Artist

Education

MFA, Media Arts | Photography, 2005
University of Cincinnati
College of Design, Art, Architecture & Planning; School of Art

Graduate Certificate, Women’s Studies, 2005
University of Cincinnati
College of Arts & Sciences

BFA, Photography, 2003
Art Academy of Cincinnati

Artist Bio

Katie Brenner is a midwest based conceptual artist and photographer. She utilizes still photography, installations, video and sculpture to create dynamic environments, interaction and introspection for viewers. An Art Academy of Cincinnati and University of Cincinnati DAAP alum, she is an experienced college and community level educator, and arts program manager. As an artist with a strong focus on social practice, she Co-Founded Doulas of Cincinnati. The shifts in personal identity surrounding parenthood and family relationships, and the support a doula provides, formed a natural career extension to the themes that appear throughout her works. Brenner has been showcased regionally, including the Contemporary Arts Center in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Artist Statement

My work seeks to process the passage of time, how an identity evolves, authenticity, and the performance of self. Trained as a classical photographer, I view my straight photography and my studio based works as complimentary, both deeply influenced by the concepts of identity, the body and family relationships. They are interwoven with themes of time, impermanence, and the viewer’s interaction. I am drawn to the interplay between documentary storytelling, particularly a life story, and the photograph as a document or collection. As documents, these works are evidence of a physical existence as it occurred, and often become an archive-object.

My studio based works speak of identity from a space of internal dialogue and emotion. Here, photographs become objects themselves; scenes, performances and objects evolve to be interacted with and photographed, and time based works are created. Often these are materialized from hair, textiles, nature, and personal collections. The act of creating these images and objects is performative in nature. I am attracted to the meditative qualities of repetitive tasks such as scrubbing, washing, sewing, knitting, and the alchemy of alternative processes as a space for processing emotion and the passage of time. Through my work I create intimacy with life and decay, while searching for a deeper understanding of purpose and existence. I invite the viewer to step into an experience and story where they may reflect and find connection within themselves.