Rasa Pranckunaite
Rasa Pranckunaite
Best known as a photographer and mixed media artist, Rasa Pranckunaite was born in Lithuania where she also attended school. Rasa came to the United States in 1991 and settled in New York City where she and her husband, Algis, currently live.
Pranckunaite’s first contact with the world of art was at the age of 10 when she attended M.K Ciurlionis Art School in Vilnius, Lithuania; a school designed for gifted children. There, she was introduced to different genres of art such as painting, sculpture and graphics. Later, she studied photography and graphic design at St. Zukas Art College of Applied Arts in Kaunas, Lithuania. Before leaving her country, Rasa worked at the Lithuanian Film Studio and Lithuanian studio “Kinema” as a photographer and make-up artist.
In the United States, Pranckunaite studied at the School of Visual Arts and, for the last 17 years, she and her husband have traveled across the country showing and selling her art. Pranckunaite's hard work has reached critical acclaim. Her images are published in prestigious photography albums, as well as featured in solo and group exhibitions in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, San Louis, Kansas City and Miami.
Artist statement about photography based mixed media
When I work on my projects, sometimes, this sort of old feeling kicks in: one of joy, liberation, and a sense of harmony. My primary objective in designing my art is to create a composition; one constructed in such a manner as a unique, minimalist altar -- paying homage to Mother Nature.
To maintain the highest standards, I personally perform all creative aspects involved in my work. First, I develop my ideas through a series of sketches. I use a digital camera to capture the natural beauty of my chosen subjects. More often than not, these images are combined into installations that feature mundane objects: glass vials, bottles, metal pins, cork, drift wood, recycled tea bags, handmade paper and so on. Sometimes, I incorporate printed text into my work to provide "clues" about content and interpretation. I choose from a variety of surfaces onto which I print or transfer photographic pictures. These can include photo paper, silk, cotton, transparencies and wood.