In the second part of our discussion with Ben Sloat, we talk more with Ben about his practice including his experience growing up in NYC, photography as a cultural reflection, using hybridity to open “things” up, the Chinese economic boom of the 90s, how historical context can lead to contemporary behavior, using seductive aesthetics to draw in the public, and the importance of learning from one’s artwork.

Ben Sloat often uses elements of the vernacular in his works; generating hybrid social meanings and reflecting the artist's multiracial Taiwanese-American background. Working across mediums, the projects frequently find themselves considering the capacity of iconography, image, or light based material, in a wide and inclusive definition of the "photographic". Cultural vocabulary is commonly used as a medium in the work, oscillating between an intimately personal voice and a larger societal one.

Links: Pulse Density by Ben Sloat

Ben Sloat: The Pearls That Were His Eyes

MFA in Visual Arts at Lesley University

Philip Guston: Mysteries of the working process