Artist Bio
Mia Erin Beach is an artist based out of Bloomington, Indiana, where she received a BFA degree in photography at Indiana University. She has exhibited in both solo and group shows around the Midwest and West Coast, and has been featured in publications in the United States and abroad.
In order to purchase photographs, please visit the Etsy store or contact mia.beach.photography@gmail.com
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Artist Statement
I tend to immerse myself in multiple projects exploring disparate subject matter, but themes of youth are common to much of my work. My inspiration often derives from my childhood custom of creating imaginary worlds. Both of the series Bit Parts and Departures reference the notion of childhood games and perspectives. The photographs in Bit Parts allude to this kind of play, forming scenarios with small objects and photographing them. They also reference the clash of different cultures and eras, and to the interaction of man and his environment. The people are dwarfed by their surroundings, and the pieces are given titles that reflect an ambiguous narrative. Each scene, though it comprises familiar images, is a view into an odd world. By juxtaposing these elements, each scene is meant to both intrigue and amuse the viewer. Departures specifically relates to my family and often to my years spent as a runaway during my late teens. While incorporating playful elements, this series focuses on loss and catharsis.
My first idea for Departures was derived from a particular memory. At 8 years old, while playing hide and seek in the funeral home that my grandfather owned, I ran into the foot of a corpse lying on a gurney. My grandfather was a coroner for many years, and I sometimes felt guilty that his close association with death was frightening to me. In some ways these feelings colored my world view as a child. The deaths of friends and family are the starting point for the work in this series.
Some of the pieces reflect specific loss, as well as childhood memories, family myth, and my chronic insomnia. Nightmares is an ongoing series in which I explore some of the nightmares that contributed to this insomnia. I made each piece is using of a combination of photograms and scanograms, resulting in a scene that uses photographic elements to create an image resembling an illustration. These images are flat, and often use toys and natural objects as props. I often draw my work from the overly-dramatic, slanted perspective from which children observe their world.
As the mother of two small children, I spend a great deal of time photographing my family. I am drawn to imagery of youth and childhood; childhood tends to be a universally relevant subject matter. Frequently, I feel there is a connection a viewer can feel toward an image of a child that isn’t present in an image of an adult. Children are pliable models, and images of them are often a means of self portraiture.
On this website, I have taken this opportunity to include pieces that are simply my personal favorites, or that I have not previously had a chance to show in a public setting. There is a wide range of work, from finished series to less polished pieces. Check back frequently to this site for updates and new work.
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Selected Exhibitions and Awards
For a complete CV, please contact mia.beach.photography@gmail.com
Selected Awards
November 2009
Winner, ISDA Photo Contest
Indiana State Dept of Agriculture
August 2009
Individual Artist Grant
Indiana Arts Commission
March 2009
Award of Merit: Professional Division
Annual Juried Show
Minnetrista Cultural Center
April 2009
Carter Merit and Allan Khan Memorial Award
NSAL Visual Arts Competition
Gallery North
March 2009
Award of Merit
Minnetrista Annual Juried Show and Sale
June 2008
Semi-Finalist
Adobe Design Achievement Awards
June 2008 NSAL Visual Arts Competition
Carter Merit and Allan Khan Memorial Award
John Waldron Arts Center
December 2007
Nominee, Windgate Fellowship
Indiana University
June 2007
Winner, Annual Art Acquisition Award
National Collegiate Honors Council
June 2007
Bronze Award: Photography Division
Eighth Quarterly Student Competition
Creative Quarterly Magazine
April 2007
Best in Show: Photography Division
Seventh Quarterly Student Competition
Creative Quarterly Magazine
April 2007 NSAL Visual Arts Competition
Carter Merit and Allan Khan Memorial Award
John Waldron Arts Center
December 2006
Henry Holmes Smith Scholarship in Photography
Indiana University |
Selected Solo Exhibitions
August 2009
Mia Beach: Bit Parts and Departures
Bloomingfoods East and West
Bloomington, Indiana
April 2008
BFA Thesis Exhibition
Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts
Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana
August 2007
Exhibition of photographs and altered books at Boxcar Books
Bloomington, Indiana
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Selected Group Exhibitions
March 2009
Annual Juried Show and Sale
Minnetrista Cultural Center
Muncie, Indiana
December 2008
Melancholia
Cranky Yellow Gallery
St. Louis, Missouri
April 2008
DepARTed
World of Wonder Storefront Gallery
Hollywood, California
November 2007
10th Annual BFA Photography
Alternative Show
Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts
Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana
July 2007
Loyola National Works on Paper Exhibition
Crown Center Gallery
Loyola University
Chicago, Illinois
June 2007
DIG Exhibition
The Ground Floor Gallery
Louisville, Kentucky
March 2007
National Society of Arts and Letters
Visual Art Competition Exhibition
Rosemary Miller Gallery
John Waldron Arts Center
Bloomington, Indiana
February 2007
Minnetrista Annual Juried Art Show
and Sale
Minnetrista Cultural Center
Muncie, Indiana
December 2006
9th Annual BFA Photography
Alternative Show
Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts
Indiana University
Bloomington, Indiana |
| Selected Publications |
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September 2009
September 2008
August 2007 |
LP Photography Magazine Quarterly, Issue 8, Autumn, Pages 8-15. Okinawa, Japan.
Shots Magazine Issue 101. Photograph: The Twins featured. Page 28.
Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Creative Quarterly Issue Eight. Summer 2007. Photograph: Behind the Curtain featured. Page 65.
New York, New York.
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August 2007 |
Hip Mama Magazine Issue 38. Fall 2007. Photograph: Truck featured. Pages 16-17.
Portland, Oregon.
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| May 2007 |
Creative Quarterly Issue Seven. Spring 2007. Four photographs: We were part of a family secret, They once lived, now we are unsure of their names, Family legend holds that he had his stroke when he found out I had left, and Untitled featured in the magazine. Pages 64, 65, and 68.
New York, New York. |
| April 2007 |
Canvas Magazine, Spring 2007 Issue. Five photographs: Conjoined Twins, Untitled, Behind the Curtain, Unquestionably the Finest, and Simon’s Book (detail) included in the magazine. Pages: Cover, inside cover, 29, 30-31, 38-39, and 45.
Bloomington, Indiana |
| August 2005 |
Hip Mama Magazine, Issue 34, Four photographs: Doorway, Bella and Sophielsa, She’s Always Happy to See Me, and Revolves Around The selected for publication. Revolves Around The featured on the cover. Pages: Cover, 5, 17, and 25.
Portland, Oregon |
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