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Alumni in Action: Rachel Moore and Leonidas Chalepas
 
Leonidas Chalepas and Rachel Moore (Photo Courtesy Moore/Chalepas)

Leonidas Chalepas and Rachel Moore (Photo Courtesy Moore/Chalepas)

 

http://photos.state.gov/libraries/greece/38517/september2012/moore_chalepas.jpg
Alumni in Action: Rachel Moore and Leonidas Chalepas
Over the last 64 years, thousands of Greek and U.S. citizens have traveled on exchange programs sponsored by the Department of State.  Every month we highlight alumni of these programs in our feature “Alumni in Action.”
This month we feature two alumni interviews. Rachel Moore was a U.S. Fulbright artist to Greece (2009-2010) and is currently the curator of an exhibition in Maine entitled “Exposed 2012,” while  Leonidas Chalepas is a Greek graduate student/artist in the U.S. completing his Fulbright Artist Residency in Vermont and was selected to participate in “Exposed 2012.” 
In their own words:
RM: “My experience in Greece was intense, full, and richly rewarding in many ways. I chose to work with both American and Greek artists on a collaborative project based on dialogue, rather than focusing solely on my own work. The project created a thematically open, organic, and collaborative opportunity for the artists to work together and respond to each other about pertinent issues in our respective countries. We had an exhibition surrounding the conversations at DYNAMO Project Space. Some of us went on to create a video project in response to our experiences that was exhibited at the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art. The project was not without challenges, but something that I took a lot from – I think many of us did. 
What was most incredible about my Fulbright experience was the ability to situate myself in another country and get to know a new community while focusing entirely on my artistic practice. It was very inspiring and creatively productive. Ultimately the time I spent in my neighborhood in Thessaloniki was just as meaningful as what I did with the collaborative project. My neighbors, my landlords, the baker, the grocer, the vendors at the farmer’s market – those relationships were very strong, sincere and compassionate. Being part of this community was incredibly inspiring, and something I’m still drawing on for my work.
My advice to young and aspiring artists would be to challenge yourself. Do not be afraid to go after the hardest thing you can imagine. Do it with integrity, authenticity, honesty and an open mind. There still may be hard challenges and misunderstandings, but that’s part of growing and stretching as an artist.” 
LC: “I have the honor of being Greek Fulbrighter in the U.S. In 2010, I was awarded a Fulbright grant for graduate studies. Last May, I graduated from Pratt Institute, completing a Masters of Fine Arts with major in Sculpture. I was also selected by Carving Studio and Sculpture Center in West Rutland, Vermont, as an artist in residence for summer 2012. My stay at Carving Studio will last until May 2013. For fall 2012, I will be teaching stone carving and wood working at Green Mountain College and Castleton State College, whose students will come to Carving Studio’s working spaces to take those classes. 
The stone carving techniques that I am using are both traditional Greek stone carving as well as contemporary power-tool carving. I learnt both techniques during my studies in Athens School of Fine Arts in Greece under the Professors Nikolaos Paraskevas and Theodoros Papayiannis, and also as an assistant of Greek sculptors for the realization of their works (Dionissios Gerolimatos and Loukas Loukidis). I also elaborated on those techniques by realizing my own artwork at my studio in Greece. During my studies at Pratt Institute/New York, and after experimenting with various materials and techniques, I became increasingly aware that the traditional techniques on marble/stone carving are not widely used or taught in US institutions and they are not well known. My goal is to put at the disposal of the students the old Greek tradition of working on marble or stone, how it can be adjusted to the contemporary realities and needs, and also how it can be supplemented with the use of modern power-tool carving, so that they will be able to express themselves creatively with the stone in the way that will best suit their needs.
I also need to mention the tireless work of the Executive Director of the Carving Studio, Mrs Carol Driscoll, who runs this amazing place in the context of a very competitive and demanding Artworld.   
My experience in the United States has been an amazing and educative adventure. It has been one of the most formative experiences in my life so far. I regard it to be equally as formative, as my studies in Athens School of Fine Arts and in the School of Architecture at the National Technical University of Athens.
What I basically do in the U.S., is create my sculptures. Sculpture is the vehicle that brought me here. I think that what I take away from my experience in the U.S. is how important our work is, in the sense that it can give us opportunities to realize some of our dreams. Apart from this realization, I am also taking away all those interesting experiences and images that enrich my mind everyday here. U.S. has not stopped to amaze me every day since I arrived.    
I think that I do not function according to inspiration. I basically make objects. Through them, I express my state of mind. I mostly function by insight. I try to look deep in me, and to act as I feel at each moment. I construct my objects with belief in the power of instinct and the process of sculpture. Whether or not I have inspiration, what I try to do is to express my state of mind without caring about the beauty of the outcome. I feel that my duty is to make palpable through my objects who I really am. And what I am is a human being, sometimes inspired and sometimes not. I believe that if I manage to say what I have deep inside me, then I will have spoken truths that are more important than what I think I should say. As an artist, I believe that what I convey through my objects is not a truth that I know consciously, but a truth that I know sub- or unconsciously, and which belongs to a state of reality that I personally can only express through my objects.”

