Griffin Gallery

John Chervinsky Emerging Artist Scholarship Award | Bridget Jourgensen

Posted on July 23, 2024

The Griffin Museum of Photography is thrilled to announce the winner of the 2024 John Chervinsky Emerging Photographer Scholarship, Bridget Jourgensen. Her series Homeshadows captivated this year’s jury to earn her a monetary award, an upcoming exhibition and artist talk at the Griffin Museum as well as a volume from the collection of photographer John Chervinsky.

Over 281 photographers submitted applications to be considered for the scholarship this year. The jurors, Arlette and Gus Kayafas, Frazier King and Bruce Myren have selected Bridget Jourgensen as the 2024 recipient of the John Chervinsky Emerging Photographer Scholarship.

The exhibition of Homeshadows will be December 11, 2024 – January 5, 2025. We will announce programs and artist reception later this fall.

Homeshadows is a study of solitude. Over the course of a year and at the height of the pandemic in 2020, I found myself in a new home and very much alone on a day-to-day basis. As an introvert and sometimes anxious person, it was a bit of a dream come true. But while I wasn’t exactly lonely, I was yearning to use my time creatively and feel connected to something while the world outside raged. I began to document the light and shadows that streamed through the windows of my house. Everything in my home was new to me, and I had the pleasure of watching the seasons unfold from the inside. I sometimes put myself in the images to round out the developing narrative. I worked to capture light and manage composition with great attention to mood and detail in order to convey the sense of solitude, beauty, and mystery that I was experiencing during this period of time. Although I had been taking photographs for many years, this was my first intentional series and attempt at cohesive storytelling through images.

About Bridget Jourgensen:

My love of photography began as a young girl leafing through my mother’s Vogue magazines and feeling enthralled by the lush images within. As a pre-teen I made images of my family with a Kodak Instamatic 100, and documented the mundane details of my day-to-day life. It seemed that everything looked more glamorous printed on 4×4 squares, accompanied by strips of eerie negatives. I was hooked.

As an adult photographing a world which is increasingly complex, my lens seeks out simple, quiet subjects that are familiar yet presented in a distinctive way. Influenced by the work of Vivian Maier, Gordon Parks, and Sally Mann, I’m drawn to photographing people in the world around me. Whether that world is within my own four walls or a country I’ve never stepped foot in, my desire to observe others is the foundation for a great deal of my work. By sharing my images, I hope to spark human connections and emphasize our commonality through a moment captured in time.

About the John Chervinsky Emerging Photographer Scholarship

Photographer John Chervinsky, whose work explored the concept of time, passed away in December of 2015, following a typically resolute battle with pancreatic cancer. The modesty and unassuming character John conveyed in life belies the extent to which he is missed, not only by his family and friends, but also by the entire photographic community of which he was so proud to be a part. The John Chervinsky Emerging Photographer Scholarship was announced in June 2016 to recognize, encourage and reward photographers with the potential to create a body of work and sustain solo exhibitions. Awarded annually, the Scholarship provides recipients with a monetary award, an exhibition of their work at the Griffin Museum of Photography, and a volume from John’s personal library of photography books. The Scholarship seeks to provide a watershed moment in the professional lives of emerging photographers, providing them with the support and encouragement necessary to develop, articulate and grow their own vision for photography.

We extend our gratitude and thanks to our jurors for their work in reviewing submissions and selecting our winner, and thank you to the artists who submitted their work for consideration.

Fern Nesson | Griffin State of Mind

Posted on June 23, 2023

Fern Nesson’s E=mc² is up at the Griffin Museum until July 9th, 2023. Here is your chance to learn more about her work if you missed the Artist Talk!

Tell us a little about your background.

I am a fine art photographer who came to it a bit late in life. I studied religion in college and law after I graduated. After Harvard Law School, I practiced criminal and constitutional law for 10 years. Subsequently, I got a masters degree in American History and taught history and mathematics for the next 25 years. As must be obvious, I believe in changing things up and, in 2018, I completed my MFA in Photography at the Maine Media College.

Although my career path has been varied, I see it not as a rejection of what came before but as a synthesis of my interests and passions accompanied by the pursuit of the craft and technique necessary to realize them. I try always to remember what I’ve learned before as i acquire new ideas and skills.

What compelled you to combine science and art?

Photography impels me to continually broaden my knowledge and skills as well as my range of experience and perception. I begin each of my projects by choosing a theoretical subject that fascinates me. I do love physics but I also love math, philosophy, translation, poetry — all subjects that employ abstraction as a means of seeking truth.

