Caitlin Emma Perkins

I’m a thrifty Yankee girl from northern New Hampshire. I went to a three-room schoolhouse in the village of Jackson. My work includes prints, artist books and installations and draws heavily on the visual vernacular of urban streets and historical collections. I’m particularly obsessed with 19th century sea exploration, natural science museums and menageries.

A new set of interactive works are on the way. I’m doing a show at the Bucks County Community College, Hicks Art Center Gallery. These were inspired by the photobooth that I built as part of the Handjob show curated by Courtney Dailey last March.

Here’s the link to my sketchbook for the project:
That Only You and I Can Know

I’m really excited about the work, and I’ll start posting images about it shortly.

The exhibition opens to the public August 27, and a reception on Wednesday, September 18th. I’ll be doing a public tshirt printing event on Saturday, October 18th. Hope to see you there.

much love,
Caitlin

And, here is my flickr page

That Only You and I Can Know

That Only You and I Can Know was a site specific installation that I created for the Hicks Art Center at the Bucks County Community College. My ideas for the installation were to create a space for two people to have intimate interactions. The objects were all analog technologies – and required human participation – through a kissing booth, telephone booth and photobooth. As I looked around – these objects are disappearing from our shared landscape…

That Only You and I Can Know

That Only You and I Can Know, was an installation that I created at the Hicks Art Center at Bucks County Community College in the fall of 2008. The installation had two tin can telephone booths, a kissing booth and a photobooth. In addition there were prints on the wall. All documentary images photographed by Rebecca Mott

Photobooth

From That Only You and I Can Know, an installation at Hicks Art Center at Bucks County Community College in the fall of 2008. Materials: wood, plastic, screenprinted signs.I created a photobooth which replaced the camera with a compartment for a person to sit opposite the photo booth sitter. One person could draw the other person.All photographic images by Rebecca Mott

Photobooth drawing

Photobooth drawings

Photo Booth

Kissing Booth, detail

A kissing booth from, That Only You and I Can Know, an installation at Hicks Art Center at Bucks County Community College in the fall of 2008. Materials: wood, plastic, screenprinted signs. I set up a “kissing booth” – a kiosk which had a counter separated into two sides. The participants couldn’t lock lips, but could make lip prints and slip them through to each other. A surprise activity that evolved was people just began kissing the plexiglass between the two sides.

Kissing Booth

From That Only You and I Can Know, an installation at Hicks Art Center at Bucks County Community College in the fall of 2008. Materials: wood, plastic, screenprinted signs.

Tin Can Telephone Booth

From That Only You and I Can Know, an installation at Hicks Art Center at Bucks County Community College in the fall of 2008. Materials: wood, plastic, screenprinted signs.

AAAAHHHHHHHHHH Screaming with the Angel of Death in My Ear

This three color screenprint was done for the show, Gimme Metal at KCDC in Brooklyn curated by Dennis McNett. Inspired by my love of death metal while cleaning…should really be a mud flap design.

Rattus norvegicus (tergum)

Yup, its a rat’s ass. 3 color screenprint, nice and simple.

The Remains of the Menagerie

Inspired by Posada and a recent lecture by another Philadelphia artist lamenting over lost love…my tribute. This is a big one – 22 x 30 inches and hmmm…I think there are about 10 stencils…maybe more. It was truly a way to think out some ideas for some future prints that I am co-publishing with Silicon Gallery, they are printing digital and I’m screenprinting on top.

Goats I’ve Known

Inspired by the collection of photographs and drawings I’ve done in my sketchbook – this is the collection put together into one print. 4 color screen print using a combination of photographic and hand drawn stencils. Almost 40 goats.

Danger Frog

A simple 4 color screenprint on Arches 88. I stumbled upon a fountain in Philadelphia at Logan Circle as it was under construction – someone had taken the caution tape and attempted to strangle the sculpture of the frog (it wasn’t me).

Fierce and Savage

A print from an edition that I have been working with continually. I printed 50 prints and varied the printing as I created the editions – different inks, different layers. So in the end I will end up with 4 different editions. This one is using text that I loved from previous broadside – Fierce and Savage, inspired by a historical broadside (text based poster. This is a screenprint, with many, many layers of ink built up which creates a fur like texture. This one also has a wash of green overprinted.

