Blog

Lauren Ceike | Sequin Fix

Posted on July 9, 2020

In our Griffin Gallery in Winchester is the whimsical, thoughtful work of Lauren Ceike. Her series Sequin Fix looks at how we hold onto objects, crafting narratives, telling ourselves and others new stories.

Tonight at 7pm Eastern, we talk with Lauren in more detail about her path as an artist and learn more about her exhibition. We hope you will join us. In the meantime, we asked Lauren a few questions about her work.

How do your collections of objects manifest themselves? Like shiny objects you find and collect? Do you look for specific things? Are they all connected to family and a larger community of friends? Or is it subconscious, as if you didn’t know you had collected for example, 25 pink beads?

I have always been overly attached to objects and possessions. I just love things. My parents have told me I challenged them when I was a kid because I didn’t want to let go of certain items that they considered trash. I remember a broken umbrella that they had to secretly take out to the curb; somehow I found out and I can still feel the sensation of crying when the garbage truck stopped at our house. The pattern of the umbrella is also clear in my mind. I have a hard time separating myself from some objects, they often elicit feelings of inspiration, excitement, happiness, and make me feel like I can’t live without them. Many of the items featured in this project are things I have kept since childhood; after so many years they still conjure up those feelings I had as a kid and I just can’t bear to part with them. I maintain a childlike sensibility and I still love things that are cute and glittery. This is why I say I may be subconsciously holding onto an innocence that was fleeting.

In a more practical sense, I like to keep a library of items for crafting and creating. My artistic vision is never predictable so I like to have a wide variety of materials to work with. Sometimes an idea is sparked simply based on the object.

When was the moment you collected your first dime bag? What went in it? Was it the bag from the pool for “nuts and bolts”?

I started collecting the bags around 2015. Up until that time, the bags I saw had no special significance to me, they were purely functional. Once I realized what they were I continued to just notice them before ever picking them up. The concept for this project wasn’t in my mind when I first started collecting the bags, but I knew the idea would come to me. One of my first brainstorms involved robin’s eggs, which I also collect. I love noticing the subtle differences in the beautiful blue shades. I thought there could be some connection to drug abuse and the fragility of the eggshells, but it was an over-intellectualized idea. When I simplified my mind and came back to a childlike sense of curiosity, the concept came to me.

We have 4 boxes with bagged objects in the museum. How did you decide which objects fit with others? Was it a visual connection? Is it a timeline of collection?

I have a “magic box” of items that I have saved from childhood. It’s a beat up old roller skates box that has moved to every apartment over the years. I’m even attached to the actual box, it’s a funny scene of three girls skating with classic 1980’s graphic design. Every so often I would open the box and hope to find some jewelry that was now back on trend, but would end up a little disappointed and close the box for another time. After amassing a collection of bags, I was excited to finally have a good use for all the special things I had saved for so long. I was thankful for their service throughout the years and glad that I could now sacrifice them for a greater cause.

Some bags and their coordinating objects have visual connections, but it’s very subtle and the viewers may not notice. For example, bag number 174 contains squirrel teeth which mimic the shape of the devil horns depicted on the bag. The pink beads in bag number 4 is another deliberate pairing: the dainty, girly items juxtapose the burned bag in a way that summarizes the whole project.

Many people collect things trying to hold onto their past, or craft new narratives of what their lives could have, should have been. You say you collect to create nostalgia. Yet you also say your childhood was robbed from you. Is this a way to create a new bank of childhood memories? Or is it a visual interpretation of what your childhood should have been?

I want it to be well known that I cherish my family and my childhood memories. While some things were difficult and lifelong challenges, I deeply love all members of my family and work hard to maintain good relationships and connections. I believe my need to collect is a coping mechanism, a way to surround myself with things that bring me comfort and joy. It created a sense of control over an environment which was often out of my control.

We have 2 sets of school photos of a family member. The real bagged contents of the photos and the documented copy. What importance does this particular object / image hold for you?

The actions of an addict have longterm effects on the whole family, not just themselves. My life will be forever dictated by the experiences I had growing up with an addict. Even in recovery there are specific accommodations to be aware of, and current circumstances often seem tenuous. It’s crushing to see the school photos of that sweet boy who no longer exists. They carry so much more weight than any of the other bags of objects, therefore they deserve to be displayed on their own. The boy is contained by the bag, and his life is continuously limited by it.

What do you want us as viewers to walk away with after seeing your work?

While this project is acutely personal to me, consisting of mementos special to only me and my experiences, it has a universality that people can identify with. I believe this work of art to be more about innocence and memory than it is about drug abuse. As I’ve gotten older, I have come to the conclusion that every family is damaged in their own unique way and the best anyone can do is try to be happy and manage their feelings in a healthy and constructive way.

Another notable aspect of this project is it came out exactly as I envisioned and expressed exactly what I needed to say. As an artist, I can claim that this isn’t always how things turn out. I often have a lot of self criticism for the things I create, but I’m happy to have this body of work exist just as it is.

Is the project still ongoing? Are you still a collector?

I continue to collect bags when I see them, but I don’t hunt for them as I did for a period of time. Fortunately, I no longer see as many bags as I used to; sometimes I would find up to 15 bags in one walk. I hope this is an indication that drug abuse has diminished, but I doubt that’s the case. I have close to 100 empty bags so I envision adding more frames to the collection. At some point, I would be glad to stop collecting the bags, it doesn’t really feel good to creep around gutters and bring trash home, but for now I will keep collecting the ones I find. I have developed a keen eye for spotting treasures on the ground; I am in no way a religious person, but finding a miniature figurine of Mary nearly brought me to tears and she has become a trinket I carry around everywhere.

In an era of mindfulness and trendy tidying, I feel judged for placing importance on material possessions, yet I simultaneously feel burdened by these items. If the tidying experts suggest to keep only things that “spark joy”, I feel conflicted when I am compelled to keep things that spark sadness. While I am better at not bringing new things into my collection, I struggle with letting go of items from the past. I aspire to someday free myself from these bygone objects that restrict my future.

