Peter Leix

artist statement:

My work is a direct response to the growing disconnection and disillusionment I feel with the direction I see our society going. I sense a huge gap between how we ought to live and how we do live. The subjects of my photographs gesture in ways that demonstrate a struggle with the world in which they exist. Nature figures as unruly, starkly beautiful and ultimately brutal and unforgiving. I strive for a marriage of concept and craft; I do not wish to neglect one for the other.

what do you love about the MFA program at the University of Michigan?

I like that there we are not separated into different mediums, (ie. photography, painting, etc) so we all get feedback from a broader audience than traditional programs. I think the feedback and critiques can become stale in traditional programs with a lot of regurgitated ideas that have become accepted about specific ways of working. I think this broader audience gives me a better idea of how my work will be accepted in the real world.

anticipated graduation date: May 2014