When I choose a subject, I read as much as I can about it and then write about the ideas that inspire me. Then I go out and shoot. I do not to illustrate these ideas but instead to respond to them aesthetically. Invariably, these other disciplines provide parallels which illuminate the issues I face in creating non-objective, abstract photographs.

Can you describe how you see color and motion, and how that impacts your work?

I don’t look specifically for color or motion. I look for energy. I want to my images to embody the moment when mass becomes energy. Sometimes, color aids in conveying energy, sometimes motion, but neither is the necessary. What is critical is form:

I believe that an energy-filled photograph requires

1) active lines and interesting angles

2) contrast of light and dark

3) clarity of focus

4) attention to scale:

There is immensity in the miniscule as well as in

the cosmos. The immensity within us

is equal to the immensity without.

5) room to breathe:

Empty space in an image is as important

as the forms themselves.

6) rhythm:

Rhythm gives life to an image.

The universe is not a still life.

7) spare elegance:

Less is more. Too much going on

in an image destroys harmony,

creates confusion, muddies the message.

Form is key to making a successful abstract image. But the deeper question is why I seek to create energy in each of my images. I can best explain this way:

Many, if not most, photographers make images of “decisive moments,” records of the past, memento mori. Like Roland Barthes that believe that ” a photograph is a witness, but a witness of what is no more — a record of what has been. Every image is an image of death.”

I challenge Barthes by aiming to create images that are alive. An image that embodies energy and engages the viewer in a mutual experience of it is not merely a record of a past moment. It creates new energy. Like Cezanne’s paintings, it breathes.

I use my camera to create life and to defy death. Everything in my images is real, never constructed. Even absent living subjects, they possess the energy that was present at the moment of capture and that energy remains there now. A photographe that embodies energy, like a moment of transcendence, reminds us that we are infinite — a part of the universe, connected to and melded into everything else. If only for fleeting seconds, we perceive that we will never die; we will merely change in form. Nothing is ever lost. Those we loved exist forever all around us in a different form. And we will too.

I aspire to create images that breathe and pulse. I (and they) follow the gentle, exhilarating command of that wisest of verses in the Tao Te Ching: “be living, not dying.”

Has there been a piece of contemporary art that has particularly engaged or moved you?

I am captivated by Malevich, Lissitsky and Moholy-Nagy, artists who incorporate the energy of “space/time” (the fourth dimension) into their work.

Where do you expect to take your art next?

One of my completed projects, “Tilt!,” will open at the Beacon Gallery in Boston on September 1. “Tilt!” explores the relationship of point of view in architecture and in abstract photography. It consists of 40 still photographs, 2 videos and a book of essays.

I’ve also just finished a project entitled “The Music of the Spheres” on the mathematics of harmonics amd its relationship to abstract photography. It includes 24 still photographs, 1 video, and an essay on Pythagorus’s Theory of Harmonics.

This summer, I’m beginning a new project on William Butler Yeats. Yeats is not only a superb poet who uses abstraction and metaphor skillfully but also a philosopher. He has a great deal to teach me about the challenge of maintaining the creative impulse and joy as one faces aging and the end of life. I’ve just begun to read, write and shoot and I’m excited to turn to Yeats every day.

ABOUT FERN NESSON

Fern L. Nesson is a fine art photographer who lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She received her MFA in Photography from Maine Media College (2018), a J.D. from Harvard Law School (1971.) She has had solo exhibitions abroad at the Politecnico University in Torino, Italy, Les Rencontres de la Photographie in Arles, France, Ph21 Gallery in Budapest, Hungary, the University of The West Indies in Jamaica and in the United States at the MIT Museum Lab, The MetaLab at Harvard, the Beacon Gallery in Boston, Massachusetts, the Pascal Gallery in Rockport, Maine, and Through This Lens Gallery in Durham, NC.

Nesson’s solo show, Tilt!, will open in September, 2023 at the Beacon Gallery in Boston, Massachusetts. Additionally, Nesson’s work has been selected for numerous juried
exhibitions in the U.S., Barcelona, Rome and Budapest. Her photobooks, Signet of Eternity and WORD, won 10th and the 12th Annual Photobooks Awards from the Davis-Orton Gallery.

