Photos and Artist Talk in the Learning Commons

The Beacon Staff

Christian Farnsworth has established a diverse and solid knowledge base that has informed his photography work adding wonderful insight into the work that he chose to hang in the Learning Commons second floor study lounge.

Last Thursday, Farnsworth’s touched on his studies in Geoscience and Natural Resources, as well as his time in the Peace Corps and the World Food Programme. which lead him via a circuitous route Maine College of Art where he earned his MFA in Interdisciplinary Studies.

Farnsworth spoke of the moment when he was challenged by his professors at MECA which in turn set him on the path that lead to the work exhibited at SMCC. He also mentioned the impact that Susan Sontag’s book, “Regarding the Pain of Others” made on him as a photo journalist.

His professors and Sontag challenged him in a manner that forced him to confront how an image might lose its ability to address the human condition and emotional impact. The dilemma of seeing a multitude of images that documents the plight of the human condition across the planet while losing their importance is a point that Farnsworth focused on.