Ryan Zoghlin | Lacus Plasticus

Posted on June 17, 2020

The Griffin Museum of Photography is pleased to announce a new exhibition from artist Ryan Zoghlin. Known for his use of alternative photographic processes, Zoghlin has created a series blending creativity, science, technology and the environment building a fanciful series call Lacus Plasticus.

plastic under black — “lacus plasticus 27”, © Ryan Zoghlin

Many artists look to our surroundings to explore their creativity, and Zoghlin has found that inspiration off the shores of Lake Michigan. Repurposing plastics to create unique underwater environments using the light of the sun with the Photogram process, these one of a kind images tell the story of a natural habitat from unnatural sources.

Hanging in our Atelier Gallery, Lacus Plasticus is a creative adventure of exploration.

royal plastic — “lacus plasticus 31”, © Ryan Zoghlin

In anticipation of his Artist Talk happening Thursday June 18th, we asked Ryan a few questions about his work.

Your whole body of work seems to come from a place of art as object, that each piece is unique and handmade. What drew you to use alternative and historic processes to complete your vision?

“Porthole 1′, © Ryan Zoghlin

I have always been interested in the perceived power of objects. Rabbits feet for luck or an evil eye to ward off bad luck. Even more so with personal objects. Objects owned by lost relatives or the famous seem to have greater gravity. I used to collect daguerreotype cases. Most had portraits in them. How important these pieces must have been to those who knew the folks photographed. Now their value is mostly in the case. The power of these images has been greatly diminished by the loss of personal attachment over time. For me the process I choose is one that I think will best support the subject. I also love to see the hand of the artist in the work. Historical processes lend themselves to this better. I am not against contemporary ways of image capture at all. For my aesthetic, though, I find there are instances where I see it as too perfect.

How did you decide on the photogram process for Lacus Plasticus?

“lacus plasticus 23”, © Ryan Zoghlin

A previous series of work I did titled “Bagged” was done as cyanotype photograms also. These pieces where made to document objects organized in clear plastic storage bags. The shadows created very three dimensional reproductions of the objects in the bag. With Lacus Plasticus, I wanted to be able to translate the plastic pieces’ dimensionality onto the flat paper.

I love the stories that you tell with these objects, yet there is no clear storyline in your titles? Why not?

“lacus plasticus 29”, © Ryan Zoghlin

When I first started Lacus Plasticus, I went to the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago to get a better feel for the behavior of aquatic animals. Many of the exhibits are about the same size and shape, very much like windows. Also the descriptions are very scientific, lots of Latin. I wanted the same tone. One of scientific discovery or method. The titles are more about documentation than narrative.

What do you want us as viewers to walk away with after seeing your work?

“Porthole 4”, © Ryan Zoghlin

My work is always personal to me. As the saying goes, what is personal is universal. As an individual views the work, I hope they can relate on their own personal level and make their own decisions about the subject. Some may care about plastics in our fresh water lakes. Some may not care at all. My goal is to present issues that concern me. My hope is it will concern others.

About Lacus Plasticus –

For almost 40 years, I’ve been sailing off the beaches of Lake Michigan. As a kid and now a father with children, I’ve always loved the shore. As time has marched on, I’ve noticed the increase in plastics on the beach year after year. A few years ago, I started collecting and disposing of the plastic bits I would find. Now I collect plastic to create photogram photographs. The images depict plastic parts and pieces as underwater creatures. The pieces dramatize, for now, a fictitious state where plastics displace nature.

“lacus plasticus 12”, © Ryan Zoghlin

About Ryan Zoghlin –

My memory of a love for photography started early on. Using my father’s Pentax Spotmatic during a family road trip to Cape Canaveral, I clearly remember taking photographs of an early rocket sitting on its launch pad. By 14, I had my own darkroom and was very fortunate to have a very good photography department in my high school. This gave me the tools to move on to Rochester Institute of Technology, where I gained a solid technical background in photographic illustration. Wishing to explore photography as fine art and art in general, I moved on to study at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, where I received a BFA in photography and sculpture in 1991.

so much plastic — “lacus plasticus 31”, © Ryan Zoghlin

My personal pursuits in photography have not waned through the years. Though my subject matter is varied, the intensity and thought put into each project is the same. While some work has been produced as digital prints from both color negatives and digital files, most of my work is done traditionally in a personal darkroom that I’ve maintained for the last 35 years. In the same time, I’ve used many alternative processes such as kallitypes, ambrotypes, cyanotypes, and orotones in my art. My work in orotones has been included in the Getty Conservation Institute’s Research on the Conservation of Photographs project.My work has been a part of the Museum of Contemporary Photography’s Midwest Photographers Project in Chicago and is in the collection of the Museum of Fine Art in Houston, TX. A recipient of an Illinois Art Council Fellowship and a Buhl Foundation Grant, I have also been featured in publications including Black & White Magazine, Photography Quarterly, Diffusion Magazine, Camera Arts Magazine and Photo District News, as well as many others. I am currently represented by Etherton Gallery in Tucson, AZ and Obscura Gallery in Santa Fe, NM.

Corona | Dawn Watson

Posted on June 15, 2020

We close out our features on our online Corona exhibition with the powerful and graphic work of Dawn Watson. Message from Grace is a beautiful and unique vision of landscape with a call to action. Her work implores us to look, to experience, to take time and see what is around us. We asked her to be part of our online exhibition because her work shines a light both externally into the world around us, and emotionally radiates the soul of who we are in it. We asked her a few questions about her work, and what is next for her.

How does light play in your work?

I’m drawn to the play at the edge where light and shadow meet. My still life work takes advantage of the natural light that enters my home studio. The incremental, constant change of angle and intensity of direct sunlight or the softer fill of an overcast day means I need to be ever aware and responsive to what will best serve the mood or message. Being outside in the landscape requires the same intuitive presence as I am at the mercy of multiple elements but light is always the first defining aspect that I seek.

The Griffin featured Message from Grace in 2018. Your series plays on light and a new way of seeing our natural world. How did you find your palette to showcase the world around us?

