Bruce Hooke '85
Bruce Hooke '85
ARTIST BIO
Bruce Hooke is a photographer, sculptor, and performance artist based in western Massachusetts. He graduated from SPA in 1985 and went on to study ceramic sculpture, first at Wesleyan University (BA 1990), and then at Cranbrook Academy of Art (MFA 1994). He continues to create ceramic sculptures; however, photography has been his primary medium for over 20 years. His work has been exhibited in galleries and museums across the United States and in Europe.
ARTIST STATEMENT
When I was growing up and going to SPA, my father's scientific research took him to the arctic every summer to study glaciers. I knew the arctic was far away , physically, but in other ways it felt nearby: a part of my life and my family. I heard my father's stories about the arctic and the famous arctic explorers came up in family conversations. I did not get to visit the arctic until I was an adult but when I finally got there, I fell in love. Without trees, the forms of the land are laid bare, and both on land and sea feel endless. Yet while people call the arctic barren, an abundance of life thrives in the few inches above the ground, at least between when the snow melts in June and July and when it starts falling again at the end of August. I love my home in Massachusetts but I'm also always longing to get back to the far north. These photographs are from a trip with my parents to arctic Canada and Greenland in 2017: the last trip my father made to the region where he did much of his research.
Bruce Hooke '85
Bruce Hooke '85
