2020 Goetemann Artist Residency
The Goetemann Artist Residency fosters innovation and courageous artistic experimentation within a nurturing community that supports cultural tolerance and the exchange of new ideas.
Celebrating its 17th year in 2021, this prestigious residency at Rocky Neck Art Colony provides each of four visual artists and one environmental installation artist with a four-week stay in a live-work studio with access to the rich cultural community of Gloucester, MA. The program was renamed to honor its founder, Gordon Goetemann, in 2010.
Sophy Tuttle: Goetemann Environmental/Installation Artist, September 2020
Sophy Tuttle is a visual artist born in Colchester, England. She received her BFA in Illustration from Rhode Island School of Design in 2008 and MFA in Interdisciplinary Art from the University of Hartford At School in 2019. She currently resides in Massachusetts.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My paintings and installations examine humanity’s collective priorities for the planet. I draw upon disparate inspirations such as the aesthetic and methodology of the natural sciences or the compositional strategies of the Mexican muralismo movement.
I always begin with a certain genre of questioning. For example, we have relied on the idea of Aristotle’s hierarchy of species to place ourselves above all others in every decision we make. What would it look like if we inverted this hierarchy? In this vein, each piece that I produce is a catalyst for conversation, collaboration and activism.
My work is often an attempt to transform sterile scientific facts into a rich visual landscape that can be easily accessed intellectually and emotionally by a wide range of people.
Sophie Tuttle’s art installation at Ocean Alliance
Mural by Sophie Tuttle
Goetemann Artist Residency, 2020
Unfortunately, due to Covid-19, we had to make the very difficult decision to cancel the May, June, July, August and October residencies. HOWEVER, we did go ahead with the September Environmental Artist Sophy Tuttle, who created a spectacular installation on a building at Rocky Neck's Ocean Alliance. See a video of the installation and hear her closing presentation: