By Meghan O’Sullivan ’14

Photo Courtesy of isidroblasco.com

Third Street Artist-in-Residenc (AIR) Isidro Blasco has exhibits all over the world: Australia, Spain, New York, China and now, Lafayette. Blasco, who constructs his signature photo-sculptures bycollaging photography on wooden scaffolding, concluded his time as AIR with a brown bag lecture about his work with photography and film.

Blasco participated in the Third Street Artist-in-Residence Program and worked with Lafayette faculty and students on an original project that has been completed in the Williams Center of Visual Arts. The art department began this program a few years ago with the intent of connecting art students with professionals and facilitating real-world learning experiences.

Blasco earned his Ph.D at the Architectural School of Madrid, and his passion for architecture has influenced many of his photographs and films. One photograph depicts a room with bare walls and a dirt floor whose Spartan setting,Blasco explained, inspired him because of the way the natural light interacted with the texture of the surfaces. When asked about his artistic methodology, Blasco was extremely humble and simply said, “I just have a good camera, go and shoot, and hope for the best.”

Blasco also presented a series of photographs that visually deconstruct the different architectural structures that make up a building. His film Elusive Here featured different concurrent and employed a stream-of-consciousness narration.Blasco said that not all of the events in his film are true. “I didn’t intend for it to be that personal,” Blasco said. However, the influence of his experiences on the different vignettes—particularly one about a boy who discovers a love for architectural design upon being forgotten at home—is still apparent.

The presentation concluded with a question-and-answer session, during which the topic of his architectural pursuits arose. Blasco said that with the exception of hopefully designing his own house one day, he is not interested in applying his knowledge as an architect. He feels that numbers and budgets would remove creativity from the process.