Eli Craven

Biography

Eli Craven (IN) was raised in Idaho. He has always felt an undeniable relationship between the subconscious choices in his artwork and the environment in which he was raised. In his childhood home, magazines and movies were censored, select films and TV shows were forbidden, sexuality and death were seldom discussed. The power images hold was discovered through scrutinizing forbidden magazine collections, daytime soap operas, and movies. The impetus of his practice resides in this desire to see, only to discover nothing shocking. Instead, seemingly mundane imagery is isolated and fragmented, presenting a narrative exploring the image’s role in processes of socialization.

During his residency, Eli will work on a brand-new project called A Plea for Tenderness. Viewers will be invited to alter photographic compositions through a series of kinetic elements and reflective materials, including sliding wood panels, hinged doors, and movable peepholes. The viewer must engage and activate the framing components to reveal the photographic image, potentially provoking the desire to see what is hidden within. Participation is integral to this project, with entire scenes rendered incomplete without the viewer’s touch and imagination filling the gaps and visualizing what lies beneath the surface of the photograph, or behind the veil.