Donna Dangott | Griffin State of Mind

Posted on June 24, 2022

It is a great pleasure to showcase the words and talents of Donna Dangott. Her beautiful exhibition, Hidden in Plain View was on the Griffin Gallery’s wall in June of this year. This intricate and layered work, emotionally and visually draws you in, grabs you and holds your attention as you unveil each layer in the work. We wanted to know more about her creative process, the ideas behind this body of work, and her connection to the Griffin. This is what she had to say.

How did you first connect to the Griffin Museum?

I became acquainted with the Griffin Museum in early 2021. I was exploring what galleries and other institutions in New England that might be of interest to me for consuming their offerings, but also, to possibly exhibit my own work at some point. It was around that time I first became acquainted with Paula Tognarelli, the former director of the Griffin Museum. She had seen some of my work on exhibition at Sohn Fine Art Gallery in Lennox, MA and reached out to me. She was interested in that work and offered me some very wise and valuable advice. And she purchased a piece for her private collection too. Our paths eventually, and happily, crossed again and again. I am forever grateful for that connection. The Griffin, and current director, Crista Dix, have also grown to be important in my career and my ability to continue to learn and grow through all that they offer to our creative community. I have been fortunate to have developed several friendships across the miles with other members of this community as well.

How do you involve photography into your everyday life?

I very rarely have a day now that does not involve photography on some level. If I am not actively working on one or more of my own projects, fulfilling an assignment or purchase of work, managing the calendar of exhibition deadlines, and taking care of other business matters on behalf of my studio practice, well then, I am otherwise spending time reading and researching, visiting exhibitions in galleries or museums, either in person or virtually, taking workshops or attending lectures, networking with other artists here in Texas or across the country, and trying to stay in touch with what is going on in photography and the broader world of visual art here and abroad.

Are there any images or artists who have caught your attention lately?

There are too many to list here really. There are so many truly gifted visual artists, and I discover somebody new to me almost every week. I am humbled on a daily basis to be considered part of this community. I have very eccentric tastes in art and photography—ranging from very traditional to very modern or contemporary—and I enjoy all media. At the moment I am very attracted to the work of two artists—Holly Roberts and Daisy Patton– who each combine photography, collage and painting in their works. Their work is very different in their styles and subject matter, but both artist’s works resonate deeply with me. And, I aim to explore more of the mixed-media methods that they utilize and incorporate that into some of my own work. So, I find their work particularly inspiring, but also, they express their chosen narratives so beautifully and eloquently. If you are not already familiar with their work you should visit their websites.

holly roberts wolf — © Holly Roberts **https://hollyrobertsstudio.com/**

Daisy Patton **https://www.daisypatton.com**

Tell a little about your recent exhibition ‘Hidden In Plain View’ and how it was conceived.

This series actually grew out of another series titled ‘In The Garden’ , and really, they overlap to some degree. It began during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic lock-down, during which I spent a concentrated period of time reflecting on personal history throughout my life, and contemplating ways that I could incorporate some of it into my visual work in a meaningful way. I was beginning to develop my skills more in photomontage and other ways to blend together various images digitally at that time too. Like many other creative folks I was also just feeling extremely vulnerable to all that was going on in our world—on many fronts. Retreating to my gardens and the natural world has always been nurturing and healing to me. I have found that working out a visual project intellectually, emotionally, and creatively is too. Over several months time I worked further on combining images of human sculptural forms with botanical motifs and developed many strong images that expressed visually how many of us survivors of childhood abuse and trauma perceive ourselves at times or how we learn to cope with our experiences. At times in our lives we literally are hiding in plain view. This series has been so well received and I have been deeply touched by the generous and thoughtful conversations shared with me by others who have seen it. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to share this work at The Griffin. The whole series that appeared at recently at The Griffin can be viewed on my website: https://www.ddangott.com/

person staring at you — © Donna Dangott – Envisioning the Garden

person eyes closed — © Donna Dangott – Dreaming of the Garden

Has there been a Griffin Museum exhibition that has particularly engaged or moved you?

I actually find most ALL of them engaging and many are indeed very moving. I applaud The Griffin for their commitment to showcasing emerging talent, as well as, those artists who have long established and illustrious careers. The exhibitions are truly rich and quite diverse. There is something to learn from each and every one of them. Living in Texas I am not able to view in person many of the exhibitions there, but I certainly do enjoy them all in a virtual format. And I tune into the artist’s talks as often as I am able. Last Summer I was in Boston for a few days and had the opportunity to view in person a couple of exhibitions that I still think about even now. One was Vaune Trachtman’s ‘Now is Always’ exhibit in the Atelier Gallery. I loved the concept of the series. The images were just magical and her photogravure prints were exquisite. And in the main gallery was the ‘Spirit: Focus on Indigenous Art, Artists and Issues’ exhibition. I found that to be a very powerful exhibition to view in person—as much for the imagery as the subject matter in general. Donna Garcia’s and Meryl McMaster’s images were particularly moving to me.

people on a road — © Vaune Trachtman, “Strand (detail of tryptic)”

woman shaking head — © Donna Garcia, “Muscogee”

What is your favorite place to escape to?

