How does an artist make working at home interesting? In this film, artist Lucas Blalock photographs mundane objects from local discount stores in the living room of his Williamsburg apartment & studio. Shooting with a large format camera, Blalock arranges a series of sculptural, tabletop still lifes on colorful backdrops and patterned fabric. Quickly moving from one setup to the next, Blalock manipulates each scene by employing mirrors, adjusting the camera's vantage point, and repeating objects. Finding time to work on nights and weekends in between his day job, Blalock discusses how the conditions and context of his environment structure his relationship to making images. Featuring the works "Untitled (Crystalline Screw)" (2009), "Untitled (Deck Prism?)" (2009), "Strange Loop" (2009), "Loop-Loop (Picture for NM)" (2009), "All Aspects Simultaneously" (2009), "The Cow (La Vache)" (2011), and "Bananas" (2011), as well as works in progress.

Lucas Blalock (b. 1978, Asheville, North Carolina, USA) lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.

CREDITS | "New York Close Up" Created & Produced by: Wesley Miller & Nick Ravich. Editor: Mary Ann Toman. Cinematography: Rafael Moreno Salazar, Andrew David Watson & Ava Wiland. Key Grip: John Marton. Sound: Nicholas Lindner, Wesley Miller & Ava Wiland. Associate Producer: Ian Forster. Production Assistant: Paulina V. Ahlstrom, Don Edler & Maren Miller. Design: Open. Artwork: Lucas Blalock. Thanks: Nina Mamakunian. An Art21 Workshop Production. © Art21, Inc. 2011. All rights reserved.

"New York Close Up" is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Additional support provided by The 1896 Studios & Stages.

For more info: http://www.art21.org/newyorkcloseup