A founding member of the STUDIO Artists Community, Clifford Ross began his career as a painter and sculptor after graduating from Yale in 1974 with a degree in both Art and Art History. In 1995 he turned his attention toward photography and other media. Frustrated by the lack of detail available with existing cameras, Clifford invented and patented the "R1" camera in 2002 and made some of the highest resolution large-scale landscapes in the world.

Current Exhibit:
"Landscape to Imagination"
Sonnabend Gallery, NY
May 7 - July 29, 2011

This exhibition traces Ross' creative arc from one of his groundbreaking high-resolution "Mountain" photographs, "Mountain XII," through his "Mountain Redux" series, which portrays the mountain in an abstract mode far from the exacting realism of where his exploration began. These creative steps into the digital world eventually led him to 3D computer generated animation and the creation of "Harmonium Mountain," a video with an original score by Philip Glass. The exhibition coincides with the New York premiere of "Harmonium Mountain," as an official selection of the Tribeca Film Festival. 

We talked with Clifford Ross about STUDIO in a School and his thoughts on the importance of arts education:

Q: Why is arts education important?
A: Learning to make art is learning to be creative, an attitude and skill that can be useful to a person in any of life’s endeavors. Art making is about openness, freedom, and individuality - important qualities to instill in young people. Creating art also teaches decision-making and perseverance. "Has this paint stroke made my work better or worse?"   "Is this work more or less satisfying than the last?  If so, why?" "What can I do to improve it?" It can also be a useful fulcrum to teach constructive interaction and collaboration when individual students work on a project together. And at its center, art making is about feeling and thought - the two essential tributaries of a healthy life flow.

Q: Why did you get involved with STUDIO?
A: STUDIO in a School does incredibly important work, unbelievably well. It is efficient in its use of funds and promotes a cause I believe is important - arts education. There is also an added benefit that STUDIO is simultaneously supporting artists with steady teaching positions and income. And selfishly, working with the staff and board is energizing for me. I hope it will lead me to be involved directly with the kids in the schools. They could unquestionably teach me a great deal.

Q: You recently created Harmonium 3X3 specifically for STUDIO. Did you approach this project differently than you approach your other work?
A: Except for the added motivation of working with STUDIO, I didn’t approach this project differently than any of my other projects. As an artist I am constantly reminding myself to be "at play" – as open as I was during childhood – something which adulthood often denies us. I combine play with a rigorous obsessive process, and the cycle is admittedly exhausting. Work involves a very dynamic behavior pattern, with calm only really occurring when a result gives me a moment of satisfaction. It happens when I have landed someplace with a work that feels "right," when a work is somehow complete in its expression. And like all artists, I can never be sure what I have done is "good." Like a child, I really am an audience of one, hoping that the world might respond positively to what I have made.

Links:
Current Exhibit at the Sonnabend Gallery
Clifford Ross' website