My ‘happy place’ can usually be found outdoors on a hiking trail in some remote place or wandering along a deserted stretch of shoreline. I love to explore new landscapes as much as I enjoy returning to old, favorite territory too. I haven’t had near enough time out ‘on the trails’ these past two years due to deadlines and other demands on time, combined with some travel restrictions for one reason or another. However, I am about to embark on a 12 day journey through the Grand Canyon on the Colorado River where I will be rafting and hiking each day. The southwest desert terrain has been like my second home for 40 years. In contrast, I am spending all of September in Scotland where the environment is completely different. I very much am looking forward to that adventure too. I plan to stretch my legs and my spirit, shoot new work, sketch, write and contemplate my projects for the next many months ahead.

What is a book, song or visual obsession you have at the moment?

I actually have very broad musical tastes. And the same goes for my reading materials. I have lately become smitten with Flamenco music. It is incredibly passionate and expressive. If you aren’t familiar with it, check out Sabicas, Stefan, and Jesse Cook. However, I am usually listening to very contemplative music by Max Richter, Phillip Glass, Olafur Arnalds, Nick Cave and Warren Ellis, among many others. At the moment I am reading Down the Great Unknown by Edward Dolnick. It is the story of “John Wesley Powell’s 1869 journey of discovery and tragedy through the Grand Canyon” as he and a handful of other men explore it for the first time. It seemed appropriate to learn more of that history for my approaching journey in the canyon. At age 64 I am still very eager for new adventures. If the spirits are willing I hope that there will be many more ahead yet in my art and the rest of my life too.

If you could be in a room with anyone to have a conversation, who would it be and what would you talk about?

I would love to have met Georgia O’Keeffe and to spend time with her. I have always admired her fierce independence and commitment to creating not only her own exquisite and sensual art but to living life on her own terms. I would love to just walk through the desert with her and share the marvels of every stone or curve of the terrain, as well as, the expanse of the sky that goes on and on. Nobody else has captured that realm quite like she did in her work. Seeing her work in person is like a spiritual experience for me. The O’Keeffe Museum in Santa Fe has a wonderful collection of her works and it is well worth a visit.

To see more of Donna Dangott’s body of work, head to her website. Find her on Instagram @ddangott

Stephen Albair | Griffin State of Mind

Posted on March 25, 2022

“Silent Scenes” by Stephen Albair is a body of work that tangibly describes Albair’s art-making process, utilizing the traditional tableau technique of staging models that remain motionless for an audience. Using a vintage 35mm camera, Albair uses natural sunlight and found materials to create a suggested dialogue between the objects, exploring themes of love, loss, and longing. Open on March 15th, Albair’s exhibition will run until June 5th at the Griffin. Join us on April 5th for a special evening online artist talk with Stephen in the Griffin Zoom Room about his work and Silent Scenes.

Wanting to find out more about Albair’s art-making process and inspiration behind “Silent Scenes” we asked him a few questions.

Tell us how you first connected to the Griffin Museum.

A few years ago my friend Ann Jastrab told me about the Griffin. I met Paula Tognarelli at the Griffin for a portfolio review.

How do you involve photography in your everyday life? Can you tell us about any images or artists that have caught your attention recently?

Claudio Bravo, Mystic Package, 1967 – Courtesy MoMA

Photography and bookmaking are pretty much my life these days. I’ve always been interested in Art History, visiting Galleries, and Museums. I recently saw a show at the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco. Two charcoal drawings caught my attention: Enrique Chagoya, 1989 to 1997, and Claudio Bravo, Mystic Package, 1967. The sheer scale of Chagoya’s work, with his intense use of color, inventive sense of movement, is overwhelming. The subject matter challenges notions of power. Claudio Bravo, Mystic Package 1967, looks photographic but is a pastel drawing. I love the idea of a mysterious package for the viewer to contemplate what’s in the package? The sheer skill to make a work of art like that is awe inspiring and requires perfection of technique. It tricks the eye with its realism as it fits tightly into the space of the frame.

