Gerry Snyder
The Stories We Tell
Lecture: June 5th, 6 pm, Tipton Hall, CSF
Workshop: June 6 - 9
Workshop cost: $400, Scholarships are available

Snyder’s surreal paintings are the multi layered articulation of story and its proliferation in our contemporary society. Snyder creates mutant, cartoonish creatures that inhabit landscapes familiar through cultural markings, yet elevated to a dystopic version of themselves. Snyder is a professor at the College of Santa Fe, and has been included in the Whitney Biennial, and the Biennial of Pancevo,
Serbia and SITE Santa Fe.

Workshop: The Stories We Tell
All stories are true. Not because of the veracity of the tale, but for their desire to say what we would like to be true. There is a subtle moment when a narrative shifts from describing the actual towards what we want reality to be. This is when the story begins to become myth. Our world is defined by the stories we tell. This workshop will be an intensive investigation into the narrative tradition of painting and its possibilities to create new myths. We will look at how stories are told, what they say, and more importantly what we want them to say.

There will be an overview of narrative traditions from biblical and mythological sources, as retold through centuries of paintings, to the cinematic tradition of the 20th century. We will attempt to tell stories that allow for a reshaping of the world, shifting their balance and meaning towards a more personally relevant position. The workshop welcomes painters from the intermediate, advanced, or master level. There will be a number of individual and group critiques throughout the week.