Milanese Crabs Dream

Stencil and screenprint with pigmented wax overlay. Found these crabs in the Milan Natural History Museum about to do battle. The smaller images are of crabs from the Wagner Institute in Philadelphia…with pincers raised. The smaller hand drawn images are actually created by printing the negative images of the crabs using clear ink (transparent base) in multiple layers (I think about 15 layers), creating an incised line. I am able to then wipe pigmented wax into the line creating the drawing. The larger crabs are photographic images and printed using big dot patterns. The background orange is a stencil print so each print is slightly unique because of the handwork.

Photobooth

This is the newest interactive piece, as part of Handjob, the March 07 exhibition at the Space. It is a full size photobooth, although, it is a non traditional photobooth…one side is for the sitter, and the other side is for someone to sit and draw people. The best part of this piece is the amazing intimacy that occurs when the person is in the booth being drawn. It is 5-10 minutes, where you are looking intensely at the person and having a conversation. Wild.
For the opening several people jumped in and took turns drawing. It was great fun.

The weirdest thing is that since making the photobooth, I realized that I made a version of this in 1978…back in kindergarten.

Secret Cafe dish

I am collaborating with another artist, Katie Baldwin to create a set of dishes we will use in a “secret cafe” at the Powel House in February 2007. The images are printed and fired on white ware and all are unique. This dish has an image of Samuel Powel saying, “Because the Revolution has upset the eating habits of this city” The woodgrain is taken from a rubbing we did at the Powel House…a floor that has been walked upon by many well known Philadelphians…

Campfire

Here is the campfire that I made for the ICA show – all made from recycled cardboard and plastic bags. The woodgrain image is a screenprint on sheet cardboard cut to different shapes and sizes. There is a fan to blow the “flames”
see the campfire in action drying the silkscreen tshirts at ICA

Munchtime

These are part of my new line of office art – unpack your new edition on your desk, or change daily. The set is all hand screenprinted in open editions – multiple colors.

Moose

7 x 9″ graphite on paper, inspired by a moose fight in a diorama at the Museum of Natural History in New York…my drawings are taking on the look of tin type photographs

Leopard

5 x 7 graphite drawing on paper, inspired by a diorama at the museum of natural history in new york

Bear

Drawing of Bear from museum of natural history

Relics from the Hunt

An installation of two drawings with deerhead and wall painting as part of the 1026 group show. The decorative surface is a bridge between the natural world and the world we create. I find the 19th Century embellishment of surfaces wonderful.
To help merge the drawings with objects I painted the walls in almost a trancelike state, a “stream of consciousness” over the course of three days using graphite mixed with acrylic paint to mimic the shiny surface of the drawings. My drawings, done from taxidermied still lifes in natural history museums, play on the idea of representing what is real, what is alive, what is dead-who knows?

Mistress C’s Traveling Urban Menagerie

A traveling zoo based on images from the streets of Philadelphia. made from trash collected in south philly. Broadsides are screenprinted.

Indexiphilia

Indexiphilia means the love of making marks, this book is meant to be continually added to by viewers. Images of grafitti from the streets of Philadelphia. Edition of 3, screenprint and letterpress.

Forbidden

Forbidden is a contemporary fable, warning us of what lurks in the woods. Eight duotone photographic images of Forbidden Drive which snakes through the Wissahickon Park of Philadelphia illustrate a text that references both childhood fairytales and more chilling grown up realities. This book was inspired by the horrible attacks in Fairmont Park and Forbidden Drive in 2003. Offset printed, edition of 100, 2004.

Peter Innes Journal

A ship’s log from the Jenny Haniver, a sea serpent hunting ship leaving from Portland Harbor in 1928. Contains the story of Peter Innes, the drunken ship’s cook and the destruction of the vessel by a pissed off sea serpent. Contains recipes and daily weather report. One of a kind, vellum bound. Currently in the Greenfield Library artist book collection at the University of the Arts, Philadelphia. The large photograph shows the book installed in a reading area, with the necklace of Eleana Ernst Stipes (an anagram for sea serpent tales). Eleana is pictured in photograph wearing necklace.

Sea Serpent Broadsides

Two broadsides letterpress and screenprinted. Based on research on 19th Century sea serpent lore.

A Singular Sea Serpent

Letter press and screenprinted broadside on mr. french paper. Edition of 36.

Sea Serpent Hunting Kit

A nonsensical kit with everything you need for hunting sea serpents. A custom corregated cardboard box screen printed design, inside holds tools, recording logs, sea serpent treats and more.

In Search of the Great Sea Serpent

An installation of prints, books and objects. Influenced by 19th century museums and cheesy American roadside atractions.

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