While doing some research, I saw in a photo the color combination of brilliant blues and golds used for the external skin of the Mission satellites orbiting in space. By inverting my photographic image, these same tones appeared in the inverted field with little to no deeper adjustment to the color tone in the images. The reveal of the color negative upended my understanding of the natural elements. Sky became ground, sand a glacier, reflection a galaxy, invasive plant species delicate lacy delights, the brilliant sun a black hole.

In all of your images the combination of science, nature and visual engagement really invites us as viewers to experience and be thoughtful about our shared inhabited spaces. What is your hope for us as viewers to take away from your work?

There is this conversation of call and response in and with the natural world, each other, and the larger human community. How we respond now directly affects our future. Due to excessive human activity, weather intensifies, the world shape shifts and the familiar disappears. What is our relationship to loss, inequities, constant change? Where do we find shelter, sustenance and solace? How do we define beauty? What is its worth as the natural world morphs from the familiar to the unrecognizable and uninhabitable? My hope is this work inspires reflection that motivates action.

In this time of Corona, how do you find light in your day?

Forced confinement has been both a difficult challenge and, paradoxically, a gift granting me the chance to be still, to be quiet. Different each day, I track the passage of time as the sunlight makes it’s marks along the walls, ceiling, floors and furniture. I step outside often, turning towards the sun watching how it catches in the trees, how wind plays with the light.

What is next for you creatively? What are you working on?

Two new series have been gestating for a while. I was unsure of what I wanted to say and thought it best to let things be for a bit. Not until very recently did I reach some clarity. Drift/Bound visually translates my visceral response to how disconnected we feel as recent events have rocked our world. The crumpled, misshapen forms in my prints drift against fields of light and dark, unmoored, as we are, from any familiar world. ReRe is a still life series using saved plastic packaging material, natural elements and found or collected objects. It asks do we repurpose, recycle, redirect, reform and renew or let go of what remains?

About Dawn Watson –

After twenty-five years as a professional dancer, Dawn Watson shifted her artistic practice to photography, finding affinity in the visual storytelling offered by both live performance and the captured image. Watson’s photographic renderings continue to explore form, space, light, movement and storytelling, as she did as a performer. Nature serves as her muse, her subject of concern, a source of solace and healing.

Watson studied photography at the Maine Media Workshop, the ICP (International Center of Photography), as well as the Santa Fe Workshop. Her work has been featured online and in print, including in Lenscratch and The Hand magazine. She has exhibited her photographs and artist books throughout the United States and Europe including the Albrecht-Kemper Museum, A Smith Gallery, Center for Fine Art Photography, PhotoPlace Gallery, Ph21 Gallery, Tilt Gallery, Tang Teaching Museum, and in solo exhibitions at The Griffin Museum of Photography at Greater Boston Stage Company, the Los Angeles Center for Photography and Rhode Island Center for Photographic Arts. Her work is held in private collections and at The Lodge at Woodloch.

To see more of Dawn Watson‘s work log onto her website. Follow her on Instagram here.

Corona | J. Felice Boucher

Posted on June 10, 2020

J. Felice Boucher‘s beautiful image Goddess is one of our featured images from our online Corona exhibition. The radiant light emanating from her subject is a moving tribute to the power of a soul. Her exhibition at the Griffin in 2019, Center of Quiet, featured portraits of women facing forward and showing strength in their quiet moments. We asked her some questions about her work and how she sees light in her day.

How does light play in your work?

Light is photography. I went to visit a young photographer at her studio and she said that “old timers wait for the right light. They should just take the damn photograph and fix it in PhotoShop.” That broke my heart. It took me many years to understand light and to really see it.

We highlighted your image Goddess from Center of Quiet, an exhibition featured at the Griffin last year. The Goddess image really showcases her power and strength, radiating from her soul. How did you work with her to capture that?

I ended up photographing two beautiful sisters. I met one of the sisters at a bank where she was a teller. When I photographed her she invited her sister to join us and I photographed her too.

I love fabric and textures so I found fabrics that would highlight their gorgeous faces and skin tones. They have such strong and beautiful features so I wanted to capture those.

“Red Headed Girl” © Felice Boucher

Your images have a beautiful textural quality to them, like paintings. What led you to this technique to accentuate the quiet strength of your female subjects?

I do try to capture the strength of women in a direct sensuous but not sexual way. For me there is a huge difference between the two; sensuous and sexual. The light and texture in the Old Master paintings are compelling to me. So I add texture of colors over my photographs to give them a painterly look.

In this time of Corona, how do you find light in your day?

I haven’t photographed since the Covid-19 hit us. I had been photographing my models in a little corner of my bedroom and it is no longer a possibility to bring people into my home. But I am always photographing in my mind even without a camera in my hands. I love watching how light falls on someones face, on a landscape, or a strong shadow created by a flower in a vase.

“Forgiven”, © Felice Boucher

What is next for you creatively? What are you working on?

Good question. Who knows. On my walks I pass a neighbor’s mustard colored dingy and rust colored chickens in the warm evening light…that pulls at me.

About J. Felice Boucher –

J. Felice Boucher has been a photographer with a career that has spanned 27 years. She earned her BFA from the Maine College of Art, as a non-traditional student and single mother of two young children. And was awarded the Master Degree, Craftsmanship Certification by the Professional Photographers of America. She opened her photography business and photographed weddings, portraits and commercial projects both locally and around the country for over 23 years. Recently she has given up the wedding and portrait work and now focuses on real estate photography and her fine are work. Her fine art photography has appeared in museums, galleries and private collectors.

Corona | Liz Calvi

Posted on June 9, 2020

One of our featured artists in our Corona online exhibition, Liz Calvi’s work illuminates inner beauty and light. Her series, Lost Boys was featured at the Griffin in 2014. Her Corona highlighted image, Christian, comes from that series. We wanted to know more about the work, and how she finds the beauty and strength within her subjects.

How does light play in your work?

The relationship I have to light varies for each series I make, but I would say a common thread would be that light is a defining factor when I create my work.

