Artist’s photographs evoke oppositions to modern day

"Transmission" by Clay Jordan

Clay Jordan’s photographs in the "Master of Fine Arts Degree Candidates Exhibition" are about nostalgia, growing older and “cheap pleasures” that are both enticing and unfulfilling.

Jordan’s photographs feature saturated colors and reflect these sentimental ideas. For example, Jordan said his work focuses on accessibility, especially the modern conveniences of technology and the Internet, allowing people to have whatever they want, when they want it.

“I want to make things that I find beautiful and beguiling but that are also sad and ephemeral,” said Jordan. He said he works prolifically, shooting until he recognizes a theme. He then edits his photographs into a cohesive body of work.

Jordan received a BFA in psychology from Vanderbilt University in 1998 and is an MFA candidate for photography. He became interested in art after collecting photography books, with the help of his girlfriend’s worker discount, from Powell’s Books, a large and independently owned bookstore in Portland, Ore. Jordan is also a founding member of the band pacificUV.

                          

The “Master of Fine Arts Degree Candidates Exhibition” is on view at the Georgia Museum of Art March 16 to April 22, 2013, with an opening reception in conjunction with 90 Carlton: Spring on March 22. MFA Speaks is scheduled for March 21 at 5:30 p.m. and will feature the artists discussing their work.