Because art makes life better

Mark Kasumovic is currently completing an MFA in Documentary Media at Ryerson University's School of Image Arts in Toronto. In 2009 Mark won the Magenta Foundation’s Flash Forward Emerging Photographers Competition and was chosen as the Ontario winner in the Bank of Montreal BMO 1st Art Competition. His work has been featured in group exhibitions at the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art (MOCCA) and Edward Day Gallery in Toronto. He is currently preparing for two upcoming solo exhibitions in Toronto in 2010.

Ideal Landscapes

So successful has been the camera’s role in beautifying the world that photographs, rather than the world, have become the standard of the beautiful. Susan Sontag

Historically, landscape photography has often been used to beautify the world around us. Many of the techniques used to capture the landscape often aim to better it in some way, which often leads to an unrealistic rendering of the scene. Much like commercial photography, a landscape is often sold to us by a representation that could hardly be considered an accurate portrayal of the world around us. Through the use of flash and commercial lighting techniques, this misrepresentation becomes more obvious and allows for the landscape to be removed from its natural context. As a result, the idea of the “un-touched” landscape gives way to a more fictional one, resembling perhaps a stage more than the real world.

Awards

2009 winner of the Magenta Foundation’s Flash Forward Emerging Photographers Competition
BMO Bank of Montreal 1st Art! Invitational, Ontario Winner
Look3 Workshop Scholarship, Look3 Festival, Charlottesville, VA
Snap! Stars, SNAP! 09, TD Canada Trust, Toronto, ON
Finalist, Student Fine art Single, New York Photo Awards, NY

Solo Exhibitions

2010
I Can Hear You Humming, Toronto Imageworks Gallery, Toronto, ON.

2009
Lost, Ryerson Gallery, Toronto, Ontario

2007
Empathy – Reflections of Self , Lens Factory, Toronto, Ontario

Selected Group Exhibitions

2010
Flash Forward 2009: Emerging Photographers, Griffin Photography Museum, Boston, MA.

2009
Flash Forward 2009: Emerging Photographers, Lennox Contemporary, Toronto
Flash Forward 2009: Emerging Photographers, FotoWeek Central 4, Washington, DC.
BMO Art 1st 2009, Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, Toronto

Education

(current) MFA in Documentary Media, Ryerson University's School of Image Arts, Toronto.
2009 BFA in Photography, Ryerson University's School of Image Arts, Toronto.

Please note: this is an abbreviated C.V. Please visit the artist's website for further information.