Bio:

Edward Steffanni is an American artist born in Ohio. He is currently a Master of Fine Arts Candidate in Printmaking at Rhode Island School of Design. Edward is a multi-disciplinary artist using primarily print, paint and performance to explore subjects familiar to his Middle American upbringing, examining the relationships between sexuality, community, and God. His work has been exhibited nationally and has received awards within those exhibitions. Most recently, he was a recipient of the prestigious Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation grant. His work is held in the collection of the University of Richmond Museums, among others.

Statement:

The print contains images of nests, one tucked inside an outdoor lantern, the other is suspended in the pictorial space of the paper. I was inspired by how birds build nests in seemingly uninhabitable spaces such as developed urban areas and suburban homes. I found their act of disregard—to build a home where there is none—similar to the queer experience. Queer people build nests. They build their homes, forming communities within a greater community, seeking shelter and warmth from a surrounding society that does not welcome them, much like these nested birds in urban areas.

The track begins with church bells that fade into the forest suggesting the journey out of society and into the woods. The recording contains three dominant sounds: the sounds of birds within a forest, rustling twigs and leaves, and the process of printing the lithograph. I recorded my walk through a forest, gathering leaves and fallen branches to elicit the sound of collecting and create audible texture within the track. The other sounds include the printing process. My goal was to link the acts of building nests to that of making a print. As a queer artist(maker), I build my own home within the world that I then invite the viewer to occupy in my work.  

Website: edwardsteffanni.com

Instagram: @edwardsteffanniYoutube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCCC5a7nNmvpsVTyIc0oBUrA