Artist Statement
Though I spent my childhood in Iowa, I did not grow up in a farming family – or with any relation to agriculture besides trips to the grocery store. After a few years living out-of-state, I relocated back to Iowa and enrolled in the Integrated Visual Arts MFA program at Iowa State University. Through my artwork, I approach the complicated narrative of farming in the state of Iowa. The photographs and photo-polymer intaglio prints included with this submission address an initial exploration of the topography of Iowa, greatly altered and formed by agricultural practices. The photographs document repetition found in altered landscape and imply the relationship of mankind and industry to land.
Naturalist Mark Edwards writes, “Iowa is now at the forefront of environmental issues. We live in the most biologically altered state in North America. Here and now is where we will find out what this will mean for our future.”
Artist Bio: Rachel Deutmeyer is a visual artist currently based in Ames, Iowa. She is an MFA candidate in the Integrated Studio Arts program at Iowa State University, where she also serves as a teaching assistant. Deutmeyer received her BFA from Ashford University in Clinton, Iowa, where she employed photography to express an adoration of regional travel and community. She continues to create fine art photographs that explore place and examine implications of the photographic medium, including art and snapshot.
