https://loganhamiltonacton.com Logan Hamilton Acton Sun, 29 Aug 2021 18:30:22 +0000 https://loganhamiltonacton.com en https://loganhamiltonacton.com/Splash-Image Thu, 30 Jul 2020 02:43:29 +0000 Logan Hamilton Acton https://loganhamiltonacton.com/Splash-Image https://loganhamiltonacton.com/Statement Wed, 11 Sep 2013 14:24:57 +0000 Logan Hamilton Acton https://loganhamiltonacton.com/Statement My practice focuses on psychological constructs — how we internalize our experience of the world and make sense of conflicting, complex realities. I work through sculptural installation, video, animation and performance to layer the world as it is with hallucinatory visions. I am compelled by notions of hybridity and the willful impurity of form. My present body of work — CARDINAL — reimagines mythic figures through the language of extreme music. I begin with the premise that the mythological journey to the underworld can be interpreted as a psychological odyssey into the unconscious. Our experiences of the world are inescapably mediated, and it is the mediating mechanism — our constructed self and the stories we tell ourselves — that my work explores. Joseph Campbell claims that in myth our consciousness is put in touch with the unconscious, that something archetypal surfaces. Engaging these archetypes through the language of psychedelia creates an otherworldly experience about both the inward turn of self as well as travel between this world and another. Where neon and fluorescents carry cultural associations to psychotropic drugs, pastels instead call to mind something of the artificial sweetness of nostalgia. My practice revels in the dualities of partnership, spirit and embodiment, and specific places as sites of slippage between the real and the imagined. This is a vision filled with rivers and waterfalls, mirrors and passages, all to allow movement into the ‘other’ place of story without losing sight of the physical world. This work draws from a range of sources including the Sonnets to Orpheus by German poet Rainer Maria Rilke and the music of Canadian black metal artists Woods of Ypres. My past participation in underground music communities fostered an interest in the theatricality of extreme music and subcultures of resistance, a theatricality that reveals an aggressive unrest with the world as it is and a longing to remake the world according to different principles. There is something of the almost anarchic individualism of Henry David Thoreau in black metal, something of the hermetic forest walker that finds greater solace in nature than in social custom. My practice is ultimately concerned with the human spirit — how we construct our inner life through constant navigation of events outside us. This takes form through the conviction that the things most precious to us are as likely to come from pop culture as they are from sacred texts, that punk and kitsch are as critical as poetry, philosophy and politics. https://loganhamiltonacton.com/About Fri, 07 Dec 2012 18:30:39 +0000 Logan Hamilton Acton https://loganhamiltonacton.com/About Logan Hamilton Acton (b. 1987) is an interdisciplinary artist and designer currently working in North Texas. Acton earned his BA in Art & Performance and his MA in Aesthetic Studies from the University of Texas at Dallas, going on to study at the Kansas City Art Institute and complete his MFA in Sculpture at Cranbrook Academy of Art. He is pursuing his PhD in Arts, Technology, and Emerging Communication at UTD through research focused on digital craft.Combining sculptural installation with video, animation and performance, Acton’s art practice explores a speculative cartography. Through a propositional system paring mythic figures with extreme music, his work meditates on meaning and the psychological constructs through which we navigate contradictory experiences. Acton previously taught in the rigorous mentor-based Foundation program at the Kansas City Art Institute, and has led instruction across wide-ranging subjects including Perception, Visual Forces, Spatiality, and Temporality. Acton is formerly a Co-director / Co-curator with the artist-run gallery plug and Co-founder / Principal of the brand strategy and design consultancy the ARGOT/NOTS. https://loganhamiltonacton.com/Vita Tue, 08 Aug 2017 04:33:20 +0000 Logan Hamilton Acton https://loganhamiltonacton.com/Vita loganhacton@gmail.com // logan@loganhamiltonacton.com         EDUCATION 2022 - present 2016 2011 - 20132010 2008 Pursuing doctoral studies at University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX Master of Fine Arts: Sculpture, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MI Studied at Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO Master of Arts: Aesthetic Studies, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX Bachelor of Arts: Art & Performance, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX SOLO and TWO-PERSON EXHIBITIONS 2017 20142014 Launch, La Esquina, Kansas City, MO* Onanism, Vulpes Bastille, Kansas City, MO Tumulous, City Ice Arts, Kansas City, MO GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2023 2021 2019 2018 2018 20172017 2016 2016 2016 2015 2015 2013 2013 2013 2013 2012 Words Matter (with Fashioning Circuits Lab), HASTAC 2023: Critical Making & Social Justice, Pratt Institute, NY run, run quiet, plug, Kansas City, MO The News Gallery at SPACES, Cleveland, OH All Terrain, La Esquina, Kansas City, MO* Flatfile & Digitalfile, H&R Block Artspace, Kansas City, MO* Casting Shadows, H&R Block Artspace, Kansas City, MO ImageOHIO 17, ROY G BIV, Columbus, OHThe Real Real Spectacle, CAVE, Detroit, MI Graduate Degree Show, Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI Mediations, Forum Gallery, Bloomfield Hills, MI Flux, Forum Gallery, Bloomfield Hills, MI Thresholds, Barney Building, Kansas City, MO un / perfect, 1737 Walnut Studios, Kansas City, MO Objects and Spaces, Kansas City Art Institute, MO Fibers, Kansas City Art Institute, MO 39th Interval, Kansas City, MO The Hatchery, City Ice Arts, Kansas City, MO   CURATORIAL with PLUG Projects 20192019 20192019 2019201920192019 2018201820182018 20182018 20182018 20182018 20172017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 run, run riot: a PLUG Projects SalonThe Very Walls are Permeated: Nazanin Amiri Meers Habits of Thought, Patterns of Action: Lisa Maione + Anthony WarnickENDLNG: Johanna Winters Moderation is a Memory: Kelsey Elder, BEVERLY FRESH, Nicole KillianObscure Surroundings — I Always Welcome You: Wansoo Kim A Trap for Passing Flies: Jessica Dolence Anecdotal and Lyrical Fear: Hyeyoung Shin pink slip: Elissa Ecker, Leslie Fandrich, Xia Y Zhang Wig Heavier Than a Boot: David Johnson + Philip Matthews run riot: a PLUG Projects Salon / ’fyooCHәr/: BOIBOY Unfaithful Landscapes of the Here and Now: Lindsay Anna Jones + Noël MoricalThe Future is Corndogs: John Buice How to Know Somebody: Emily Culver, Jenny Odell, Emily MasonNot Lost but Gone Before: Katy McRoberts + Leila’s Hair Museum Slow Time: Alida van Almelo + Kevin Townsend Well Loved Ones: Melissa McGrathSparkle Motion: Amy Kligman Collective: Julie SchenkelbergNo One Looks After You: JE BakerOpen Fracture: Benjamin Rosenthal + Catalina OuyangThe Rugmaker’s Daughter: Lexie Abra JohnsonTerraform: Caleb Taylor, Alexandra Phillips, Gillian TobinLactobacilius Amongus: SE Nash   PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE 2022–present 2020–2022 2019 2018–2020 2017–2020 2017 2017–present 2016–2019 2015–20162015-2016 2014–2016 2012-2014 2011–2013 2010–2011 2009–2010 Creative Director, 1909 DIGITAL, Indianapolis, IN Branding & Design Manager, 1909 DIGITAL, Indianapolis, IN Lecturer, Department of Visual Art, University of Kansas: Lawrence, KS   Lecturer, Foundation Department, Kansas City Art Institute: Kansas City, MO Co-director / Co-Curator, plug: Kansas City, MO Instructor, Pre-College Art Lab: Sculpture, Kansas City Art Institute: Kansas City, MO    Co-founder / Artist, the ARGOT/NOTS: 2-person art collective* Instructional Assistant, Foundation Department, Kansas City Art Institute: Kansas City, MO Co-director, Forum Gallery: Bloomfield Hills, MI Resident Advisor, Cranbrook Summer Art Institute: Bloomfield Hills, MI Assistant to the Curator of Contemporary Art, Cranbrook Art Museum: Bloomfield Hills, MI Intern for Miki Baird, MA Baird Studio: Kansas City, MO Writing Lab Tutor, Academic Resource Center, Kansas City Art Institute: Kansas City, MO Assistant to the Director of Education, Dallas Museum of Art: Dallas, TX McDermott Education Intern: Teaching Programs, Dallas Museum of Art: Dallas, TX PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS IFM (Interactive Film & Media), Conference Organizing Committee AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts), Member ATypI (Association Typographique Internationale), Member DSVC (Dallas Society of Visual Communications), MemberISCC (Inter-Society Color Council), MemberTDC (Type Directors Club), MemberTypo (The Typographic Circle), Member PUBLICATIONS Artist: Author: Editor: Co-author: Volk, Danny, Ed., The News Gallery, Cleveland, OH, 2019. Barcus, Jim, “Meet the Artists: The Charlotte Street Foundations 2017-2018 Studio Residency Program”, KC Studio, 1 March 2018, http:// http://kcstudio.org/meet-artists- charlotte-street-foundations-2017-18-studio-residency-program. Sharp, Rosie, “Cranbrook Art Museum Graduates Spring into Action”, Knight Foundation, 12 May 2016, http://www.knightfoundation.org/articles/cranbrook-graduates-2016. Acton, Logan, “Digital Craft: Establishing a Relational Vocabulary,” Special