Please tell us a little about your series “Silent Scenes” and how it was conceived.

“Silent Scenes” describes my working process. My photographs are based on the traditional tableau technique of staging models that remain motionless for an audience. It has a history dating back to the beginning of photography and is still used as a technique today. The camera simply records the scene. I’m drawn to narrative storytelling as a way of building photographs. In the context of the photos selected for this show the title “Silent Scenes” really describes my Images

Has there been a Griffin Museum exhibition that has particularly engaged or moved you?

Installation – Silent Scenes @ the Griffin

It’s very difficult to pick a single show because there are so many that I have enjoyed. Recently, “Mantel & Home Views” comes to mind.

What is your favorite place to escape to?

I’ve become a homebody the last few years but certainly Thailand and Japan were my favorites. When I come home to Massachusetts and New Hampshire to visit my family I head to the small town of Atkinson, NH where I was raised with my twin sister, Jeanne. There is a one-room school there that we attended in first grade. The town wants to tear down this important historical building. I’m part of a group trying to save and preserve the site, raise awareness of its history, and generate funds to restore it to its original condition. There are reasons to believe that the the back of the property is a forgotten Slave Cemetery.

What is a book, song or visual obsession you have at the moment?

I’m in the process of publishing a book which has taken two years to complete. Writing and learning how to write has become an obsession. I’m a slow reader with dyslexia but read a little each night. I just finished, “The Wayfinders—Why Ancient Wisdom Matters in the Modern World”, by Wade Davis. I enjoy studying ancient cultures.

If you could be in a room with anyone to have a conversation, who would it be and what would you talk about?

I’ve been teaching full and part-time college courses for over 35 years. I’d like to have a conversation with President Biden and First Lady, Jill Biden. The conversation would involve how the US could provide greater support for art programs, artists and photographers, exhibitions and museum support, while increasing the funding for art programs at the elementary and secondary level.

You’ve stated that Life’s ambiguities—love, loss, and longing—are subjects for your artworks. Can you tell us more about that and why you’ve focused on these themes?

I believe that life’s journey can be reduced to Luck and Love, and being at the right place at the right time. Life’s ambiguities refer to our ups and downs in the natural order of life’s events; the realities that we face day to day. Longing for something better, grieving for loss, are human traits that bind us together while pushing us to consider new possibilities and opportunities.

What does photography mean to you and why is it your chosen medium?

My first real success was printing Gum Bichromates in 1973-74. I learned through a hit and miss process that utilized a lot of serendipity. I am not a technical photographer. I used the same camera and a single lens for 42 years, shooting multiple shots in natural light, until Digital became more practical and less costly. The camera is just a recording device that became the best way for me to express a personal narrative.

What inspired you to take up photography (and when was this)?

After college, I began my career both as a Metalsmith and a self-taught photographer. Soon I was exhibiting in both mediums simultaneously. I never formally studied photography and gave up metalworking in 1989. My experience with the camera began as a way to record my metalwork. But the more I looked through the lens the more I viewed a world within a world. I was always obsessed with searching for found objects in antique shops that intrigued me and recording my finds.

Are you working on any other projects at the moment? If so, could you talk about them?

*Full Circle* 2021 Archival Pigment Print (Collage)

Yes. I started reassessing my work at the beginning of the pandemic and wanted to get involved with something that would keep me inside, besides writing. By archiving my work I discovered images that I had long forgotten. This led me to begin a new series of collages using xeroxes reproductions from parts and pieces from my older photographs. It became a way of revisiting familiar themes in an entirely new way.

How do you approach naming your exhibitions?

I worked with Paula Tognarelli. She is incredible for the quick take and coming up with ideas. I labored over producing a long list of possible titles that started with words that fit the images and my process of photographing. Paula worked in a similar direction but tightened up her list until nothing seemed better than “Silent Scenes.”

How do you know when a work is “finished”?

I’m a perfectionist. Basic design is the bedrock of each image. My work is finished when I can no longer improve on the design by shifting a single part. It’s very close to making a gold ring. The gold surface is worked and polished until there are no imperfections. The finished ring should glow and grab your attention by reflecting its inner light.

To learn more about Stephen Albair, visit his website. To find him on Social Media/Instagram – @stephen_albair

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.