David, © Liz Calvi

For Lost Boys in particular, I wanted to use natural light to express a quiet beauty and a feeling of reverie. When I made this series, the narrative depicted my generation highlighted the success of women in the workplace and the decline of a 1950s mentality of men as masculine financial providers. We left high school in 2008 and entered either the job market or college during a financial crisis. The narrative excluded the hardship that many of us were feeling and, coincidentally, how these new circumstances were chastising men for not living up to an outdated view of masculinity. The young men I photographed were all living at home (as was I) and I wanted to use light to show a softer side to masculinity while concurrently evoking empathy towards our generation.

We highlighted your image from the series Lost Boys, featured at the Griffin back in 2015. The connection you have with your subject is truly captured in this intimate moment. How did it come about?

Christian, © Liz Calvi

Christian and I are from the same town, our childhood homes are right around the corner from each other. We became friends in high school so we already had an established relationship prior to making this photograph. As with most of the young men I photographed for Lost Boys I didn’t go in with a preplanned idea. I went to Christian’s home one afternoon and we chatted while walking around the different rooms in his house. I surveyed the light while listening to his stories as he told me various memories he had from different places in his home. We took a few photographs that day, but I settled on this one in his room because of the balance between the distortion and grace in his gesture, complemented by the dappling light.

In this time of Corona, how do you find light in your day?

Booker, © Liz Calvi

I’ve tried to see this time in insolation as a way to reexamine my relationship to light and nature which we tend to overlook in our typical fast-paced consumer society. I’ve been using my digital devices less frequently and taking my camera outdoors or simply just enjoying nature hands free. Light has been providing happiness and relaxation for me, it has been a solace in our time of Corona. I’ve also been making time to reflect in the spring light and hope it provides others with a similar time for personal reflection but also a time to consider how our society is structured and what it prioritizes.

Installation View Ms. World, © Liz Calvi

What is next for you creatively? What are you working on?

Recently I’ve been focusing on the representation of women in digital spaces and how this impacts identity from an autobiographical and collective cultural memory lens. This direction has led me to make videos and writing to go with my photographs in larger installations. I finished grad school this past year and am in the beginning phase of research, writing, and storyboarding for new video work.

About Liz Calvi –

Liz Calvi (b. 1990 Hartford, USA) lives and works between London and NYC. Her practice encompasses photography, video, writing and installation works with critical concerns regarding performance, sexuality, autobiography, identity and digital media.

Calvi received her MFA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths 2019 and her BFA from the University of Hartford in 2012 after studying at Pratt Institute. Her work has been featured in numerous publications including Der Greif, Juxtapoz, Aint-Bad and Fader. Her photography has been exhibited internationally and is in several public & private collections. She has a limited- edition book in the permanent collection at Antenna in New Orleans as part of The Blue Library Vol 2

To see more work from Liz Calvi log onto her website. Find her here on Instagram.

Corona | Blythe King

Posted on May 15, 2020

Today’s featured Corona artist is Blythe King. A featured artist in 2017 in our Griffin online gallery, Blythe’s creative constructions of women radiate out of our screens. Combining materials to elevate ordinary women to extraordinary beings, her work exemplifies the internal manifestation embodying light and life. We asked her a few questions about her work and how light fills her day.

A central focus of the Corona exhibition is based in light, both external and internal. Your portraits exude light and life. How does light play into your work?

My subjects are radiant beings. Transparent layers let light in and invite us to look beneath the surface. These women are liberated to reveal each individual’s complex, boundless nature.

My work transforms photographs of models from Montgomery Ward mail order catalogs (circa 1940-80) into evocative multi-layered portraits. Because subjects are freed from the social expectations and stereotypes of their original context of commodification, they shine anew.

Gold leafing animates my work. As light changes throughout the day, it alters the appearance of my portraits — illuminating the figure, making it flicker, casting a shadow.

Can you talk about how religion, faith and spirituality are infused in the work?

My subjects begin as mere clippings from discarded, forgotten Montgomery Ward catalogs. The models were presented superficially. It’s advertising. But through collage, gold leafing, and other techniques, they re-emerge and become a source of wonder and intrigue. It’s divinization.

I notice parallels between the poses, gazes, and hand gestures of fashion models in advertising and deities in Buddhist and Hindu art. I combine religious imagery with commercial images of women to create a pantheon of sorts. The women in my work strike me as familiar — but with a difference. They stand out to me because I see something extraordinary in them. My impulse is to honor them.

I hold an MA in Buddhism and Art from the University of Colorado, with undergraduate studies in Japanese religion and art at the University of Richmond. I’m a practitioner of Zen Buddhism. My experiences lead me to question how our conditioning — be it social, cultural, environmental, genetic — places limitations on how we understand who we are. Zen is liberating. It beckons a fundamental shift in perspective.

How did you first find the idea to combine materials? What was the moment you knew you had found your process to showcase your vision. What was the first image that was a result of that combination of layers?

I like that you asked how I “found” my process. It brings to mind the question that inspired Rebecca Solnit’s book, A Field Guide to Getting Lost: “How will you go about finding that thing the nature of which is totally unknown to you?”

Making art is one path. For me, it’s applying the sum of my experiences. Through artistic experimentation, I’ve discovered a way to combine and further activate my interests in popular culture, vintage imagery, Buddhist philosophy, Japanese art, old paper, and feminist philosophy.

By removing limitations imposed by our conditioning, and opening possibilities for the ways we understand who we are, I find clarity. I’ve breathed life into old mail-order catalogs for almost 8 years. “Moonbathing” was the first commercial clipping to be divinized.

And thank you for mentioning “that combination of layers” in my work. It’s all done by hand. It’s important to me that the viewer see and feel how the physical layers — skins, if you will — interact. The image transfer process is my own. I arrived at it after overcoming the restrictions in hand-cut collages. My first body of work, “How to Take a Compliment,” presents subjects at their original scale. Since then, I’ve amplified and reduced subjects through scanning. That has made pieces more intimate or larger than life.

In this time of Corona, how do you find light in your day?

Survival is a means to coronation. My subjects were mere paper but have lasted more than a half century to now stand as supernatural queens. We too can adapt and become our greatest selves through challenges.

There’s a cemetery near my home. I walk there because it’s perfect for social distancing. But I’m also taken by how beautiful the flowers and trees blossom in a place that honors death. I’m reminded of the Hindu goddess, Kali, who is at once a destructive and creative force.