Issue IFM2023 Conference Proceedings, Vol. 3 No. 2, 2o23. Acton, Logan, between fields of darkness, Bloomfield Hills, MI, 2016. Harbin, Kendell, HAT, Kansas City, MO: Boelte-Hall Press, 2013.Acton, Logan and Kendell Harbin, “Under the Influence of ____: An Introduction to HAT”, HAT, Kansas City, MO: Boelte-Hall Press, 2013. PRESENTATIONS 2023 20192019 2019 2017 2017 2017 2017 2017 2016 2015 2015 2010 2010 2009 2009 2009 “Digital Craft: Establishing a Relational Vocabulary,” Panel Presentation, Interactive Film & Media Conference: Care, Collaboration, Craft Guest Critic, Kansas City Art Institute, Sculpture Department, Spring Mid-semester Exhibition, Kansas City, MO Guest Critic, Kansas City Art Institute, Sculpture Department, Sophomore Studio, Kansas City, MO “Documentation Practices + Building a Portfolio,” Enactus, University of Missouri Kansas City, Kansas City, MO* Guest Artist, Design+Make Studio Charette, El Dorado Inc, Kansas City, MO Guest Critic, MFA Blitz Crits, Department of Visual Art, University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS “The Noon Thing: Material Play,” H&R Block Artspace, Kansas City, MO “SOUTH & NORTH: Foundations for a Transmedia Project,” Konstepidemin Artist-in-Residence Lecture, Gothenburg, Sweden Guest Critic, BFA Exhibition, Sculpture Department, Kansas City Art Institute Guest Critic, Fall Semester Exhibition, Sculpture Department, Kansas City Art Institute “Contemporary Art: Sculpture, Installation, Performance and Video” Workshop, Cranbrook Summer Art Institute, Bloomfield Hills, MI “To Preserve Potential: Refusal of a Fixed State in the Work of Matthew Barney,” Visual Culture Symposium, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI“Science and Contemporary Art,” Gallery Talk, Dallas Museum of Art “Approaching Matthew Barney,” Docent Training, Dallas Museum of Art“Sam Francis,” Intern Share Session, Docent Training, Dallas Museum of Art “Creative Connections: Vernon Fisher,” Go van Gogh Outreach, Dallas, TX “Gregory Crewdson and Contemporary Art,” AP Art History, Newman Smith High School, Carrollton, TX AWARDS 2018 20182017 - 20182017 2015 - 2016 2014 - 2015 2012 - 2013 2011 - 2012 2010 2005 - 2009 2005 - 2009 Artist-in-Residence, mobank, Kansas City, MO* ArtBoards, mobank, Kansas City, MO* Studio Residency, Charlotte Street Foundation, Kansas City, MO* Artist-in-Residence, Konstepidemin, Gothenburg, SwedenSaarinen Family Scholarship, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MIGeorge Thomas Williams Scholarship, Cranbrook Academy of Art, Bloomfield Hills, MIKCAI President’s Scholarship, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MOKCAI President’s Scholarship, Kansas City Art Institute, Kansas City, MO Graduate Studies, Harvard Study Abroad in Scandinavia (Aarhus, Denmark + Visby, Sweden) Eugene McDermott Scholarship Program, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TXNational Merit Scholarship Award, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX *with ARGOT/NOTS collaborator Meghan Skevington https://loganhamiltonacton.com/Art Mon, 07 Aug 2017 22:41:20 +0000 Logan Hamilton Acton https://loganhamiltonacton.com/Art // return to PortfolioArchive of Work 2011 — 2022  This index reflects selected past work and ongoing projects. https://loganhamiltonacton.com/Design Sun, 29 Aug 2021 18:30:22 +0000 Logan Hamilton Acton https://loganhamiltonacton.com/Design // return to PortfolioDesign & Branding Projects This index reflects a selection of design and client-based projects. A PDF of selected projects in my brand portfolio can be downloaded here. https://loganhamiltonacton.com/Digital-3D Mon, 27 Jul 2020 20:00:36 +0000 Logan Hamilton Acton https://loganhamiltonacton.com/Digital-3D Digital 3D This is a selection of work from my digital 3D portfolio. // return to Portfolio https://loganhamiltonacton.com/Object-Photography Mon, 27 Jul 2020 19:48:22 +0000 Logan Hamilton Acton https://loganhamiltonacton.com/Object-Photography Objects This is a selection of object shots from my photography portfolio.Images shown include personal work as well as documentation of objects made by Anthony Warnick, Lisa Maione, Noël Morical, Emily Culver, and Elissa Ecker. // return to Portfolio https://loganhamiltonacton.com/Portraits Mon, 27 Jul 2020 19:30:24 +0000 Logan Hamilton Acton https://loganhamiltonacton.com/Portraits Portraits This is a selection of portraits from my photography portfolio. // return to Portfolio https://loganhamiltonacton.com/Show-Documentation Mon, 27 Jul 2020 19:52:36 +0000 Logan Hamilton Acton https://loganhamiltonacton.com/Show-Documentation Docu ment ation This is a selection of exhibition documentation from my portfolio, including work done as a co-director for plug as well as a freelance photographer. // return to Portfolio