Charles RoderickMy art practice is comprised of two distinct but related bodies of work: one that uses serial photography as an investigative tool and another that is event-based and collaborative.

Photographic WorksA selection of current and past works ranging from my education in film photography, to current digital based projects.

The Artist as his Father with an 8-year-old Diego Maradona, 2004Silver Gelatin Print3’ x 4’

Mentors help define, shape and simplify more complex events in the world. When I was 8 years old I saw my first World Cup Soccer match – England vs. Argentina. The year was 1986 and neither team had met since the Falkland Islands War of 1982. At the time my soccer coach was British. Without explaining the amazing details of that historic match, how I came to define “cheating” was heavily informed by moments during that game. As an adult I have started to investigate my own past, the lessons I have learned, and how they relate to a larger context of events, relationships, and political events. This photograph was part of a larger multi-media installation informing that inquiry.

Sister, 2002Silver Gelatin Print8” x 10”

Raechel, 1999Silver Gelatin Print8” x 10”

Lost Glove, 2000Silver Gelatin Print8” x 10”

Son, 1999Silver Gelatin Print8” x 10”

Ground Crew, 2001Silver Gelatin Print8” x 10”

I Am Still Here (receipts), 2012-13C-print from digital scanvarious sizes

This is a series of drawings after the work of On Kawara and his series I Am Still Alive. As with Kawara’s work I am interested in labor and have used a conceptual strategy to illustrate a relationship between consumerism, labor and more complicated notions of how we participate as citizens in a society.

Cashiers, 2012C-print8” x 10”

A series of photographs taken of the artist by cashiers.

Elevated, 2004-presentC-print8” x 10”

Lost and found objects elevated to eye level. If seen as a gesture for understanding their potential value, this can be telling of a community, site and those that traverse such spaces.

Platform Series, 2004-presentC-print8” x 10”

a phenomenological study of visual perception and subjectivity as by way of a photographic device. When we position ourself directly above, or below on object, we visually test the ways in which we know something vs see.

Sign(ifiers), 2004-presentC-print8” x 10”

In the psychogeographic sense, a series of images of signs and symbols that produce a specialized language unique to the artificial urban landscape.

Art Like, 2010-presentC-print8” x 10”

A body of work that sometimes finds a thin line between the aesthetics of everyday objects and those that have become candidates of appreciation by the art world.

Over Head, 2012C-print8” x 10”

Collaborative ProjectsI am a co-founder of Hideous Beast, a collaborative effort between Josh Ippel and myself. We produce structured participatory events as well as reflect upon the growing number of such projects developing under the rubric of socially engaged art.

Survival School, 2010-11mixed media installationvariable dimensions

Images above: (top row)–Trinity Christian College Observational Plant Drawing, Live, and students participating in Camp Crafts; (bottom row)–Houghton College Camp Crafts, installation view of Survival Stories, and students filming Survival Stories.

Our installations explored some of the formal and aesthetic qualities of art preparation tactics and its relationship to art production and education. From a 72”x72”x72” cubed shelter titled Live, after Tony Smith’s sculpture Die (1962/1968), to Observational Plant Drawing classes that asked students to find and identify plants in their immediate region, the exhibits collapsed static objects with a series of events and activities that employed technical art skills in service of acquiring survival knowledge. We identified a few central activities– Observational Drawing class (at Houghton College we collaborated with the existing drawing professor to assign the task during their semester), Camp Craft class that used simple materials to build hunting traps, seating, and simple shelters, and Survival Stories-where we constructed an artificial stage that produced the atmosphere of a campfire in which students would share stories of survival.

http://www.hideousbeast.com/projects/survivalschool

Mini Movie Fest2004-2011 mixed media event variable dimensions

A Mini Movie Fest is an event for screening a selection of Mini Movies, a low quality digital film clip taken with a digital still camera, videophone, or any other device in which the creation of moving images is not the primary function, before a live audience. The Mini Movie Fest attempts to place or give a home to these films outside of private collections. Mini Movie Fest continues to regenerate in venues all over the world, helping produce social gatherings pertaining to a wide range of subjects and activities.

http://www.hideousbeast.com/projects/mmf

Retreat, 2010–presentmixed media sound installationvariable dimensions

As part of Harold Arts, a residency in Chesterhill, Ohio, Hideous Beast was invited by Shannon Stratton of ThreeWalls to participate in a survival-themed session spanning 2010-11. Retreat, our contribution to the session is a single person bunker, based in part on nuclear fallout shelters, World War I era concrete pillboxes and storm shelters. The bunker is dug into the back of a hill that faces the main residential house. A buried pipe extends from the bunker to the porch of the house. The pipe carries sound from the porch, where much of the socializing at Harold occurs, to the bunker. Our intention is for it to function both as an escape from the community and as a meditation on social relationships.The bunker is completed. We will return to Harold Summer 2013 to complete the audio component leading to the house.

http://www.hideousbeast.com/projects/retreat

Field Test, 2007–presentmixed mediaimage left - N55’s SHOP

Field Test is designed to take up some of the hard questions of the developing socially engaged field of art. One tactic used by a number of artists similarly interested in generating participatory situations while not coercing an unwilling public is to create manuals or DIY guides with the hopes of unending reproducibility and accessibility. Field Test is a conscious enactment or distribution of this work. With a critical eye to the efficacy of such modes or tactics, we've become the guinea pigs for the socially engaged art world. http://www.hideousbeast.com/projects/fieldtest

Our Art Fair, 2012mixed media installationvarious dimensions

A solo exhibition at Public Space One – an independent artist-run space in Iowa City, IA, scheduled to correspond with a larger, citywide commercial annual arts festival. For this exhibit we produced a two-part presentation – an installation of art works ranging from sculpture to photography/video, and a “community forum” (panel discussion) as part of the opening reception. The art works used the aesthetics and objects of the arts festival to generate reflection on our broader definitions of art and culture. In collaboration with the organizers of Public Space One, we also invited members of the local community to represent the production of culture in Iowa City. This helped emphasize our belief in the social nature of the production and consumption of art. Including us, the participants were:

Megan Dehner – Gallery Attendant, The Chait Galleries DowntownJohn Engelbrecht – Director, Public Space OneKatie Hargrave – Graduate Student, U. of Iowa School of Art and Art HistorySean O’Harrow – Director, University of Iowa Museum of Art

International Ground-to-Air Signal Codes: Not Understood, 2011wood, paint, concrete, light

An ABC art manifestation of the ground-to-air signal code for “Not Understood”

As part of the exhibit BEN RUSSELL : US, Hideous Beast was invited to make an outdoor sculpture that addressed the collaborative art making. Hideous Beast saw an opportunity to discuss the ways in which communication breaks down and often relies on a system of identifiable signs and symbols.

Our Air Hockey, 2009 air hockey table, bikes, blowers, players36” x 72” x 144”

A multi-player version of air hockey, where 2-4 players power bicycles that provides air for the table.

http://www.hideousbeast.com/projects/ourairhockey