum. There are a variety of ways humans are very comfortable with external means of stress-relieving devices. People smoke, eat snacks, binge watch online streaming or scroll social media. I chew gum. With this series I photograph pieces of gum in a total abstract manner to let the viewer think whatever crosses their mind. A simple everyday, chewed gum, becomes the starting point for a conversation. The shape of the discarded, chewed gum is the physical by-product of my minds thoughts. The titles of the photographs are based on what I was thinking about while I was chewing that particular piece of gum. Moving my images away from just cataloging the gum, or cardboard boxes, from my series $2500/ sq.ft. lets me engage whimsy into serious subjects.

Collaboration is a process that I highly enjoy. Starting in 2019, I worked with sculptor Richard Newton on the CommoN series. A project that deals with everyday, common works and phrases we hear in public spaces to TV and beyond. Words were created in steel, wrapped in fabric and set on fire in various locations. The burning words were photographed and printed as the final stage of the work. 

BIO

Salem Krieger is an award winning photographer. His images have been published in American Photography’s ProDaily, ASMP Photo Annual, Photography Review Magazine, Art In America, Nikon Annual, Ink Publications, American Photography and After Capture Photographic Magazine. Krieger has been exhibiting in galleries and in the public realm since the mid 1980’s.