Artist Statement
My first camera was an Argus 126 cartridge camera my mother purchased with S&H Green Stamps. It was made of off-white plastic and featured a leafy gold filigree pattern on the front and the model name, Lady Carefree, printed large and in script at the top near the viewfinder. It was embarrassing.
Still, I carried that camera everywhere, pointing it at tree branches, blades of grass, and bits of debris. I was looking for secrets, I think, or buried treasure, maybe, that would show me something outside my small hometown, if only for a moment or two.
All that’s left of that Argus is my affection for it and my gratitude for the lifetime of image making it helped begin. These days, I carry a more sophisticated camera, and I work in a variety of photo-based print media, as well as with drawing and collage. But my subject matter hasn’t changed. I’m still truly interested in the overlooked, the ephemeral, and all that grows unmanaged in the physical world.
Biography
Elise Nicol is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art. She has exhibited at Cornell University and Ithaca College (both Ithaca, NY), Bucknell University (Lewisburg, PA), The Print Center (Philadelphia), Buddy Holly Fine Art Center (Lubbock, TX), Center for Maine Contemporary Art (Rockport), Springfield Art Museum (Springfield, MO), Janet Turner Print Museum at California State University (Chico), and Soho Photo (New York, NY), among many other venues. Her work is in the collections of The Museum of Modern Art Library, The Library of Congress, Boise Art Museum, Mesa Arts Center, Photomedia Center, Graphic Chemical and Ink Company, and more. She is the recipient of an Anderson Ranch Arts Center Scholarship and a Vermont Studio Center Artist Residency.