Second Sight Conversation:
André Ramos-Woodard and Anna Garner with Michelle Dunn Marsh
November 10, 2022
On Thursday, November 10 from 4:00 - 4:45pm Pacific time we presented the final Second Sight Conversation of 2022 with André Ramos-Woodard and Anna Garner, highlighting the work of these two artists nominated for the annual Second Sight Award. This event was moderated by Michelle Dunn Marsh, founder of Minor Matters Books. After brief presentations by each artist Michelle leads an insightful conversation into the work of each artist, and concerns shared between them.
Watch the recorded conversation
André Ramos-Woodard
Raised in the Southern states of Tennessee and Texas, André Ramos-Woodard (they/ them/ he/ him) is a contemporary artist who uses their work to emphasize the experiences of the underrepresented: celebrating the experience of marginalized peoples while accenting the repercussions of contemporary and historical discrimination. Working in a variety of media—including photography, text, and illustration—Ramos-Woodard creates collages that convey ideas of communal and personal identity, influenced by their direct experience with life as a queer African American. Focusing on Black liberation, queer justice, and the reality of mental health, Ramos-Woodard works to amplify repressed voices and bring power to the people.
A recipient of the Denis Roussel Fellowship from the Center for Fine Art Photography in 2019 and selected for Silver Eye’s 2021 Silver List, Ramos-Woodard has shown his work at various institutions across the United States, including the Tamarind Institute–Albuquerque, New Mexico, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston–Houston, Texas, Leon Gallery–Denver, Colorado, and FILTER Photo–Chicago, Illinois. He received his BFA from Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas, and his MFA at The University of New Mexico in Albuquerque, New Mexico. André currently works as the Exhibitions and Programs Coordinator at the Houston Center for Photography in Houston, Texas.
Anna Garner
Anna Garner’s work combines performance, sculpture, photography, and video to present contemplations on physical uncertainty and examine visual hierarchies within nature, gender, and architecture. Born in New York (1982) and raised in San Diego, Anna currently lives in México City. One person exhibitions of her work have been presented at ltd los angeles, Los Angeles, CA (2019); and Phoenix Center for the Arts, Phoenix, AZ (2015). Anna’s work has been included in thematic exhibitions at Guadalajara 90210, Mexico City, MX (2022), Simone Subal Gallery, New York, NY (2021), Museum aan de Stroom, Antwerp, Belgium (2019); The Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery, Washington, DC (2019); and Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ (2016).
In 2015 she was a recipient of The Phoenix Art Museum’s Contemporary Forum Artist Grant. Anna’s work has been supported through residencies at Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (2014), Bemis Center for Contemporary Art (2016), and Art OMI (2019).
Moderated by Michelle Dunn Marsh
Originally from Puyallup, WA, Michelle now considers both Seattle and New York City home. She believes that living with books is transformative, and everyone should try it. Ditto for driving a convertible, smelling a sterling rose, and wearing great cowboy boots.
She has experienced every aspect of the publishing process through staff positions with Aperture Foundation and Chronicle Books, and on a project basis with University of Washington Press, Museum of Glass, Heyday Books, Abbeville Press, and others. Leadership positions include Co-Publisher of Aperture magazine and Deputy Director of Aperture Foundation; Senior Editor of Art+Design, Chronicle Books; and executive director (2013–2019) and Chief Strategist (2019-2020) at Photographic Center Northwest.
Editor or designer of over 100 publications prior to starting Minor Matters, she has also curated a number of significant exhibitions, including Jim Marshall's The Rolling Stones 1972 at Experience Music Project, Seattle; Here I Am: Lisa Leone at the Bronx Museum; Eugene Richards: Enduring Freedom and Terminal: On Mortality and Beauty at PCNW, Seattle; and All Power: Visual Legacies of the Black Panther Party, which was on view in New York, Seattle, and Ellensburg, WA.
