Chantal Zakari
Professor of the Practice
School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts
In my work, I access contemporary social issues by making connections with personal narratives, history, and popular culture. I freely combine research methodologies and artistic strategies from various disciplines such as photography, documentary, graphic design, performance, storytelling, installation, and social interventions. My work is project based. I draw from academic research as much as intuitive explorations in the graphic arts. I explore projects over the span of several years the work can transform into exhibitions, installations, publications, performances and street happenings.
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As I approach my work from a conceptual frame, the form is wide ranging; fabric banners, to ceramic plates, oil paintings produced in factories, resin cast sculptures and news media ads. Often the project culminates in an artist's publication. Educated as a designer I've used the computer since the mid-80s and was actively participating in the digital revolution that came through image manipulation software, desktop publishing, internet communication, web publishing and more recently mass customization.
Text and language is an inherent part of my work; interviews, personal narrative, found text, all have the potential to contextualize the imagery. The book format allows me to develop an idea in much greater detail and create dialogues outside art establishments where it can reach a wider audience. With my collaborator (and husband) Mike Mandel, I actively interact with the media as part of the work. We have given press conferences and staged street events to open the work to a non-art audience.
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Under the imprint of Eighteen Publications, Mike and I have self-published several artist's books. Our combined skills in photo, graphic design, printing and publishing enables us the artistic freedom from the industry. We are committed to create works of art that are cheap and accessible to a wider audience. As my studio practice evolves, I have embraced the rapid changes in technology and in recent years I've also used print-on-demand technology and Risography along with offset printing to produce and distribute my work.
