S.A. Bachman
S.A. Bachman (b. Columbus, Ohio, resides in Los Angeles) is a socially engaged artist, educator and cofounder of the artist-activist collaboratives THINK AGAIN and LOUDER THAN WORDS. Her practice stems from a conviction that artists need to bypass traditional disciplinary boundaries that perpetually isolate them and curtail their impact on civic dialogue. Bachman was a Senior Lecturer at The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston from 1991-2011 and is currently a Senior Lecturer at Otis College of Art and Design, Los Angeles.
Photographic Work
Through a confluence of image appropriation, language and monumental scale, S.A. Bachman’s photographs interrogate the correspondence between fact and fiction and the deceptive parameters of public and private. By deftly manipulating popular media representations of suburban malaise and out-of-context advertisements, Bachman turns the seemingly innocent, but obviously offending, image against itself. Bachman’s texts juxtapose an anonymous voice of authority with conversational artifacts to reveal the complex ways ideological messages intersect with our desires and ambivalences, while reinscribing sexism, white privilege and conformity.[1]
THINK AGAIN and LOUDER THAN WORDS Collaborations
Founded with David John Attyah, THINK AGAIN (1997–present) is an artist-activist collaborative that recruits art-making in the service of public address. Their work -- digital murals, billboards and wallscapes, exterior projections, and viral poster campaigns –- links the global to the local and combines cultural theory, sociological research, and activism to create a visual language for engaging civic dialogue. THINK AGAIN projects have explored a unique range of issues including the logic of militarization; international labor and the treatment of immigrants; gentrification and displacement; representations of queers in the media; and the ways capitalism and misogyny conspire to jeopardize women. website: http://www.agitart.org
Founded in 2013 with Neda Moridpour, LOUDER THAN WORDS is a cross-cultural, intergenerational art collective that targets sexual assault, domestic violence, women's reproductive health, and homophobia by combining elements of activism with courageous art interventions. Their practice strives to ignite public dialogue, awaken the political imagination, unravel obstacles, and unleash inventive action plans. website: http://www.louder-than-words.org
Awards, Exhibitions, Collections
Awards: National Endowment for the Arts, Massachusetts Cultural Council, LEF Foundation, GUNK Foundation, Tanne Foundation, The Funding Exchange/Outfund, New England Foundation for the Arts.
Exhibitions: Museu d´Art Contemporani de Barcelona, Institute for Contemporary Art (Boston and Philadelphia,) The Alternative Museum, Grey Art Gallery, Exit Art, Aperture Foundation, Fabric Workshop, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Cleveland Museum of Art, DeCordova Museum and Sculpture Park.
Collections: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City, Center for the Study of Political Graphics, Rose Art Museum, Glasgow Print Studio, Bell Telephone Corporation, Self Help Graphics.
Bibliography
Afterimage, Vol. 38, Issue 2, Fall 2010: Participatory Politics
THINK AGAIN MONOGRAPH
A Brief History of Outrage, THINK AGAIN (David John Attyah and S.A. Bachman), Distributed Art Publishers, 2003
The introduction can be read at agitart.org
Reframings, New American Feminist Photographies, Diane Neumaier, Temple Press, 1995
Graphic Agitation 2, Liz McQuiston, Phaidon, London, 2004
Boston Globe, "Power meets vulnerability: Wall mural and exhibit at the Worcester Art Museum tackle social issues," Kate McQuaid, December 8, 2008
Social Text (#80 Technoscience,) Amy Villarejo, “Activist Technologies: THINK AGAIN,” Duke University Press, Durham, North Carolina, 2004
Peace Signs: The Anti-War Movement Illustrated, James Mann, English, French, German edition; Edition Olms, and Posters Against A War, Spanish edition; Gustavo Gili, 2003/2004
Our Town, Aperture Foundation Inc., 1992
Los Angeles Times, “Drive-by Campaign to Project Points of View,” Mike Boehm, October 6, 2006
Interview with THINK AGAIN: Big, Red and Shiny, Issue #7, 2003