Placed in this light, a pandemic is not only temporary but also a path to renewal. It’s part of the perfection, if you will.

What is next for you creatively? What are you working on?

I have a solo exhibition coming in the fall of 2021 at Eric Schindler Gallery here in Richmond (VA, USA). I’ll have a whole new collection ready for that.

I’ve dreamed of being hired by Montgomery Ward as their collage artist. They’re still in business. I have convincing to do.

About Blythe King

Blythe King is a rising talent who currently breaks new ground in photography, collage, and the ancient art of gold leafing. Born in Pittsburgh in 1977, her work is heavily influenced by two legacies — the whimsical, social commentary of hometown hero Andy Warhol forged with traditional Steel Town resolve. King studied religion and art at the University of Richmond and the University of Colorado. She practiced Zen calligraphy with Stephen Addiss (The Art of Zen).

But it was a textile startup in quaint Breaux Bridge, Louisiana that brought her journey into focus. For iSockits, King fashioned wildly-successful tablet covers from vintage women’s shirts. Her latest fine art project, “Two Sides of the Same Coin,” is exceptional for its delicate but moving revelations. She rescues clippings from a range of vintage catalogs to open a fresh discourse around women’s issues. In addition to her art, King teaches creativity to underserved communities in Richmond, VA.

You can see more of Blythe King‘s work on her website.

Bill Franson | Mason Dixon Line

Posted on May 13, 2020

The Griffin Museum continues to bring creativity to the photo community through our Artist Conversations. May 17th is the next installment, presenting photographer Bill Franson. The conversation will focus on his series of photographs along the Mason Dixon line. Hoping to get a preview of this what promises to be an engaging conversation, we asked Bill a series of questions. For more information and tickets, see our events page for more information.

What drew you to the Mason Dixon line to create this series. Why did you not take a more traditional tack and follow the line? What was it that led you to its periphery?

My older son was in college in N. Carolina and every year I’d travel down to drop him off or pick him up and during the solo portion of the trip I would slowly wander, taking a few days photographing along the backroads of the South. Crossing the Maryland/Pennsylvania border I’d usually see a Mason Dixon sign and I got curious and discovered the Line predated the Civil War by one hundred years, predated the Revolutionary War by about ten.

Marydel, MD © Bill Franson

How could that be, when most of what we hear about the Mason Dixon Line is related to the Civil War? It was fascinating to discover that the intention of the line was to end a violent land dispute between two families, the Penns and the Calverts, whose land grants were ill defined. The astronomer Charles Mason and surveyor Jeremiah Dixon were sent from England to “draw” the line, utilizing the stars to establish their position. By the early 1800s the Mason Dixon Line was already considered a demarcation between free states and slave states, now a dispute over human property. Land as property and slaves as property and never mind the indigenous tribes!

Granite mile stones were placed every mile, larger crown stone every five. My original intent was to discover as many of these stones as I could, an attempt to touch history, and simply look around and see. I discovered two things. One is that over time property overlaid property, and many of the stones were not publicly accessible. The second is very few roads follow the Mason Dixon Line, which leads me finally to answer why I photographed the periphery. Because it is what I could do. It was very exciting to come across a mile or crown stone but much more exciting to park my car in a border town, wander, and photograph what caught my eye. As I followed the line west or south, I was literally spinning circles over the line, stopping, wandering, moving on.

The Mason Dixon Line lives in a historical context like a story in a book, for most Americans. Your work is not to document the line so much as to explore the edges. How do you seek to visualize the line in context of that historic demarcation?

Waynesboro, PA © Bill Franson

The Mason Dixon Line is as mythic as it is historic, and the line is blurry between the mythic and the historic. If I am working within a documentary tradition I am, with all humility, following Walker Evans, and Robert Frank. Photographs can describe accurately, and suggest poetically. I’m all for the later, within the former. I never want to hit someone over the head with one interpretation.

Do you have a single image you go back to again and again as a personal favorite? What is it about the image? Composition, timing or was it in the capture, the moment of shutter release?

Quantico, MD © Bill Franson

I often tell students as they are working on a project that there are “sticky” photographs and there are “stand alone” photographs, both have their functions. Mason-Dixon: American Fictions contain both, the sticky ones are supportive, the stand alone’s are iconic. Even though the project is five years old the difference is still pretty fluid. When you ask what it is about certain favorite photographs, the composition, timing, moment of shutter release, my hope is I can suck my audience in to that moment, to feel me there, the now when all of that collides. When I look at photographs, that is what I imagine, and it’s an electric thrill.

You work in black and white. What is it about the absence of color that illuminates your narrative?

Abandoned Mini Golf Course, Gettysburg, PA © Bill Franson

Why black and white? There are several reasons for this, (a) that I consider black and white to be one step of abstraction away from experience, and more poetic, for me. There are photographers working in color who make amazingly poetic images. (b) I prefer the darkroom to the computer screen as a working environment, (c) maybe most important, I think working within limitations is critically important for creative endeavors. The encouragement that one can do anything with a digital image gives me hives, a sandbox has edges.

Fayette City, PA © Bill Franson

You shoot many images interspersing churches, religion or expressions of faith combined with the local surroundings. I see you also have a series on HolyLand. How does faith play into this work?

On the presence of religious symbols, churches, expressions of faith in my photographs: A simple answer is that churches, crosses, faith expressions are as abundant as the flag. The Christian religion and American pride feel like the warp and weft of the culture within this section of the United States. I’m actually very conscious of how many images containing flags, crosses, gun culture I make. Do I need more, am I saying something new? I grew up in a Sunday Christian family if you know what I mean. Belief didn’t necessarily extend beyond Sunday.

Like many teenagers I ran away from church soon after my confirmation, only to run back to it in Art School when I started reading the bible backward. A fertile imagination and a sense of a world gone wrong took the apocalyptic vision of the book of Revelation and ran with it. I actually took a break from Art school, eventually transferring to study philosophy looking for answers, diving deeply into the problem of evil, time and eternity, the mind/body problem, language and knowledge. Along the way the qualities of an angry, judgmental, there’s only “one way” God were replaced by compassion, grace. If faith enters into this project I would have to say it is not dogma and judgement but the desire to accept, attempts to be compassionate and open, that have cooled suspicious minds, opened doors, properties, and photographic possibilities.

