Art & Life with Leah Netsky

Today we’d like to introduce you to Leah Netsky.

Leah, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
I am originally from the Boston area. Last year I left Cambridge, MA, to move to Tucson, AZ, where I am currently pursuing my MFA in Photography at the University of Arizona. While living in Cambridge, I worked at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and had my first solo show, Meat Stacks, at Gallery 263.

I come from a family of artists. My dad is a gifted musician and composer. The majority of my aunts and uncles are artists, in fields ranging from visual art to creative writing. Thinking through the senses is definitely in my blood. My dad has, for pretty much his whole life, made a living writing, performing, teaching, studying, and writing about music. I spent my childhood listening to and critiquing music with him, which I think in some ways formed my notion of artist as a viable and necessary career.

I have Synesthesia, a neurological phenomenon in which stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to automatic, involuntary cognitive experiences. I have a form called lexical gustatory, in which spoken and written language causes individuals to experience an automatic and highly consistent taste and texture. I also sometimes associate visual textures with tastes and letters have colors. While technically classified as a disability, synesthesia helps me to think beyond prescribed categories. The exact work that I make doesn’t focus on pairing language with taste, but synesthesia shapes my focus on unexpected associations and their potential to demonstrate important insights about the world and how we perceive it.

Can you give our readers some background on your art?
In two sentences, my work articulates systems of organization, and deviations from the logic of these systems. Often working in comparisons, I combine the everyday with the surreal, in an attempt to expose overlooked connections and subconscious thought. While I identify as a photographer, I am really more of an image-based artist. Much of my work involves manipulation or fabrication. I often create objects or surreal scenes that I photograph, or combine multiple images to make diptychs or grids.

My recent work has focused mainly on the interaction between animal and plant life, science and technology and has utilized motifs such as the pixel and the hole punch to symbolize human manipulation and control of the organic. I have been researching a range of topics, including cellular agriculture, genetic modification, bioengineering, and artificial intelligence.

I just got back from attending the New Harvest Conference at MIT. By applying innovations in tissue engineering to the growth of food from harvested cells, New Harvest aims to create a new way of providing affordable, sustainable foods to a growing population. They call this emerging field “cellular agriculture.” I am currently working on transforming my research from this experience into a body of work exploring the implications of lab produced foods and animal products.

Do you think conditions are generally improving for artists? What more can cities and communities do to improve conditions for artists?
It is always a challenge to balance making and funding your work as an artist. In some ways, it has become harder to earn a living as a photographer, because everyone has access to cameras. The internet has decreased the value of the image as well, but has increased potential for exposure. You can now view and support someone’s work even if you’re not able to see it in person.

What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
You can view my work on my website. You can also check out my Instagram, which I update more frequently. Both are listed below in my contact information. I will be part of two upcoming shows in Tucson, one in October at the Lionel Rombach Gallery, and one in November at the Steinfeld Gallery.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.leahnetsky.com
• Email: leahnetsky@gmail.com
• Instagram: @leah_netsky

Image Credit:
Personal Photo by Douglass Guernsey
All other photos by Leah Netsky

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