My name is Natalie Krick. I am a visual artist who also teaches. I’ve been living in Seattle since 2015.

My artistic training was strictly photographic, everything that I made as a younger artist was made with a camera. My approach has shifted and expanded but my work is still heavily influenced by photography and how photographs influence identity, behavior and perception.

Images of Monroe have been lurking in the background of my work for quite a long time but it wasn’t until a few years ago that I began to use her image exclusively. I am drawn to cliches and patterns in visual culture that are familiar and repeated to the point of being easy to ignore. I started to see Monroe’s image as a pattern that continues to be copied and circulated. Although she died sixty three years ago, famous women are still posing as her in photographs, wearing her dresses to galas and images of her are still all over the place.

Monroe had a keen understanding of photography on many levels. Of course she knew how to perform for the camera but she also viewed her image as a persona. Also she had a lot more agency than she’s given credit for. I wanted to turn her image into objects that demand a closer and more complicated practice of looking and curiosity.

I’ve realized that being hyper focused and specific has actually led me to expand my ways of working. Everything that I’ve been making in the last few years has started with a found photograph, book, or text. I’ve been playing with how I can transform these materials through rephotographing, cutting, creating objects out of images and making photograms in the darkroom. As I’ve been continuing to play with new ways of approaching similar subject matter, and recently I’ve been playing with video installation and book making.

Creating gives structure to my daily life and I can’t imagine doing anything else. I think it’s led by my obsession, curiosity, and also my inability to stop. I feel overstimulated often and I feel very lucky to have my studio as a quiet place to think and work.

I am incredibly honored to be recognized and selected as a recipient of the Artist Trust Fellowship. This award will fund my labor by providing the priceless and crucial element of time to dedicate to experimenting and working in the studio.

We are living in a time where we desperately need more nuance and empathy and art is crucial. As funding for the arts continues to be cut, Artist Trust’s support of artists and their work is incredibly important. I would love to see more support going to the next generation of artists. Emerging artists are in need of funding, opportunities and mentoring at the beginning of their careers. As Seattle becomes more and more expensive, artists (especially younger artists) need encouragement and support to stay.