Anatomy of an Exhibit
Catholic Charities USA Centennial Leadership Summit
Yesterday, on April 20, 2009, Catholic Charities USA held their Centennial Leadership Summit at the College of St. Catherine. This event marked the inaugural exhibit of the "In Our Own Backyard: U.S. Poverty in the 21st Century" photojournalism awareness project. The summit kicked off Catholic Charities' ambitious goal to reduce poverty in the United States by 50% by the year 2020.
The entire exhibit process was meticulously documented, much like the television show '24', but instead of saving the country from terrorists, we were hanging art (perhaps the lamest metaphor ever).
T-2 weeks: Once the project was defined, the supply chain of raw materials started filling up. This exhibit required two cases of 4'x8'x1/2" black Gatorboard.
T-1 week: Each image was printed on premium luster photo paper (wide color gamut, scratch-resistant but susceptible to fingerprints), vacuum mounted to the Gatorboard, then trimmed to size and packaged. A total of 50 images were printed and mounted for this exhibit.
T-24 hours: The finished materials were delivered the day before the exhibit opening. The exhibit panels presented some challenges, with the image layout being the most critical.
T-12 hours: The image title blocks were completed, enhancing the storylines. I was delighted to see Carlos Gonzales from the Minneapolis Star Tribune participating, having known him from the Max Becherer exhibit.
T-4 hours: No exhibit is complete without a politician. In this case, it was the Honorable Mayor Chris Coleman of St. Paul.
T-0 hours: The exhibit generated a lot of discussion with its 'first person, photojournalistic' style.
T+x: From St. Paul, the exhibit moves to Portland, Oregon, and begins a nine-city nationwide tour, aiming to conclude at the White House in 2010.
Math, art, and a touch of drama—all in a single blog entry. Now that's efficient blogging.
Penumbra
The Captivating Penumbra: A Photograph of Jake's Strip Club
The definition of penumbra is 'almost shadow' or 'almost dark' (or light). Penumbra is typically used to describe events in astronomy, such as when an eclipse occurs.
In photography, penumbra provides a unique opportunity to capture texture and atmosphere in an almost occult-like light. A strip club has always struck me as kind of sad and desperate. I have been meaning to take this photo for years, but the highway has been re-routed, making it tricky to get to. This isn't exactly the effect I was looking for (drizzle and water puddles would have been ideal), but I liked the emotion the headlights provided.
Jake's strip club is located in Coates, Minnesota. It had a litigious relationship with the community, and for years the town continually passed laws to close it down. In 2002, the Minnesota Supreme Court finally ruled that the town was within its authority to close Jake's. In an unwise effort to vote the local politicians out of office, Jake's owner had 92 patrons (sometimes called rummies) fill out voter registration cards, using the strip club as their home address.
You don't mess with the feds. It is never a good idea to break federal voting fraud laws, especially in such a foolish manner. Several hundred thousand dollars later, the case was finally settled. The bar never reopened, and it has been vacant ever since. No doubt it will be torn down, and the opportunity to capture Jake's in penumbra light will be gone forever.
The missing piece
The Lost Puzzle Piece
Many years ago, a very good framing customer brought in a beautiful antique jigsaw puzzle to be framed. It was from the turn of the 19th century, and the construction itself is a work of art. The pieces are scroll sawed, and several pieces themselves are shaped as children's toys (monkeys, toy soldiers, etc.). It is a remarkable example of craftsmanship.
The only problem was that a single piece of the puzzle was missing. This seemed very tragic, and because of the depth of the puzzle, it was as obvious as a missing tooth on a beautiful model in a toothpaste ad. But, it is what it is, and since it had been in her family for many years, it was decided to frame it up as is.
Jump ahead several years to the present... the customer removes a drawer from a dresser, and lo and behold, the missing puzzle piece reappears from behind the drawer.
There is something very therapeutic in knowing that the missing puzzle piece will soon be reunited with its brothers and sisters, and now the picture is complete.
The Lord works in mysterious ways.
Yoshitomo Nara
Yoshitomo Nara: The Relentless Visionary of Pop Art
Yoshitomo Nara is a 51-year-old Japanese pop artist influenced by anime and punk rock. His sculptures seem cartoonish in nature and typically depict animals or children. Often, his subjects have contradictory elements, such as weapons or accusatory looks that belie their wide-eyed expressions.
The interesting thing about Nara is his consistency. Artists like Nara pursue the same relentless vision regardless of critics. Nara says he is helpless in this matter because he is compelled to create these works.
This fiberglass sculpture, called “Your Dog,” is part of the permanent collection at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
The traveling photojournalism exhibit
Catholic Charities American Poverty Photojournalism Project: A Year in Review
It has been a full year since we became involved in the Catholic Charities American Poverty photojournalism project. It has been a rewarding and challenging year, and now a certain rhythm has taken hold as the exhibit crisscrosses the United States. This coming week, the exhibit presents itself in Nashville, Tennessee. The map above demonstrates where the exhibit has traveled (in red) and where it is yet to travel (in blue). Additional cities might still be added, and no final confirmation yet if the final exhibit will take place at the White House.
Steve Liss, the Project Director, travels to each city immediately prior to the exhibit reception, artfully and tastefully documenting the slices of poverty unique to each community. Our job involves image preparation—printing, mounting, and packaging all the images for each exhibit—and delivering them directly to the exhibit venue. Usually, there isn't a single day to spare, and thankfully, UPS has delivered each and every package on time and in perfect condition. Ideally, there would be a larger buffer of time for production, but then, what would be the challenge in that?
It is a challenge, and from every challenge, you hope to learn and improve from the experience.
Upon further review
The Creative and Real Estate Legacy of 312 West Avenue
By going backwards through telephone directories (this is known as 'doing a Jim Rockford') and speaking with Barb Tittle (the previous building owner), it was possible to stitch together a more complete history of this building. It has a very significant creative and real estate lineage.
312 West Avenue Chronology:
1894 - 1902: Lidberg Studio (original location)
1902 - 1920: Lidberg Studio (new location)
1920 - 1936: E. H. Lidberg Real Estate
1937 - 1947: Davison Studio
1948 - 1949: Wood's Studio
1950 - 1952: Hodge Studio
1953 - 1979: Chalet Studio
1980 - 2004: InComm Realty and Maas Realty (later Coldwell-Banker)
2005 - 2007: Gary-Donald Arts, a private art dealer
2008 - Present: Red Wing Framing Gallery
For 73 out of 115 years, this building has been home to six different creative studios. For 40 out of those same 115 years, it has been home to at least three real estate companies.
Put up or shut up!
Reflecting on the Artist's Journey: The 'Foot in the Door' Exhibit
Over the years and after working with countless artists, it's easy to forget the emotional journey they undergo when exhibiting their art. They open themselves up for critical review and significant exposure. They might appear nonchalant or even over-confident about exhibiting, but inside, their stomachs are churning. For me, it was time to put up or shut up.
The 'Foot in the Door' exhibit is different in this regard. It's completely democratic—if it fits in the box, it exhibits. Consequently, it becomes less about the art itself and more about the opportunity to exhibit and have fun. I submitted a photograph I took ten years ago, entitled "Midnight on Mason Street." It was taken in San Francisco, focusing the image exposure on a neon leg, which severely underexposed the rest of the image. The result is two illuminated signs on opposite sides of the street. It's a gimmick photo, but I'm partial to gimmicks. Growing up with comic books, my favorite part was always the Johnson-Smith page on the inside back cover (x-ray glasses and such)—the clearinghouse of gimmicks.
My favorite piece from the exhibit has to be the seed art tribute to wrestler Baron von Raschke. Classic.