In building a portrait of this region, what would you like us as viewers to walk away from this series with?

Regarding what I want my viewers to come away from, I’m not sure that has ever been one of my motivations. As a philosophy student “The un-examined life is not worth living”, as a photographer ”The un-photographed life is not worth living.”

About Bill Franson –

“If your everyday life appears to be unworthy subject matter, do not complain to life. Complain to yourself. Lament that you are not poet enough to call up its wealth. For the creative artist there is no poverty — nothing is insignificant or unimportant.”
Rainer Maria Rilke

Observe, and get on with it.

This is the short form:
Co-opted the family cameras in my youth. Who doesn’t?
Studied Photography at the Art Institute of Boston and earned a BA in Philosophy at Calvin College in Michigan.

I worked as a staff photographer at several production houses in the Boston area until going out on my own in the mid 90s.
Clients include Johnson & Johnson Innovations, Polaris Venture Partners, Paul Russell and Co., Classic Cars Magazine UK, Childrens Hospital-Boston, Brigham and Womens Hospital, Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Harvard Pilgrim Healthcare, Lahey Clinic, Massachusetts General Hospital, The Peabody Essex Museum, The Boston Globe, Genuine Interactive, The Governors Academy…..

I’ve exhibited in numerous solo and group shows in Massachusetts, Michigan, New York and NYC, New Hampshire, Vermont, Virginia, Texas, and Toronto Canada. Personal highlights have been the Danforth Museum New England Photographers Biennial in 2015, 2011, and 2003, Strange Days at Philips Exeter in 2015, A Nickel and a Kopek at the NESOP Center for Photographic Exhibitions in 2008, Calvin College in 2011, and Panopticon Gallery in 2013. My work resides in various institutional and private collections. In 2014 I curated 21st Century Monochrome, an exhibition at the Barrington Center for the Arts at Gordon College, an exhibit created to highlight select contemporary Boston area photographers and their chosen materials and processes.

In 2006 New England School of Photography offered me a teaching position. I’ve never looked back. Teaching has reconnected me with those who are passionate about image making and actively exploring its possibilities. I taught my last class at NESOP in their 2019 Spring semester, finishing up two days before the school announced that it will close in 2020.

I am currently professor of photography at Gordon College in Wenham, MA. and am represented by Gallery Kayafas in Boston.

You can see more of Bill Franson‘s work on his website.

Aline Smithson | Arrangement in Green & Black, Portraits of the Photographer’s Mother

Posted on May 10, 2020

Who is the hardest working photographer, curator, writer, editor, educator, mentor, juggler, community builder, wife, mother, and friend? My vote will always go to Aline Smithson. Needless to say, I am a big fan of her photography and a witness to the results of her teaching and mentoring efforts for photographers all over the world.

As I tell the story, I met Aline through a photograph of her mother that hung in a frame on the Griffin’s walls during our 12^th Juried Exhibition in 2006. The photograph was chosen by juror Bonni Benrubi. It was called “Arrangement in Green & Black (Portrait of the Photographer’s Mother) No. 10.” I would visit that photograph every day throughout the exhibition and admired it, plotting how I would save to make it my own. That never happened as I shared my plan with no one and one day it was wrapped up and returned to its rightful owner.

What struck me most about this photograph was its very wry wit. As I fancy myself as a bit of a comedian, I respect and recognize those who see the world through the lens and sparkle of humor. Smithson’s references to James McNeill Whistler’s own painted mother are apparent in the title of the image and stance of the subject. “The Photographer’s Mother” sits in a wooden straight-back chair breaking bread and wine from a tiny TV stand underneath a print of da Vinci’s “Last Supper”. The elements within this one frame all reference Whistler but are presented in twists and turns that are all Smithson’s own.

If you know Aline Smithson, you know she would rather not have her photograph taken. In this series her wish for anonymity remains. She stops short of naming her series “Smithson’s Mother.” Aline’s mom, on the other hand, is not at all camera-shy in any of the photographs from this series. The bond between mother and daughter comes through in their “arrangement”. Mother and daughter are both contributors and collaborators. And what fun the experience seems to be for both. And this is why we chose “Arrangement in Green & Black (Portrait of the Photographer’s Mother) to highlight today.

Mother’s Day began as a tribute to mothers who had lost sons and spouses to the Civil War. It continues now as a day of gratitude for moms everywhere. If only we could make every day a day of gratitude. It’s what moms would want.

Below you will find Crista Dix’s interview with Aline Smithson. Crista is the Associate Director of the Griffin Museum of Photography.

Paula Tognarelli
Executive Director and Curator
Griffin Museum of Photography

Aline Smithson has arguably one of the most visible mothers in photography. Creating her own version of James Whistler’s Portrait of the Artist’s Mother, she created an iconic photographic series bringing humor, life and poignancy to her own bond with her mother. See a description of one of Smithson’s exhibits on the Griffin Museum’s website.

What did she think of this series when you approached her with the idea? What did she think about being your model?

Arrangement in Green & Black, Portraits of the Photographers Mother No. 18 © Aline Smithson

My mother was always incredibly supportive. She was totally game, as it allowed more time for us to be together. It was a profound experience as my mother was in decline and it shifted our conversations from heath and end-of-life, to art. The series took 2 years and we were able to create 21 images before she passed away. She never saw the photographs hand-painted and she never shared in its successes, at least in this life. It’s a wonderful treasure for me to have this project to remember that special time we had together.

I remember her asking me why anyone would be interested in this work—I stated I didn’t really care what anyone thought–that wasn’t the point of the work. That sense of freedom in art making has always been part of my practice.

What was her favorite image of the series?

A woman dressed as a geisha with umbrella

I honestly don’t know, but my favorite image does not show up in the series.

She was dressed in a kimono with a parasol and kept laughing. I kept telling her that she had to be serious until finally I understood what was making her laugh. She was quietly giving me the finger. I managed to get one frame of that gesture before we got back to work.

How was your relationship before the series and how did it change during the shooting process?

