The Art of Human Rights

Charles Gniech, Chief curator of The Illinois Institute of Art in Chicago and fellow artist, is at it again. He has organized an alternative exhibition at the Zia Gallery in Winnetka to support the amazing Heartland Alliance of Chicago. His energy and curatorial abilities are impressive. The show will only be up for a few short days, so if you are interested in supporting both artists and a wonderful social service organization, be sure to stop by.

Zia Gallery, 548 Chestnut Street;  Winnetka, Illinois

Monday, August 27 – Exhibition opens

Thursday, August 30 – Main event: 5-8:30 

Saturday, September 1 – Exhibition Closes

Special Places

I am about ready to head out to a special place that I have been visiting for the past 35 years. Every summer I make my pilgrimage to a remote location in Northern Wisconsin where I am able to dip into nature. Every year I bring my camera and am surprised by  new discoveries. It reinforces my thought that the longer you spend with your muse, the deeper the work becomes. 

I thought it would be fun to share some of the images I have made over time.

 

 

The Evolution of an Artist Statement

I began the Burn work over 5 years ago. As many of you know, it coincided with my sister's first chemotherapy treatment. For the first 2 years of the project, I couldn't / did not want to, make the connection or discuss it in my artist statement.

Burn No. 21

Artist Statement Version #1

While accompanying restoration ecologists on prescribed burns, I am drawn to the ephemeral quality of a single moment when life and death do not seem opposed to each other, but are parts of a single process to be accepted as a whole.

The Burn series evolved from my ongoing interest in life cycles. Controlled burns imitate naturally occurring fires by removing accumulated dead vegetation and releasing seeds from dormancy. By opening the woodlands to more sunlight, the fires prepare the soil for new spring growth, and the cycle of renewal continues.

Burn No.74

After attending an artist residency with many writers, I was convinced that my sister's illness was a very important part of this work, and that I needed to include it in my statement.

Artist statment version #2
   While accompanying restoration ecologists on prescribed prairie burns, I am drawn to the ephemeral quality of the single moment when life and death are not opposites, but rather parts of a single process to be embraced as a whole.

As fate would have it, this project began on the same day (and actual hour) of my sister’s first chemotherapy treatment, having just been diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The parallels between the burn and chemotherapy were immediately revealed to me as I photographed with my sister in my heart and mind.

Burning helps reduce invasive vegetation that crowd out native plants, allowing sunlight to reach the seedlings. By opening the woodlands to more daylight, the fires prepare the soil for new spring growth, and the cycle of renewal continues. So too, chemotherapy removes unwanted growth, allowing for new healthy cells to reestablish themselves. It with this deeper understanding of the life cycle that these images were created.

And then I went to Fotofest where I met a curator who said that the artist statement did not really reflect what she was seeing in the work. I let this feedback simmer for a few months. I knew she was right and struggled with how to rewrite the statement. I worked on it on and off and nothing was coming to me. I could "feel" it but not articulate it.

I then had a very interesting conversation this summer with 2 dear friends who both completed their PHD's in art history. To my utter surprise, one friend said, and I quote, "It is not the job of the artist to write about the work. The job of the artist is just to make the work. Writing about it should be left to others." 

You can't imagine the weight that was lifted from my shoulders. I felt liberated....only I still didn't  have a statement that could guide the viewer.  My other friend offered to write the statement for me. I can't tell you how appreciative and grateful I was.  

I am thrilled to finally have an accurate and articulate statement which accompanies the work as I send it out into the world.

Burn No. 96

Final Artist Statement

These photographs are part of a series begun in 2007 when I observed my first controlled prairie burn. I was immediately struck by the burn’s visual and expressive potential, as well as the way it evoked themes that are at the core of my photographic work.  A controlled burn is deliberately set; its violent, destructive force reduces invasive vegetation so that native plants can continue to prosper.  The elements of the burn—the mysterious luminosity, the smoke that both obscures and reveals—suggest a liminal space, a zone of ambiguity where destruction merges with renewal.  These images of regenerative destruction have a personal significance—I photographed my first burn at the same time my sister began a course of chemotherapy—yet they constitute a universal metaphor:  the moment when life and death are not contradictory but are perceived as a single process to be embraced as a whole. 

Burn No. 48

Thank you Debbie!

Taking the Summer Quiz...by Mary Schmich

Mary Schmich of the Chicago Tribune wrote a wonderful essay yesterday that I wanted to share with you, Taking the Summer Quiz. I am grateful for her wisdom as I thought about it this morning while swimming in the exquisitely delicious waters of Lake Michigan.

Light House Beach, Evanston © Jane Fulton Alt

Mary Schmich

August 1, 2012

August already.

The flowers are open wide. The air's still warm and as soggy as wet cotton. The days are still longer than the nights.

In other words, we've reached the season's peak, and perched here above summer's downhill slope, it's time to pause. Assess. And, if necessary, correct course in the summer time that's left.

Here's one of our occasional quizzes to help you. Select one answer in each category. Points are awarded for attitude as well as achievement.

