Alumni Spotlight

ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT – ANNETTE ELIZABETH FOURNET
BFA 1976, Photography

An Interview with A.E. Fournet . . .

Where did you grow up and where do you live now?

I was born in Williamsburg, VA. I lived in Jackson, MS until I moved to Memphis for college. After getting my BFA and MFA in Memphis, I lived in Philadelphia, PA, New York, NY, Beaumont, TX, Rochester, NY, New Orleans, LA, Prague, Czech Republic for a sabbatical year, San Diego, CA, then back to New Orleans just in time for Katrina, and now finally back to Memphis. I think this is the final destination.

What was your first job?

My first job was in high school working for a hardware/ crafts store making decoupage purses.

What is your favorite food?

Sushi.

What is your favorite book?

One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez.

What is your favorite movie?

The Piano by Jane Campion.

What do you waste your money on?

Collecting the Diana and Diana clone cameras on ebay. I think I have the second largest collection in the world. The Lomographic Society owns the largest collection.

What was the dumbest thing you ever did?

There were so many things. I guess not working harder when I was an undergraduate student at MCA.

Can you tell us about your current project?

I am now working on a series of digital images entitled, “Lost Promises.” For many years I have collected old snapshots, carte de visites, and portraits. I wondered how these photographs came to be separated from their owners and their descendants, ending up in dusty junk stores and flea markets. Did they immigrate to the New World? Were they taken to concentration camps? What choices did women without family or financial resources face? Were life expectations fulfilled or not? So, I combined found images, my own black and white photographic work and other scanned materials to create fictional narratives for these ‘lost’ individuals.

Briefly, describe your workspace.

I have two great workspaces – one is the darkroom my husband built for me. It is large, has great ventilation, and its own central heat and air conditioning. The other space is my office at home with its big windows, huge Craftsman style desk and, of course, various black cats sleeping on velvet cushions.

Which artists had the greatest influence on you?

Murray Riss, Eugene Atget, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Clarence John Laughlin, Diane Arbus, Josef Sudek, Josef Koudelka, and Alphons Mucha.

If you could have lunch with one artist, dead or alive, who would that be and why?

Josef Sudek. By looking at his work, I can see that he knew Prague in an intimate and poetic way. I would love to hear him talk about life in Prague in the days of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.

Give us 5 words that describe your overall style.

If you mean the style of my work I would say wabi–sabi, eclectic, melancholy, genius loci, funky. Is that five or six?

What is your fondest memory?

One summer evening during my first trip to Prague in 1993, I was working in a darkroom with an older Czech photographer and a younger Swiss photographer. It was a moment of complete contentment and great camaraderie.

How often do you work on your art?

Almost every day in one way or another.

How did you change or grow while at MCA?

I was exposed to so many working artists, new media and new ideas. It was a very exciting time in my life. I can’t say I was a good student then, but it all made an impression and has helped me develop as a photographer.

What one piece of advice do you have for new artists?

Develop discipline early on and find good mentors! I wish I had developed the discipline I have now when I was in school.

What would you like to be remembered for?

My images of the things in Central and Eastern Europe that are disappearing under the onslaught of change.

Is there anything you would change about your life today and, if so, what?

The only thing I would change is that I wish I had the same desire and discipline to work out physically as I have for making images.

Through the Fournet Lens
http://homepage.mac.com/aefournet

Lost Promises Series