Works in progress.

Presently working on collages made from digital prints, magazines, sand paper and other materials. They aren't fixed down yet or anything but I'm playing with them and looking to strengthen the ideas I'm playing with, namely organic vs. geometric structure; weight vs. fragility. I want to work more materials in with the photographic prints, and desperately want them to have more precarious height in the supports. Also, I want to work with more color and shapes; these are more rigid rock like forms and I want to push the idea of color indicating possibly a specific type of formation, and characteristics that are unique to that type. Ideally they'll be mounted to bfk that's 32x40, so I can really push the scale of the physical collages more. Possibly feature more than one structure per collage. Again, still playing but it's starting to go a direction I can explore better.

New Reward For 'The Herd' Kickstarer

The person that donates $500+ to my kickstarter will receive an additional print from my series Sapien Aurum, along with the other rewards. Please note that this reward is available to only one lucky/generous person. Below is the artist statement for the series and a copy of the image you will receive:

Sapien Aurum

Experimentation is key to the development of any society. Investigation of uncharted territory is often the most interesting. Alchemists attempt to find meaning in life through philosophical discourse as well as physical experimentation. We should not forget that the transmutation of metals into gold also has a spiritual aspect; gold being a sacred metal, 'perfect', freed from impurities, the alchemical operation must seek to imitate the perfection of nature which is, in the final instance, its absolution and its liberty. The gestation of metals in the bowels of the earth obeys the same temporal rhythms as those which bind man to his carnal and fallen condition; to hasten the growth of metals by the operation of alchemy is tantamount to absolving them from the laws of time. What myths do we as man create? What legends do we inherit and gather? Rather than question the truth of what the image is or is not, I have began to create my own alchemy of an image. As someone intrigued by the history of invention and non-convention my practice has been to say 'what if'? This image making process itself deals with the material nature that has always been present in photography. An amalgamation of the analogue and digital, I shoot with a 4x5 camera to achieve a negative that can be contact printed on a sheet of 4x5 film. The black and white transparency that is produced is then gold leafed to suggest the value of the content of the image, what ever it may be, and then scanned into the computer. Once it exists as a digital print, the image changes drastically, from a two dimensional golden object, into a world that becomes immersive for the viewer, demanding attention and requiring you to look beyond the surface. The content of the images is a detailed human form, the face hidden as if aware of the viewers gaze. With the appliqué of gold, the image is suddenly flattened, yet expanded. The texture of the gold interacts with the image, causing a deterioration of the human form into a golden environment. The images are presented in a circular format referencing ideas of scientific investigation, as well as art history."

Kickstarter Is In Gear!

Here's the link to my kickstarter for my series 'The Herd.' Spread the word!

The Herd

'The Herd' Kickstarter

'The Herd'.

This series deals with the concept of an audience at an event with music becoming one unified body, not only in a formalist sense, but as a seemingly random collection of people unified by one event: sound, a measurable form of energy. Live music is a powerful force to me, and every concert experience I've had has a sort of ritualistic quality like an ancient tribal practice; there is something primal about dancing, contemporary dance music even has the same bpm as tribal music from varying cultures and time periods. The release of endorphins and the adrenaline, the crowd swarming as one mass all build up to what I would loosely consider a mob mentality. 'The Herd' is in short about allowing oneself to be enveloped into a group and become a small portion of the face that is the 'crowd'.

New series in the works, colorized portraiture.

Color Me Man.

Hand coloring of photographs first developed out of a desire for realism and aesthetic choices. Pigments are applied, in thin gentle layers, and used to build the depth of reality in the image.

Presently today we acknowledge that an image on paper is nothing more that a representation or icon of what we define as reality. Reality itself is intangible no matter the form.

The images I will be working on will be black and white 4x5 portraits of homosexual men that will be digitally colorized. Notions of vitality and virility are referenced from the digital techniques predecessor, and bring attention to the men featured with in the image. Be the viewer aware of their sexuality or not, the colorized images have a worn, softness to them. The aesthetics of the images (models and color combined) will bring a sense of vulnerability to the concept of masculinity.

Sapien Aurum: April 15, 2011

The show was a complete success! Thanks to everyone who came out to see the work, and to those who supported me from a far. Below is the documentation of the show, as well as a link to an article published on the Review.

Article on Review: Digging for Gold: CJ Schrat

Sapien Aurum

Sapien Aurum, my senior thesis show will be happening soon along with many other photo senior shows. A sketch of what is to come for my show can be seen below, numbers indicate an image that is duplicated merely for demonstrative purposes only and will not be repeated in final display.

Sapien Aurum

Recent Works By CJ Schrat

Friday April 15th, 6:00pm - 9:00pm.

Trap Gallery

525 Gillis Street 64106

Kansas City Mo

Sapien Aurum

Experimentation is key to the development of any society. Investigation of uncharted territory is often the most interesting. Alchemists attempt to find meaning in life through philosophical discourse as well as physical experimentation. We should not forget that the transmutation of metals into gold also has a spiritual aspect; gold being a sacred metal, 'perfect', freed from impurities, the alchemical operation must seek to imitate the perfection of nature which is, in the final instance, its absolution and its liberty. The gestation of metals in the bowels of the earth obeys the same temporal rhythms as those which bind man to his carnal and fallen condition; to hasten the growth of metals by the operation of alchemy is tantamount to absolving them from the laws of time. What myths do we as man create? What legends do we inherit and gather? Rather than question the truth of what the image is or is not, I have began to create my own alchemy of an image. As someone intrigued by the history of invention and non-convention my practice has been to say 'what if'? This image making process itself deals with the material nature that has always been present in photography. An amalgamation of the analogue and digital, I shoot with a 4x5 camera to achieve a negative that can be contact printed on a sheet of 4x5 film. The black and white transparency that is produced is then gold leafed to suggest the value of the content of the image, what ever it may be, and then scanned into the computer. Once it exists as a digital print, the image changes drastically, from a two dimensional golden object, into a world that becomes immersive for the viewer, demanding attention and requiring you to look beyond the surface. The content of the images is a detailed human form, the face hidden as if aware of the viewers gaze. With the appliqué of gold, the image is suddenly flattened, yet expanded. The texture of the gold interacts with the image, causing a deterioration of the human form into a golden environment. The images are presented in a circular format referencing ideas of scientific investigation, as well as art history."