1. Summer Harvest

A. I go to the local farmers market regularly! +10 points

B. I have Googled farmers market locations and fully intend to go to one before the summer's over. +1 point

C. Anything I can get at a farmers market I can get cheaper at Jewel, without the preening people, their annoying dogs and that bleepin' hammered dulcimer. -10 points

2. Water Sports

A. I've gone swimming so much that my bathing suit has a suntan! +15 points

B. Spare me the skin cancer, but I've read four trashy beach books lying in my backyard with a glass of sweet iced tea. +5 points

C. Why would I swim when I can lie on the couch in the AC and watch Michael Phelps? -10 points

3. Outdoor Entertainment

A. Millennium Park, Ravinia, neighborhood festivals! I've done them all! +25 points

B. Ravinia is too far. Neighborhood festivals are too loud. But I fully intend to go to Millennium Park now that that bleepin' electronica "music" is off the schedule. +2 points

C. Why would I go outside when I can lie on the couch in the AC and read about Kristen Stewart's love life? -30 points

4. Outdoor Exercise

A. Hardly a day goes by that I don't take a long walk/run/bike ride! +20 points

B. I walked over to Chick-fil-A to see if those sandwiches were worth the fuss. 0 points

C. If God meant humans to exercise outdoors, she wouldn't haven't invented temperatures over 75 degrees. -15 points

5. Lollapalooza

A. I'm in! +10 points

B. I am too old for Lollapalooza. +15 points (For self-awareness.)

C. What is Lollapalooza? -3 points (Age is no excuse for ignorance.)

6. Summer Dining

A. I've gorged on fresh tomatoes, peaches, corn, etc. + 15 points

B. Fresh tomatoes are overrated, but I'm all about brats on the grill. +1 point.

C. Does eating Cheetos while lying on the couch in the AC watching the Olympics count? -15 points

7. Heat Appreciation Index

A. Heat is the soul of summer, and I've savored these hundred-degree days! +15 points

B. Heat sucks but I'm not ready for winter. 0 points

C. I cranked up the AC in April and haven't turned it off since. -25 points

8. Summer Vacation

A. I spent half my vacation posting photos of my vacation on Facebook. -10 points

B. I spent half my vacation on Facebook, jealous of other people's vacation photos. -10 points

C. I spent my vacation without checking Facebook or email once. +30 points

9. Summer Reading

A. I finally read that fat classic I've been meaning to read since high school. +25 points

B. I've read four trashy novels and all my old magazines. +10 points

C. Does Facebook count? -40 points

YOUR SUMMER SCORE

Above 100: No summer regrets necessary.

0-100: Still time to improve.

Below 0: Remember this when you're grousing about winter.

mschmich@tribune.com

Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune

© Jane Fulton Alt

on equipment

I have always felt that the camera I use is just a tool for my creative vision. I have never felt that more clearly than today. There are so many options for making an image.

 I traveled to Mexico earlier this summer and some of my very favorite images were taken of birds flying overhead while I was out at sea with my iphone using the retro camera application!

A new compact camera just came out which I decided to try, given all the pre-release hype. It is the Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 that includes a large sensor and bright Carl Zeiss lens. This is from the dpreview review...

"Cyber-shot DSC-RX100,  is an enthusiast compact camera based around a 20MP 1" CMOS sensor. It features a 28-100mm equivalent lens with F1.8-4.9 aperture range and image stabilization and is the first Sony compact to capture Raw files. It can shoot 1080p60 and capture 17MP (16:9 crop) stills simultaneously. It features a lens control dial and a 3:2 aspect ratio sensor (the same proportions as most DSLRs). It's also the first Sony compact to feature the company's 'WhiteMagic' LCD technology, promising a brighter or lower-power display."

My new point and shoot arrived a few days ago. I charged up the battery immediately and took it out that evening. I was amazed at its ability to "see." It also gave me the option of shooting square.  Another tool in the toolbox!

31 Women in Art Photography / Humble Arts Foundation

31 Women In Art Photography 2012   presented by Humble Arts Foundation and Hasted Kraeutler

Burn No. 26

Opening Reception: Thursday, July 26, 2012, 6PM - 8 PM Hasted Kraeutler 537 West 24th Street New York, NY 10011 hastedkraeutler.com Gallery hours: Mon - Fri, 10AM - 5PM July 12, 2012 -  August 17, 2012 Humble Arts Foundation in association with Hasted Kraeutler, is pleased to announce its third, biennial edition of 31 Women in Art Photography opening at Hasted Kraeutler, located at 537 West 24th Street, on Thursday, July 26, 2012 from 6PM - 8PM. 31, curated by Natalia Sacasa and Jon Feinstein, celebrates thirty-one of the most innovative women in new art photography. The exhibition continues through August 17, 2012. The exhibition presents an eclectic mix of new talent culled from open submissions, and similar to Humble Art Foundation's past projects, the work included defies fixed genres in contemporary art photography and features an international pool of images that range from documentary to still life, and in some cases incorporates multiple approaches. "Reviewing the submissions for the 31 Women in Art Photography exhibition was an enlightening experience," says curator Natalia Sacasa. "I have come away with a deeper understanding of the influences and motivations that drive the current generation of practicing female art photographers. This group of women that we have selected are truly furthering the limits of the medium and are simultaneously involved in the discourse of conceptual art." Curator Jon Feinstein adds, "I am thrilled to have the opportunity to exhibit this innovative new work. The artists in this exhibition are taking a refreshing approach to photography and continue to push it forward in new and exciting ways." Founded in 2005 by amani olu and Jon Feinstein, Humble Arts Foundation is committed to promoting the work of new photo-based artists. The New York-based nonprofit serves the international art community by way of exhibition and publishing opportunities, limited-edition print sales, twice-annual artists grants, and various special projects.

Space In Between ~ An Awesome Project

Transform a vacant space into a community asset in the Chicago/Gary/Milwaukee metro area....2012