User:JohnnyART506/sandbox

 Aurora Berger 

Biographical Information Aurora Berger is a artist based out of Vermont. She has her Bachelors of Fine Arts from Prescott College and her Masters of Fine Arts from Claremont Graduate University.

Aurora Berger has stated that her physical disability is Marfan Syndrome which affects the fibers connective tissue of the human body. Another disability she has stated is visual disability, which consist of her being severely nearsighted. She struggles to see a few inches in front of her faces and glasses can not help with this. Since Aurora Berger is severely nearsighted she fell in love with cameras. The camera became an extension of her vision allowing her to see father.

Quote by Aurora Berger: "My work is about existing in the body that I have, in the life that I am living. It is about inhabiting spaces, perceiving surroundings, and above all, my work is about surviving."

Specialization (eg, sculptor, painter, photographer etc.) Aurora Berger's specialization is in photography. She uses her photography to to show how she views the world as a physically and visually disabled artist. She also a lot of self-portraits as the main subject in her photography. The self-portraits consist of either her physical body or pictures about her life.

Significant artwork contributions – name 2-3 artworks and describe them

In self portrait series "Life on the Line" Aurora Berger has black and white photos of her body. The photos are of different body parts that are zoomed in with a light or dark background. The contrast of lights and shadows are well done making the photo more dynamic. She also has black and white self portraits in a forest setting. Aurora Berger describes these photos as, her living on the line of her identity and label. She seems to be conflicted between the identity of being "normal". In these self portraits she captures her body in photographs to show that she has accepted her body and is now comfortable with it. In this photo series she placed her "Life on the Line" self portrait photos in a forest for a few months so that they can disintegrate. She then visited those photos and take pictures of them in their setting. She stated, "My body can never be restored, only conserved". Aurora really likes the forest because this was the place where she first learned how to walk. In the photo series you can see the self portrait photographs disintegrating against the tree like it is becoming part of the forest. In this photo series Aurora Berger put us in her shoes regarding her visual disability. In this photo series she would alter the photographs by using distortions in the camera. She wanted the viewer to experience how she sees and experience the world through her vision. In the photographs you can see the focus is in the center while everything around the center is slightly distorted.
 * Life on the Line
 * Restoration
 * Perceptions

How does their work contribution to disability politics? Aurora Berger's work bring contribution to disability politics because she is allowing us to see the life she has gone through as a disabled person. She has shown her life through her photography. She has stated that when she was a kid and she had to many hospital visits and she did not feel fear she felt embarrassed that something was wrong with her body. This is a example of the medical model of disability. The doctors made it seem like something was wrong with her with the frequent doctor visits and tests they had to do. As she got older she accepted her body and used it to fuel her creativity for her art.

Major exhibitions

Solo Exhibitions

2019     Autopathography, East Gallery, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California

2017      Life on the Line, Sam Hill Gallery, Prescott, Arizona

Group Exhibitions

2021    In The Realm of the Senses, Highways Performance Space / Gallery, Los Angeles, CA. Virtual exhibition through Film Maudit 2.0

2021     The Breaking Point Project, Contributing Artist, thebreakingpointproject.com  (Live by Feb. 1)

2020     ANEW, Inclusive Arts VT,  Touring Exhibition: Amy E. Tarrant Gallery, Burlington, VT, Main Street Arts, Saxton’s River, VT, T.W. Wood Gallery, VT, Grace Arts, Hardwick, VT, Dartmouth

Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH, Vermont State House Gallery, Montpelier, VT

2020     ­The Full Light of Day, VAE Raleigh, Raleigh, NC

2019     Connected, Department of VSA and Accessibility at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C.

Touring Exhibition: Rayburn House, Washington DC, Volkswagen Corporate Headquarters, Herndon, VA, Demuth Museum, Lancaster, PA, Access Gallery, Denver, CO, Kennedy Center

Hall of Nations, Washington, DC, VAE Raleigh, Raleigh, NC, VSA Massachusetts, Boston, MA

2019     Opulent Mobility 2019, Dora Stern Gallery, Arts Unbound, Orange, NJ

2019      Reflections, East & Peggy Phelps Galleries, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California

2018      Make Space, East & Peggy Phelps Galleries, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California

2018      Fresh Take, Claremont City Hall, Claremont, California

2018      Chroma, East & Peggy Phelps Galleries, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California

2018      Nude Art LA, Artshare LA, Los Angeles, California

2018      Come As You Are, St. Georg, Berlin, Germany

2018      SoCal MFA Juried Exhibition, Millard Sheets Art Center, Pomona, California

2018      4th MFA Biennial Exhibition, Brea Art Gallery, Brea, California

2017      Daybreak, East & Peggy Phelps Galleries, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California

2017      Entities, Claremont City Hall, Claremont, California

2017      Twelve, East & Peggy Phelps Galleries, Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California

2017      Juried Student Show, Sam Hill Gallery, Prescott, Arizona

2016      Fusion Art Best in Show Exhibition, Fusion Art, Palm Springs, California

2016      Up Close and Personal Juried Show, Photo Place Gallery, Middlebury, Vermont

2016      Photography Invitational, Sam Hill Gallery, Prescott, Arizona

2016      Emerge Juried Show, Art Intersection, Gilbert, Arizona

2016      Oso Bay XIX Juried Exhibition, Weil Gallery, Corpus Christi, Texas

2016      Scholarship Exhibition, Mountain Artists Guild Gallery, Prescott, Arizona

2016      Arizona Governor's Art Awards, Program and Formal Invitation Artwork, Phoenix, Arizona

2016      Late for the Train, Flagstaff, Arizona

2015      Juried Student Show, Sam Hill Gallery, Prescott, Arizona

2015      Milagro Arts Center, Prescott, Arizona

2015      Elemental, Fusion Art, Fusion Art, Online Exhibition

2014      Cafe 232, South Strafford, Vermont

Works collected by any significant institutions? Art Publications


 * 1) 2019     John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Connected Catalogue

2019    Catalogue Essay: A Shared Humanity: Photography and Institutionalization in the 20th Century

Ryan Herz. The Children of Edgewood. Drkrm Editions: Los Angeles, CA

2019    Exhibition Catalogue: Autopathography

2018     Foothill Journal Volume 8 - Featured Artist

2017     Albion Review - Photographs: Elemental & Rural Life XV

2017     Gambling the Aisle, Issue #12: Life on the Line  +  Nonfiction: The Art of the Photograph  

Any other important/interesting information about this artist? Aurora Berger is also a writer, here are some of her writings:

Any references/citations of note?
 * A Shared Humanity: Photography and Institutionalization in the 20th Century
 * Returning the Gaze: Enfreakment in Disability Photography
 * Accessibility in Higher Education