The Artist Corner: Introducing Mary Anne Benner

Hello everyone and welcome to our 2nd installment of 'The Artist Corner'

where we shine the spotlight on various artistic members [up and coming & established] within the Humbly, Peax & Love community. After all, the Earth without ART is just 'Eh'..

This time we are featuring Mary Anne Benner, owner of Ailgif Studios and Current Memories!

HPNL: Who is Mary Anne Benner? What are your core values? Your passions?

Mary Anne: I am a right brained visual thinker.  I am a contradiction within myself.  I am a quiet observer who is often sitting in a group of people listening and learning and yet, I am not shy.  If someone appears to be receptive, even if I don't know them, I will strike up a coversation with them.  I'm an extremely talkative and outgoing girl.  I'm a combination of insecurities and confidence.  I'm an open minded, liberal, born again Christian.  I am a proud mom of two grown sons who are married to wonderful, silly, and artistic women.  I am about to be a grandmother, in August, to a little a girl who's name is going to be Sophii Jean.  I am heading to South Korea in August to be there and I can't wait to meet her.  And yes, she will be photographed by her nonna :)

I currently live in Virginia with the love of my life, but I was born and raised in Upstate NY with the

majority of my childhood life growing up in foster-care.  Although my mom was emotionally and

physically unable to take care of me, she was always a part of my life.  As an adult, I have had the

experience of living in various places throughout the United States.  As a result of my journey in this

life, I have crossed paths with a variety of individuals: some with similar experiences as mine and all of them with a story to tell. 

I have a tendency to just live in the moment, which means I never have a back up plan.  I let my feet

move me in the direction that I am meant to go and if it works out, it works out and if not: I may

over-think and feel it deeply at times, but then I adapt and keep moving forward in this journey called

life. 

 

HPNL: What type of artist are you? (healing? visual? musical? multiple?)

Mary Anne: I truly think in images and visual stories.  I am a photographer, a visual ethnographer, and a multi-media specialist.  I photograph weddings, events, families, and individuals.  I create ethnographic documentaries and photo-narratives.  I design posters and educational materials. 

I own and co-own two small businesses in Hampton, VA.  The parent company is Ailgif Studios and my daughter company is Current Memories.  Ailgif Studios is named after my mother's maiden name: It's Figlia spelled backwards and my logo is a photo of my real mom and my sister who have both passed away. 

I started Ailgif Studios six years ago for creating ethnographic documentaries and doing multi-media projects for non-for profits, small businesses, and personal projects. Three years ago I started Current Memories, with my partner/soulmate Mark, for the work that we're wanting to do for local families and individuals in the community.  Both companies provide photography and videography.

Due to my background as a Visual Ethnographer and a Documentary Photographer, my style is photojournalistic. I never go into any shoot with a pre-set idea of  how I'm going to photograph it.  I make sure that the technical aspects are correct, but then I let the photographic moment speak to me. 

Every individual, every family, and every moment are unique and that's what I like to capture: the 

essence of who they are.  I love being behind the camera and being able to capture the moments that

tell the story, whether I'm photographing an event or a portrait. 

HPNL: For the readers who may not know, what is a Visual Ethnographer?

Mary Anne: A Visual Ethnographer uses visual methodology for an applied purpose.  They use it to create educational videos, ethnographic documentaries, photo ethnographies and multi-media projects that provide a holistic understanding and which can be used to promote further discussion and community-based activism.  Although it is starting to be used in a variety of social sciences it was first used in Anthropology by a Cultural Anthropologist, Margaret Mead, and was used to show the Trance and Dance in Bali. 

Ethnographic Health Documentary: The Many Faces of Diabetes Role Camera operator and editor

An ethnography tells the deeper side of the story, not just the moment that you see in front of you.  It looks at all of the experiences, life teachings, and community interactions that we've had along the way, so we can look at it holistically in order to gain a deeper understanding of who we are and why we do what we do as individuals, as a sub-culture, and as a culture. 

Ethnographies can be shared and understood through the methodology of music, art, video, photos,

audio, or written text. It is both qualitative and holistic. It's about showing the lived experiences and
putting a face and a voice to the statistics through the use of video, audio and photography.  


HPNL: What sparked your interest in it?

Mary Anne: My interest sparked while I was getting my degree in Mass Communications with an emphasis in photography via a couple of opportunities and advice that I was given.  During a routine advisor meeting, I sat down with my photography professor to go over the body of work I was turning in. I asked him to let me know when he saw the path I should I set myself on and he agreed. While working on a final photo project, I was beginning to take notice of the media's portrayal of men in our society and the growing number of commercials and shows that depicted the emotional and physical abuse of men by women in a comedic light.  I couldn't help but question the fairness in the way we viewed, portrayed, and handled gender based domestic violence in our society. 

