ARTIST: JOHN SINGLETARY
Art Histories are highly curated presentations of an artists’ life’s work provided for appreciators today, scholars of tomorrow, and generations to come.
John Singletary is a photographer and multimedia artist whose work uniquely combines black and white photography, performance, and technology in a manner that is both intimate and spellbinding. His prints, illuminated OLED panels, and installations invite the viewer to engage in dynamic and enveloping experiences. Referencing ancient mysticism and our shared humanity, Singletary’s artistry is deeply felt in the aesthetics of his imagery, the technical prowess of presentation, and the treatment of universal concepts at play.
Singletary’s work has been collected by the Philadelphia Museum of Art, The Center for Fine Art Photography, as well as other institutional and private collections. He has exhibited at the Pennsylvania State Museum, LG Tripp Gallery, James Oliver Gallery, Sol Mednick Gallery, and The Delaware Contemporary Museum. His work has been reviewed and/or featured in Lenscratch Magazine, L’Oeil de la Photographie, the Od Review, Movers and Makers (WHYY) and the Philadelphia Inquirer. Singletary is also a contributing writer for The Photo Review Journal and was the featured lecturer at Atlanta Celebrates Photography in 2021 in collaboration with Emory University.
“I want the narratives to be open enough for the viewer to find themselves and their own deeply personal stories in the images. I hope our spaces transport the viewer and inspire a sense of wonder. The most I could hope is that someone walks out of a show feeling a little less alone.”
COLLECTION: TRACES
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Artist Statement
The imagery and vignettes in this ongoing multimedia work use video, digital and stop motion animation, historical footage, and audio to depict the extraordinary light and darkness in the human condition and life events such as the genesis of our existence, and the purpose we serve to each other and ourselves.
The familiar and unpredictable illustrate the cycles of life across cultural barriers. Surveying the myriad and disjointed experiences that make up a life, Traces explores the way we construct our internal narratives and create meaning from experience. The audio component consists of a series of anonymously conducted interviews with a range of participants. The perspectives chosen reveal the universality and individuality of values, the intersectionality of symbolism across cultures, our lineages, and the perpetual cycles of life.
Book Cover Image, TRACES by John Singletary © John Singletary 2024
PUBLICATION
TRACES by John Singletary
Published by Daylight Books, 2024
ISBN-13: 9781954119338112
COLLECTION: ANAHATA
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Artist Statement
Anahata is a photography-based multimedia project, presented as an immersive installation on OLED electronic canvases, as well as traditional print photographs. These images are the result of an intimate collaboration between performers, choreographers, costume designers, makeup artists and technicians in which I acted as photographer and director. Choreographed movement was captured with an open-spectrum camera in a purpose-built, UV light studio where dancers performed in handcrafted costumes. The pictures are not the product of digital editing, but rather a novel photographic process that produces images true to moments in time.
Sanskrit for “unhurt” or “unbroken,” the word Anahata corresponds to the energy of the heart, the “unstruck sound” and harmonic resonance with the celestial realm. Dream-like imagery steeped in archetypal symbolism, mythology and mysticism directs a narrative that transports the viewer to an ancient, eternal place. Abstract but familiar, this place exists within every one of us. It is the provenance of dreams, devotion, prayer, dance, music and silence. This cocoon-like web connects us through our stories, journeys, compassion and grace. Anahata explores human relationships and their connection to the divine. Whether experienced as a sanctuary or celebration of diversity in relationships, the images in Anahata attempt to connect to a universal and ageless divinity. When modern society is becoming precariously polarized and divided by sanctimonious tribal ideologies, I hope that my work can bridge some of the divides in our innate connection.
Anahata - A Photography Based Installation on OLED Panels
Click the video to watch the full segment featuring John Singletary’s series, Anahata.
Shot by Antoine Antsis and Andrey Kolyada/Edited by John Singletary
SOUND INSTALLATION
John Singletary’s (S), OLED/Sound Installation
4’ x 2.5’, Total length 6:45
Click the video to listen.
© John Singletary, The Dance of Hades, 5 ’x 3’ OLED Installation, 34” x 44”
INTERVIEW
John Singletary /Anahata
Interviewed by Daniel Pateman of Photomonitor
“On the post-production and exhibition design end of things we wanted to create an exhibition space that was filled with the same sense of energetic charge and stillness that one might feel when entering a monastery or cathedral, a sense of meditative quiet that immerses the senses completely.” -John Singletary
Click here to read the full interview.
Collection: SYNTHESIS
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Artist Statement
Synthesis is a series of images produced by creating mixtures of traditional darkroom chemistry, pigments, dyes and other substances in solution and using a 4x5 view camera to photograph the reactions that unfold over a period of weeks. From this interaction of chemical and material elements come textural forms and fractal-like patterns that are reminiscent of the endlessly repeating structures that exist in nature on multiple scale levels ranging from the microscopic to the universal; an illustration of the complex architecture of our world.
PRESS
© John Singletary, Clarise, 8’ x 8’ OLED Installation, 60” x 60”
Amie Potsic interviewed John Singletary about his works in the series, Anahata.
Highlights Include:
Last Call for “Anahata”
John Singletary:
The Making of Anahata - Movers & Makers
Philadelphia photographer and mixed-media artist John Singletary discusses the making of Anahata, a collaboration between dancers, choreographers, costume designers, makeup artists and technicians.
Atlanta Celebrates Photography (ACP)
Lecture Series Presents: John Singletary
John Singletary: Anahata
Written by Aline Smithson
© John Singletary, Providence (Left Panel), 30’x3’ OLED Installation/Pigment Print
John Singletary’s beautiful unique works featured by Philadelphia Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts
Written by Sharon Garbe
© John Singletary, installation view of Anahata. Photographic imagery on synchronized OLED electronic canvases. Image courtesy of the artist.
© John Singletary, The Dance of Hades, 5 ’x 3’ OLED Installation, Pigment Print 34” x 44”
To acquire artwork from John Singletary’s collection: visit our Advisory Showroom.
Click here to download John Singletary’s CV.
To learn more about the artist: www.johnsingletaryimaging.com.
CREATE HISTORY NOW
Our Art Histories program features highly curated presentations of an artist’s life’s work provided for appreciators today, scholars of tomorrow, and generations to come. Creating your own art history is an important opportunity for artists to shape their own legacy.
By documenting, exhibiting, and publishing their artwork as well as placing works with institutions and collections, we help artists give the gift of creativity now and tomorrow. To learn more about Legacy Planning, contact us directly to schedule a consultation.