I don’t think it changed our relationship, but it allowed us time together, just the two of us without all the distractions of motherhood and life. I feel so grateful to have that time, filled with fun and laughter, for us to collaborate at the end of her life.

How was she as a collaborator?

My mother was elegant and formal to the outside world, but behind the closed doors of our home, she had a wicked sense of humor and fun, as did my father. They both used humor throughout our lives to keep it interesting. One annual event was on April Fool’s Day which was deemed Sloppy Joe Night. My mother would present food in weird colors and combinations and we were allowed to have terrible table manners–eating with our feet or upside down–all which resulted in great hilarity.

So with this legacy of humor in our household, it made her a fabulous collaborator. She wanted to be a bit more dramatic, but unfortunately had to reign her in! She was game for anything.

This series was the catalyst to many opportunities and opened many doors for you. It continues to be an iconic, beloved and long-lived series. What do you think is the reason it resonates with so many?

This project has truly been shown around the globe—Russia, China, Korea, Europe, and the U.S. Many gallerists and directors have told me how wonderful it was to have an exhibition where they could hear people laughing. Humor is so lacking in the photography world. And what could be a more universal theme that making fun of one’s mother.

Another gift of this series is that when someone purchases a print, I spend time hand-painting it and that allows me to go back in time with my mother. As I paint her face and hands, I feel re-connected to her.

You also have a series with both of your children. How do they feel about working with their Mother? Did they know their Grandmother? Were they able to see the two of you work together?

Shaq – Taylor Wessing Prize nominee, 2019

A few years back, my daughter was visiting a friend of a friend in New York and saw a copy of PDN on their coffee table–the issue where my photograph was on the cover and she was the model. She said to the friend, “Oh, that’s my mother’s photograph” instead of saying, “that’s a photograph of me.” I think my children have always separated themselves from the work and see it as my version of reality that they have participated in. They were, and are, in front of my camera so much that it was as normal as brushing their teeth. They both still are wonderful collaborators. I am truly so grateful to them.

a grandmother and grand daughter side by side

My children were 11 and 14 when she passed so they did get to know her. She was a devoted grandmother. I was also working on another hand-painted series at the same time where my daughter and mother worked together. Both of my children have been part of my art making since they were tiny and witnessing me create this series with my mom was just part of everyday life. They certainly enjoyed some of the costumes and props that I was acquiring—and my dog even got in on project.

You say your greatest achievements are your two children, Charlotte and Henry. What are your favorite images of them?

From Left to Right – Hotel Fiorita, from series Daughter & Cuppa, from series Regarding Henry

There is no way I can answer that. Each photograph reveals a moment in time, an age, a stage – all have equal importance and they are all my favorites. In fact, I treasure them more than any possession I own.

From Left to Right, Henry with Tangerines, from series Regarding Henry & Roman Bed, from Daughter

You now have one of America’s (and the world’s) most famous mothers. She wanted you to be a dental hygienist. Do you think she changed her mind after seeing the series?

Ha! That’s true. She wanted me to have a secure future and being an artist was certainly not that. But she has always supported me. She was really proud of my achievements as a fashion editor and that continued into my art making. That project was towards the beginning of my career so she didn’t get to see my work out into the world.

You showed Arrangements in Green and Black (AGB) at the Griffin in 2010 and then had a mid-career retrospective including AGB in 2016. What was that experience like, seeing your work on the Griffin walls?

Anyone walking into the beautiful Griffin Museum space and seeing their work on the wall is a heady experience. But walking in and seeing your own work, your journey as a photographer shown on ALL the walls of the museum, is other-worldly and an out-of-body phenomenon. Honestly it was hard to wrap my head around such an honor.

It’s interesting that we all chase success and when it comes, it’s not what one expects. It’s embarrassing and humbling. It challenges your psyche, brings self-doubt and creates a bit of imposter syndrome—at least for me.

That saying, I was blown away with the layout and presentation of the exhibition, the beautiful orange wall that welcomed visitors into the show, the banners with my work outside of the museum—it was all magic. I feel so lucky and grateful to have had the support of the institution and the community that surrounds it. Truly one of the career-defining moments of my life.

Thank you Aline, for your creativity, sharing your Mother with us, and for being such a tremendous part of the Griffin legacy.

To see Aline’s personal work visit her website at Aline Smithson. To see more of the community of photographers Aline nurtures and supports, visit Lenscratch for a daily dose of creativity and inclusion in all things photo.

May Online Photo Chat Chat | Photographers on Photography

Posted on May 5, 2020

Join us Thursday for a online Photo Chat Chat featuring the works of Bootsy Holler, Doug Johnson, Susan May Tell and J.P. Terlizzi.

The Photo Chat Chat is a lively conversation by photographers for photographers and photography lovers. Each artist has a short presentation about their work, process and creativity, and a Q & A session follows, inviting each member of the Chat to ask questions of the presenting artists.

Join us on Thursday May 7th, 2020 at 7pm Eastern / 6pm Central / 5 pm Mountain / 4pm Pacific

Tickets for the event are available here.

Here are the talented artists who will be joining us to discuss their work.

About Bootsy Holler –

Bootsy Holler is an intuitive artist who has been a working photographer for over 25 years in music, editorial, advertising and fine art. Best known for her remarkably sensitive style of portraiture, she has been noticed and awarded by the Society of Photographic Journalism (SPJ) and Association of Alternative News-media (AAN).

Now a fine art photographer her work examines the nature of identity and the reimagined family photo album.

She received her BA with a concentration on Textiles from Western Washington University, Bellingham. After a career as a freelance Director, Producer and Photographer she relocated to Los Angeles to focus on fine art.

About Doug Johnson –

Doug Johnson is a photographer, writer, illustrator, and printmaker currently living in Santa Fe, NM. I have published three books and occasionally write essays about photography, art and the creative process.

Much of my work focuses on the miracle of daily life — how we make our way in the world, safely and sanely. Remarkably, we often do so with kindness, humor, creativity, wisdom, friendship and teamwork. I want to better understand the unique worlds that people create for themselves; to explore the paths they follow or trails they blaze; to record the footprints and artifacts they leave behind. I wonder if they like their job, where they’re going, who cares if they’re sick, what makes them happy, is their family safe, what do they regret, what do they show and hide?

