Lake Roberson Newton is an artist and educator based in Memphis, Tennessee. He holds a MFA from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas and a BA from Rhodes College. As an educator, Lake has taught at numerous institutions including Rhodes College, Memphis College of Art, New Mexico State University, Loyola University Maryland and Southwest Tennessee Community College. Lake’s work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally, with recent shows at Manifest Gallery in Cincinnati (2020), Susquehanna Art Museum in Pennsylvania (2020), Masur Museum of Art in Louisiana (2020), Middle Tennessee State University (2020), Texas Woman’s University (2020), Oklahoma State University (2019), Crosstown Arts in Memphis (2019), Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts (2019), Marshall University in West Virginia (2019), and Fort Wayne Museum of Art in Indiana (2018). His work has appeared in numerous online and print journals including Float Magazine, Art Papers, Oxford American, The Sun Magazine, F-Stop Magazine, and Leica Fotographie International. His creative research explores both banal moments and historical contexts, and tests how these can be elevated as signs or signifiers of human existence and communication. The work is generated utilizing the diverse media of digital photography, flatbed scanners, video, drones, sound and installation.
Flowers for the Dead
The images I am submitting for review are part of the series Flowers For the Dead, an ongoing project that examines historical sites, homes and institutions in the United States that are open to the public. Acting on William Faulkner’s quote ‘The past is never dead. It’s not even past’, I undertook a project where ‘real life’, past or present, should be made to seem real- for it is not believable solely for the fact that it happened. This idea is manifest in my interest in how once private or historically important homes have been preserved for current public consumption, the roll objects and spaces play in presenting a particular history and its context to greater social narratives, how physical alterations to original places project themselves experientially, and the effect the public plays on defining the engagement of a preserved space. The photographs are also intended to explore notions of Public vs. Private and how Presence vs. Absence affects the photographic space.
Lake Roberson Newton – List of Images
01) J.R. Cash Boyhood Home, Dyess, AR
02) Ramsey House, Knoxville, TN
03) Martin Luther King, JR. Birthplace Home, Atlanta, GA
04) Rowan Oak – Home of William Faulkner, Oxford, MS
05) Fred Drummond Home, Hominy, OK
06) Biltmore Estate, Asheville, NC
07) William Jefferson Clinton Birthplace Home, Hope, AR
08) Whitehall – Home of Henry and Mary Flagler- Palm, Beach, FL
09) Gaineswood Mansion, Demopolis, AL
10) Ernest Hemingway House, Key West, FL
11) Hearst Castle – Home of William Randolph Heart- San Simeon, CA
12) Harry S. Truman Little White House, Key West, FL
13) Fuller Lodge, Los Alamos, NM
14) Mallory-Neely House, Memphis, TN
15) Tallahatchie County Courthouse, Emmett Till Murder Trial, Sumner, MS
16) The Woman’s Club, El Paso, TX
17) Nemours Estate, Wilmington, DE
18) Adams House, Deadwood, SD
19) Whalehead, Corolla, NC
20) Tudor Place, Washington, D.C.
To view more of Lake Roberson Newton’s work please visit their website.