Kaitlyn Jo Smith: Mass Production

“Mass Production directly connects the repetition of catholic mass to the rituals of factory production. Through thoughtful analysis of these two systems by which so many Americans organize their lives, I examine the role that religion plays in conditioning both the mind and the body for years of monotonous labor. Each of my catholic grandmother’s seven sons has worked in a factory. When I think of their collective prayer at her funeral mass, I think of my father and his brothers on the assembly line. Mass Production questions whether or not the learned rituals of catholicism have conditioned them, and other blue collar workers, for habitual lives of monotonous labor by examining the meditative qualities of repetition that allow for prolonged participation in both work and worship– comfortability, predictability, results guaranteed.”

Smith’s work has been shown nationally and internationally. She was longlisted for the 2021 Lumen Prize in Art and Technology (London) and received the College Art Association’s Services to Artists Committee Award for her video Lights Out. Smith has been featured in PDNedu, Art IDEAL, and Al-Tiba9 Magazine (Barcelona). She has presented her work at FEMeeting: Women in Art, Science & Technology (Évora); and Technarte International Conference on Art and Technology. She will also will be speaking in at Homecoming, Society for Photographic Education Annual National Conference (Denver).