About Susan May Tell –

A visual poet, Susan May Tell was awarded recent artist fellowships to The MacDowell Colony and Yaddo. Her work is in the Smithsonian Museum’s Samuel Wagstaff Collection; her Oral History and Catalog of Works were acquired by Columbia University.

Tell’s photographs are featured in solo museum and university exhibitions including the Museum of Art / Fort Lauderdale and the University of California / San Francisco, as well as scores of brick-and-mortar galleries coast to coast.

Elizabeth Avedon included them in “fossils of time + light” — a book she curated and designed for the Detroit Center for Contemporary Photography.

Tell also had a celebrated 25-year career photographing in more than 20 countries, in the United States, Middle East and Europe, for pre-eminent publications, such as the New York Times, Time and LIFE Magazines. Stories included the women fighters of the Eritrean People’s Liberation Front, Iran-Iraq war, NBA Finals, actors, politicians, and more. She spent an amazing decade as a staff photographer and photo editor for her home town, in-your-face, newspaper, the New York Post.

Her traveling exhibition, A Requiem: Tribute to the Spiritual Space at Auschwitz, was presented at the Griffin Museum of Photography’s Main Gallery in 2009. In 2021, it will be at the Schumacher Gallery, Capital University. Please contact art2art Circulating Exhibitions, art2art dot org for more information and bookings.

About JP Terlizzi –

JP Terlizzi is a New York City visual artist whose contemporary practice explores themes of memory, relationship, and identity. His images are rooted in the personal and heavily influenced around the notion of home, legacy, and family. He is curious how the past relates and intersects with the present and how that impacts and shapes one’s identity.Born and raised in the farmlands of Central New Jersey, JP earned a BFA in Communication Design at Kutztown University of PA with a background in graphic design and advertising. He has studied photography at both the International Center of Photography in New York and Maine Media College in Rockport, ME.

His work has been exhibited widely in galleries and museums across the United States including juried, invitational and solo exhibitions. JP was recognized and named in The Critical Mass Top 50 (2019, 2018), Critical Mass Finalist (2016, 2015). His work is held in both permanent and private collections across the United States and Canada.

JP is currently represented by Foto Relevance Gallery in Houston TX.

Atelier 31 | Meet the Artist – Cynthia Johnston

Posted on March 27, 2020

Visually defining a vast country like the United States is complicated. Region to region, state to state, town to town. Every area has its quirks, and no two places are the same. Photographer Cynthia Johnston and her series “Somewhere in the Middle” explores the idea of the road less traveled, following along the backroads of America. After thirty years of living on the East Coast, Johnston started a road trip, marking off 20,000 miles, exploring the ideas of who we are and how we live. A visual diary, these images ask more questions that provide answers. With humor, grace and quiet observation, Johnston shows us her vision.

State Highway Saviour

Carhenge

From her artist statement – Somewhere in the Middle

After graduation from university, I left the Midwest to pursue employment on the East Coast. With time, I adapted to the Northeast but maintained connections to the culture and people “back home”. Until the election of 2016, I thought I knew the Midwest, and thus, myself.

But “post-Trump”, I felt so out of touch with the place enshrined in my heart. Upon retrospection, I realized that it had been decades since I traveled extensively in the US. There were many states to which I had never ventured; several in which I was fearful to travel. I started to see the outlines of my personal bubble and identity dissonance.

During the last two years, I have wound my way through 20,000 miles of small towns dotting state highways and rural routes in the traditionally defined Midwestern states. The scenes presented in this work are viewed through the eyes of a prodigal daughter who is gradually re-discovering her former home; a place that is, by turns, filled with quiet beauty, sorrow and history.

We asked Cynthia about her experience in the Atelier program –

Big Bucks

My work in Atelier 31 is a continuation of the project, “Somewhere in the Middle”, which started in Atelier 28 (Spring 2018). The seed for my project was planted in the Atelier 28 artist conversation assignment where the student selects an artist whose work and style interests them. Walker Evans was the artist that inspired me to explore through landscapes, architecture and vernacular. His large body of work seemed to stem from a tireless sense of curiosity, two qualities to which I related. As the course progressed, an opportunity to take a much-longed-for road trip to the Midwest opened up. This region was of special interest to me since I hail from Wisconsin. Additionally, the Midwest region had played such a surprising role in the election of Donald Trump. I felt I had fallen out of touch with this region and now I had the time and tools to explore the region through photography. Through this work I strive to convey the sense of surprise I often encounter during my travels.

Plus One

This is perhaps the first photo my project that I felt did that. ” Plus One”

I also seek to turn regional stereotypes on their heads. Mostly, I am expressing my own surprise at what I find. I have continued the project, adding another 15,000 miles to my odometer. I hope to have a book by the time I am done exploring but we shall see.

I am really happy to have found the atelier course. The exercises, the critiques, and community of students has been invaluable in breaking down my fears about creating. I learned a lot about the creation process and don’t get nearly as discouraged as I once did. False starts will happen and are part of the process along with refinement and trying various approaches until one works.

I can’t say enough about Meg’s encouragement and acceptance of many styles and approaches to photography. Meg and Amy create a special environment that allows experimentation along with a high caliber of image-making.

About Cynthia Johnston –

Cynthia Johnston is a fine arts photographer with an interest in work which examines personal identity and cultural identification. Her two current projects are “Somewhere in the Middle” and “Altars”.

After working in biotechnology for twenty years, she left her job to live in Montréal where she found a creative home. Since moving back to New England, she has taken numerous courses at the New England School of Photography as well as the Griffin Museum of Photography.

Johnston’s work been exhibited internationally and is included in corporate and private collections in the US, Canada, Germany and Spain. She has recently exhibited work at the Center for Photographic Art, the Alexandria Museum of Art and the Griffin Museum of Photography.

Follow Cynthia’s creative travels –

on the web at cynthiajohnstonphotography

on Instagram @cynthiajohnstonphoto,

FB page: Cynthia Johnston Photography

Blog

Footer