‘Be open to what you’re here for’
R. Scott Gerdes
Having an accessible studio space on campus where UNM-Taos Fine Arts graduate Price Valentine could work on their projects — where they could freely delve into exploration — “rocked” their world.
“It kind of felt like there weren’t any rules except to just push yourself,” they recalled. “And that access gave me the space to explore multimedia, which is what I’m all about.”
UNM-Taos faculty — specifically Sarah Stolar, Chair of Fine Arts, Film and Digital Media — and fellow students helped make Valentine’s studies memorable from the start up to their graduation in 2020. Her guidance made a difference in their art practice and, ultimately, in their life.
“I didn’t know certain things were possible,” they said. “Until you’re exposed to things, you don’t know until you know. The studio space and the guidance allowed for me to see the availability of an art career.”
“I didn’t know certain things were possible,” they said. “Until you’re exposed to things, you don’t know until you know. The studio space and the guidance allowed for me to see the availability of an art career.”
Since Valentine’s after-college immersion into the art world, last summer they were one of the New Mexico artists involved in the Through the Flower presentation of Wo/Manhouse 2022 50th Anniversary. The short-run exhibition was inspired by the landmark project Womanhouse, developed in Los Angeles, 1972, by Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro. Centered around works that fractured traditional beliefs about the home being a feminine domain, Womanhouse was the first female-focused art installation to show in the Western world. For the anniversary, Chicago invited the chosen artists to convert a vacant, rundown Belén home into an immersive exhibition that ran from June 18 to October 9, 2022.
Valentine used plaster and piping bags to transform the dining room in Wo/Manhouse 2022 to resemble a cake. “The idea was
If not for the UNM-Taos Fine Arts program, Valentine said they would’ve never known about the opportunity to submit a proposal to Wo/Manhouse 2022: “In fact, it was a large conversation point that I had [at UNM-Taos] about what that project meant, and what it means now. I wrote a paper about it.”
Currently, Valentine has found their new niche. They are the office director of Seco Live, an arts-based nonprofit in Arroyo Seco that provides a free food pantry, free library, scholarships, studio space, live music performances, a by-donation yoga program and more. They are involved with all of it and collaborates with the other artists.
During their time on Klauer campus, Valentine discovered their self and realized a future. But that didn’t come without stepping out of their comfort zone a little bit, and reaching out to faculty and other students for guidance along the way.
“I think a very important part of starting something new is allowing yourself to be vulnerable,” they reflected upon. “When I first started school, I was nervous and that kind of put me in a shell. Slowly but surely, I opened up. I wish I had been a little bit out of my shell in the beginning. My advice to new students is to be open to the positive, be dedicated, and just be open to what you’re here for.”