Over the last 64 years, thousands of Greek and U.S. citizens have traveled on exchange programs sponsored by the Department of State.  Every month we highlight alumni of these programs in our feature “Alumni in Action.”

 

This month we feature two alumni interviews. Rachel Moore was a U.S. Fulbright artist to Greece (2009-2010) and is currently the curator of an exhibition in Maine entitled “Exposed 2012,” while  Leonidas Chalepas is a Greek graduate student/artist in the U.S. completing his Fulbright Artist Residency in Vermont and was selected to participate in “Exposed 2012.” 

In their own words:

RM: “My experience in Greece was intense, full, and richly rewarding in many ways. I chose to work with both American and Greek artists on a collaborative project based on dialogue, rather than focusing solely on my own work. The project created a thematically open, organic, and collaborative opportunity for the artists to work together and respond to each other about pertinent issues in our respective countries. We had an exhibition surrounding the conversations at DYNAMO Project Space. Some of us went on to create a video project in response to our experiences that was exhibited at the Macedonian Museum of Contemporary Art. The project was not without challenges, but something that I took a lot from I think many of us did. 

What was most incredible about my Fulbright experience was the ability to situate myself in another country and get to know a new community while focusing entirely on my artistic practice. It was very inspiring and creatively productive. Ultimately the time I spent in my neighborhood in Thessaloniki was just as meaningful as what I did with the collaborative project. My neighbors, my landlords, the baker, the grocer, the vendors at the farmer’s market – those relationships were very strong, sincere and compassionate. Being part of this community was incredibly inspiring, and something I’m still drawing on for my work.

My advice to young and aspiring artists would be to challenge yourself. Do not be afraid to go after the hardest thing you can imagine. Do it with integrity, authenticity, honesty and an open mind. There still may be hard challenges and misunderstandings, but that’s part of growing and stretching as an artist.” 

LC: “I have the honor of being Greek Fulbrighter in the U.S. In 2010, I was awarded a Fulbright grant for graduate studies. Last May, I graduated from Pratt Institute, completing a Masters of Fine Arts with major in Sculpture. I was also selected by Carving Studio and Sculpture Center in West Rutland, Vermont, as an artist in residence for summer 2012. My stay at Carving Studio will last until May 2013. For fall 2012, I will be teaching stone carving and wood working at Green Mountain College and Castleton State College, whose students will come to Carving Studio’s working spaces to take those classes. 

The stone carving techniques that I am using are both traditional Greek stone carving as well as contemporary power-tool carving. I learnt both techniques during my studies in Athens School of Fine Arts in Greece under the Professors Nikolaos Paraskevas and Theodoros Papayiannis, and also as an assistant of Greek sculptors for the realization of their works (Dionissios Gerolimatos and Loukas Loukidis). I also elaborated on those techniques by realizing my own artwork at my studio in Greece. During my studies at Pratt Institute/New York, and after experimenting with various materials and techniques, I became increasingly aware that the traditional techniques on marble/stone carving are not widely used or taught in US institutions and they are not well known. My goal is to put at the disposal of the students the old Greek tradition of working on marble or stone, how it can be adjusted to the contemporary realities and needs, and also how it can be supplemented with the use of modern power-tool carving, so that they will be able to express themselves creatively with the stone in the way that will best suit their needs.

I also need to mention the tireless work of the Executive Director of the Carving Studio, Mrs Carol Driscoll, who runs this amazing place in the context of a very competitive and demanding Artworld. 

My experience in the United States has been an amazing and educative adventure. It has been one of the most formative experiences in my life so far. I regard it to be equally as formative, as my studies in Athens School of Fine Arts and in the School of Architecture at the National Technical University of Athens.

What I basically do in the U.S., is create my sculptures. Sculpture is the vehicle that brought me here. I think that what I take away from my experience in the U.S. is how important our work is, in the sense that it can give us opportunities to realize some of our dreams. Apart from this realization, I am also taking away all those interesting experiences and images that enrich my mind everyday here. U.S. has not stopped to amaze me every day since I arrived.    

I think that I do not function according to inspiration. I basically make objects. Through them, I express my state of mind. I mostly function by insight. I try to look deep in me, and to act as I feel at each moment. I construct my objects with belief in the power of instinct and the process of sculpture. Whether or not I have inspiration, what I try to do is to express my state of mind without caring about the beauty of the outcome. I feel that my duty is to make palpable through my objects who I really am. And what I am is a human being, sometimes inspired and sometimes not. I believe that if I manage to say what I have deep inside me, then I will have spoken truths that are more important than what I think I should say. As an artist, I believe that what I convey through my objects is not a truth that I know consciously, but a truth that I know sub- or unconsciously, and which belongs to a state of reality that I personally can only express through my objects.”