In wanting to open the door for open discussion, I decided to make my final photographic series showing domestic violence situations that both men and women faced. When my professor saw them, he looked at me and said, “Documentary Photography”.  From that point forward, that became my primary focus and while I didn't know it then, it became the stepping stone to making ethnographic documentaries.

In my third year of college, I was invited by my friend Nick to see his ethnographic film and others presented by various students taking a Visual Anthropology Class.  It was my first experience with the term “ethnography”  and the use of visual methods for an applied purpose.  I was instantly hooked! 

The very next year I signed up for my first Visual Anthropology class, which was taught by a Medical/Cultural Anthropologist, Dr. Elizabeth Cartwright.  She quickly became my mentor, my boss, and one of my closest friends.  In the class we used video and audio methods to create ethnographic documentaries.  We learned what it meant to look at an experience holistically and how to show it visually.  It was in that class that I found my voice as a visual ethnographer. It was also at that point that I decided to do a minor in Anthropology as well with an emphasis in Visual Cultural Anthropology.

HPNL: How do you choose a story for your ethnographic documentaries?

 

Mary Anne: My stories choose me.  They seem to move me in their direction and when they do,  there is no walking away from them.  At times, what appears to be the story turns out to be something completely different.  The most recent example I can give is found in one of the current documentaries I'm working on, “Artful Journey of Life”, where one man uses his art to overcome his addictions and homelessness. 

Artbeat of the City - http://www.facebook.com/artbeatofthecity

While I was living in Portland, Oregon in 2008, I began documenting the stories of several street artists on the fringe of survival, 'Artbeat of the City'.  Two months into filming some of their stories, I was getting ready to head home for the day. As I headed toward the Max, Portland's mass transit system, I found myself walking past it, heading down a path I had never been.  As I turned the corner and continued to walk down the sidewalk, I came in contact with a man standing over a newspaper stand, sketching in a pad.  Curious, I asked him what he was working on, and I told him about the documentary I wanted to work on.  I asked him if I could come back in a couple of days to interview him, to which Harry said yes.  As I continued to visit the city to speak to Harry, the more I realized there was a deeper story to be told: one of hope and inspiration. It really was a moment, which I saw first hand, that there are no wrong turns and no coincidences in life: just moments on the path waiting to happen when the time is right. I wouldn't find out until I left Portland to move here what impact that that day had on Harry.  

Harry “Moodshade” RichardsArtful Journey of Life http://www.facebook.com/artfuljourneyoflife

A year after leaving Portland, I went back to film some of Harry's accomplishments to show how far he had come. When we sat down over coffee, he told me that on the day we met, he was contemplating suicide and he had all ready purchased the pills to do it.  He was going to mess with me for a few days until he did it.  But, he said I kept coming back and in doing so, he began to see that someone else in this world truly cared about him. He knew there was a greater purpose for his life.  Harry and I consider each other family; he has become a brother to me.  I'm continuing to edit Harry's story and upon funding, I have plans to go back to film one last time before editing the final documentary.  Select Scenes can be seen at http://vimeo.com/channels/artfuljourneyoflife

 

I'd also like to share Harry's facebook fanpage showing his artwork.  His artist name is Moodshade – www.facebook.com/moodshade. 

He is a gifted artist and I know it would mean soooooo much to him to have fellow artists show him some love. He struggles in his own community at times because he doesn't have a formal degree in art. The gallery owners that he's trying to show his work to don't see the value that his life experiences had in his training as an artist - As though it takes a degree to make an artist. While education is important, an artist is not made in a classroom but by the experiences in which they live and through the art they continue to create.

HPNL: How is your art sustainable?

Mary Anne: It's about promoting ongoing education, community-based activism, and advocacy through the use of video and photo ethnographies and educational materials.  When we put a voice and a face to the statistics, we make it universal and relatable. 

HPNL: Where can we see your art?

Mary Anne: I have various locations online that show the work I've done as an editor, filmmaker, and photographer. 

Online Video Samples: www.vimeo.com/maryannebenner

Ailgif Studios Website: www.ailgifstudios.com

Ailgif Studios Facebook Page: www.facebook.com/ailgifmedia

Current Memories: www.facebook.com/currentmemories

A Soldier's Journey: A pre-deployment story I made of my son prior to him being deployed to afghanistan - http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/world/battalion.html#/UGC/13

An online portfolio site in progress: www.maryannebenner.com

HPNL: What is your niche? Is it ethnography?

