Q&A with Sam Berger
Sam Berger is an artist who explores ideas of the moon and symbolism, gender, color and light, chance, and ephemerality. She encourages viewers to have a sensory experience — ocular, bodily, and tactile — with her work. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Studio Art, concentrating in photography, from Skidmore College.
Briefly describe your thesis project. What themes are you exploring, and in what mediums/with what materials?
My thesis work, Transmutation of Self, is an exploration of my past, multiple selves, and transformation. The piece takes form as layered self-portraits printed on diaphanous fabric, collapsing space and time. The piece explores bodily relationships to the work and how the idea of multiple selves can be depicted, interacted with, and pushed.
What do you hope someone feels when they experience your work?
I hope that viewers are able to tap into experiences of disconnection, dissociation, and multiple selves when viewing my work.
Sam Berger in her studio. (Photo: Caitlin Custer)
Did you always know this would be your final project? When or how did you figure it out?
I did not always know that this would be my thesis work, but I realized last semester that I needed to change course. I am a photographer who wants to push presentation methods of photography and not an installation artist. Figuring this out felt like coming home to myself within my art practice, it felt like finally realizing who I am and who I want to be going forward, and everything just clicked in a way that it made sense.
When or how did you know you were an artist?
I always knew that I loved art from a very young age; I remember playing with tape in the preschool art corner. I didn’t embrace art as my path until later though — I really started finding myself and my love of photography at around 15. Going to Skidmore College and studying both art and psychology allowed me to experiment and find myself as a photographer, artist, and someone who is influenced by other disciplines and interests.
If you could go back to your first day in this program, what would you tell yourself?
I would tell myself that there will be unexpected challenges that do not have to do with school — embrace those challenges rather than fight them. It will help both your art and you as a person. It may not feel good in the moment but it’s part of finding yourself. These challenges affected my art and graduate school experience, making me more open as a person. It is all part of working on myself.
