Ben Altman
Semifinalist
Ben Altman (born 1953, UK; lives Danby, NY) trained as an artist by studying physics at University College London, towing icebergs and working in commercial photography. Over the course of his career, Altman’s work has focused on violent turning points of modern history, exploring how we inherit, mourn, metabolize, perpetuate and heal from collective traumas. He draws ideas and materials from a range of practices: photography, video, sculptural interventions in the land, social practice and performance. He often works in the context of where he lives. He has exhibited nationally and internationally, most recently at ArtRage Gallery, Syracuse, NY. His work has been selected for a Foundation for Contemporary Art Emergency Grant, a Houston Center for Photography Fellowship, a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship, two New York State Council on the Arts Artist Support Grants, a New York State Council on the Arts/New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship and many others.
Statement from the Artist:
After my wife and I bought land next to our house in Tompkins County, NY, in 2021, we realized that our well-intentioned new ownership perpetuated a genocidal injustice. “I Own This Stolen Land” explores Indigenous dispossession through text sculptures on the land and social practice.