Mary Anne: I'm super excited to say that I'm currently working on my niche with my partner Mark.  We are working on an upcoming collaborative process that we will add to our services at Current Memories.  It will combine my skills as a photogapher and illustrator with what he does in his personal company Ailgif  Creations, which can be found on facebook at http://www.facebook.com/ailgifcreations

Mark and I will be going into full disclosure in September and going full force with marketing, including the use of Living Social.  I plan on sharing the news with the group as soon as we have the new service up and running....Stay Tuned!  It's a service that will provide an opportunity for our fellow artists in our community as well.

HPNL: What encouraged you to join the Humbly, Peax & Love community?

Mary Anne: A few things.  I was  encouraged by your statement: “We choose to co-operate rather than compete and have embodied the phrase 'Strength in Numbers.'”  I love that!  It's about working together to provide the various skill sets and business strengths that we have as individuals to help one another in the HPNL community to succeed in business and to live a healthy sustainable life.   I'm really looking forward to bartering with other members of our community, using my skill set as a photographer as well as with our newest additional services creating logo designs.  I greatly appreciate the opportunity that this also provides for networking and exposure.

I was also encouraged by your mission statement, “to work diligently towards building more educated, healthy, and collective communities; to inspire people all over to live sustainably.”  That is huge and super powerful.  When I read that, the visual ethnographer in me begins to see it visually and I begin to look at how we can work together to create a multi-dimensional media project that crosses the span of our individual communities.  I see the opportunity to work with other members of HPNL to create educational materials, ethnographic videos, photographic essays, and interactive media projects for an applied purpose and looking at how we can work together to combine our skills and knowledge to apply for grants that will allow us to do so.  

HPNL: So you know we love food..What kind of diet nourishes your spirit?

Mary Anne: I have been a vegetarian for the last seven years of my life and most recently have become a vegan. 

My primary reason was based on health related issues. Cancer, heart disease, and diabetes are a part of my family genetics, so I wanted to find a way that I could reduce my risks.  The more I researched, the more I learned that a diet that is closer to the ground and in its natural state is the healthiest option for my well-being.

The art of using spices warms my spirit and fulfills my inner Italian girl.  I have learned to create all of my favorite dishes with out the use of meat while still maintaining the flavor and integrity of the dishes.  I find that it has so much more flavor not having the meat in it.  Although, I must admit, occasionally I do I miss the delicious taste of a hot Italian sausage.  However, I do not miss all of the grease that is a part of it.  So, I've learned how to use key spices in my meals that call for Italian sausage to give it the smell and over-all taste that came from the spices in the sausage.  It also warms my spirit to make delicious vegan treats for my family and friends.  I love baking for others and seeing the enjoyment they get from it.  I still haven't figured out how to make my Sicilian cannolis in a tasty and creamy vegan form yet though.  In Due Time :) 

HPNL: What else can we expect from Mary Anne in the future? What are your other ambitions?

Promotional Photo I took for a teen program I started with Americorps

Mary Anne: I am working on getting every thing in proper order for getting Ailgif Studios set up as a non-for profit organization focusing on ethnographic documentaries and projects for an applied purpose.  Once set up, we will apply for grants that will also allow us to provide a visual arts program in the form of low cost and free summer workshops for teens in the foster care system: teaching them how to use visual methods to find their voice and to tell their story.  I'd also like to have local artisans and design illustrators come in to provide lessons.  Once set up, my plan is to provide a community outlet for them to show their completed work in.  I more than likely will be calling upon our community network for volunteers in the program and for advice on setting up the non-for profit.

My life-long goal is to continue raising social awareness and to work on my ongoing research about gender based notions on what comprises domestic violence.  I'm wanting to reach out to organizations focused on developing programs and safe places for male victims of domestic violence. If anyone in our group is aware of such organizations, I would appreciate any insight and possible introductions.

HPNL: Any advice for our readers and other up and coming artists?

Mary Anne: Allow yourself to be open to the path that is in front of you and all of the directions it may take you, even when it seems like a path that you are feeling uncertain on.

Look at every turn as an opportunity to learn, to create, and to grow.   It is on those paths that we truly learn to be artists.  I believe that there are no wrong turns.  There are only multiple directions leading you to the ultimate path you were meant to be on. 

Harry once told me, when I first met him,

“We are all on the same journey called life, we just take a different path to get there.”

So, to all of my fellow HPNL community members and fellow artists,  I am looking forward to meeting you along the way on this journey called Life!

Peace, Love, and Happiness

Mary Anne

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What a beautiful spirit, right!? Thank you for being a part of the Humbly, Peax & Love Network Mary Anne. We fully support and stand by you and all endeavors that follow. Everyone please support your fellow community artist!