Not Waving But Drowning | Michelle Rogers Pritzl

Posted on April 2, 2020

In the time of Corona, our exhibitions at the museum are quarantined along with the rest of us. One of the programs the Griffin has is the John Chervinsky Scholarship, which includes a monetary award to produce a body of work, along with an exhibition at the museum. While Corona had other plans about us being open to showcase our latest Scholarship winner, Michelle Rogers Pritzl and her series Not Waving But Drowning in person, we thought we’d bring you a conversation we had with Michelle about the series, the ideas behind it, and what is next for her.

Installation views of Pritzl’s Exhibition in the Griffin Gallery

About Not Waving But Drowning –

Not Waving But Drowning is a look inside an Evangelical marriage. These images show the truth of a life lived in the confines of oppressive gender roles, cult-like manipulation, and the isolation of Fundamentalism.

The Shore was Far Behind

Each image is equivalence for the unseen, for the reality behind facade. Despite the smiles and appearance of perfection, Complementarianism is an abusive system in which a wife serves her husband as a helpmeet, remains silent, and prays for her spouse to become a better man.

I use self-portraiture to share my own experience within the Fundamentalist Lifestyle without being explicitly autobiographical. My chosen medium of collodion used with contemporary digital media represents the outdated behaviors and rules imposed on women by Fundamentalism.

The image titles come from The Awakening by Kate Chopin and are sequenced by their titles’ place within the story. Unlike the character of Mrs. Pontellier, I choose to thrive in my freedom. I seek to unmask, to reveal truth. Growing up in Fundamentalist Christianity, I endured the cognitive dissonance of wearing the smiling facade to mask the oppressive truth. By unmasking that truth, I set myself free from the burden of my silence. This is my protest. I will no longer be silent. I choose to live.

We asked Michelle a few questions about her series, the Chervinsky Scholarship and what is next for her.

The Climax of her Fate

Your images clearly address physical and emotional trauma. Was this a cathartic series for you to make? Do you feel it is resolved?

The series was very cathartic. As I started over with a new life in NY, I knew from the beginning that this would be the final piece of the story I had started telling in graduate school. As I worked through the big changes in my life and began deconstructing from religion I was making notes and drawing sketches and starting the piece together the story. It was part of my own healing process to create this series and tell my story. Yes, I do feel like it’s resolved, it’s the end of this part of my story, of breaking free. That’s not to say I don’t still have a huge interest in feminism and freedom from fundamentalism but my personal part in this story is resolved and at this point I don’t think I have would have more to add in the future. I’ve said my piece.

How important was using the collodion process in the creation of the work? Working with your hands, creating a tangible hard object, as opposed to a paper print has the impression of permanence. Taking your intangible emotions and hardening them into a solid vision must have been gratifying.

I love the collodion process and I have since the first workshop I ever took years ago in Los Angeles. I have always loved the handmade photograph in all the possible iterations, and when I started graduate school I was working in collodion for the most part. I don’t think it was so important that this had to be told in collodion in the beginning, but as I worked on the pore conceptual side of why I love alternative processes and collodion specifically it did become pretty clear to me that the importance of collodion to the concept behind the work and the digital/analogue work process compared to the surreal behavior expectations that are so rooted in the Victorian era in a lot of churches, specifically the one I grew up in. I like what you said about the permanence- the process also becomes a part of the catharsis as well as the finished product.

Your work is deeply embedded in literature, including Stevie Smith’s poetry, Kate Chopin’s Awakening and to a certain extent, underlying fundamentalist scripture. For those who aren’t deeply embedded in faith, or who haven’t read the works cited in your series, how do you connect them to the subject?

The Distant Restless Water

I read The Awakening when I was 17 or 18. I can specifically remember being offended by this woman leaving her husband and her children for what I felt was selfishness. But something about it stuck with me and I dragged my copy around as I moved around the country. As my feelings about my faith changed I revisited it while in grad school, working on my thesis which was about being raised in the crazy purity culture of churches in the 90’s and I felt like I understood this woman who was suffocating under all the societal expectations she was supposed to be meeting with her life. Once I had left and was in the process of divorce I really deeply identified with Mrs. Pontellier. I was wholly unprepared for people I had thought were my friends to quit speaking to me, look at me with such suspicion and believe I was a bad person. There was such a terrible few months where there were so many hateful, ugly lies being told about me and I understood that character and her end. But I also knew that my ending/new beginning would be different. Instead of sinking into the ocean under the weight of her choices and their consequences, I jumped to swim away and I was determined that life would be good. And oh my goodness, it has been. The poem Not Waving But Drowning was something I have always loved, felt like it described quite a bit about me. But in the circumstance of divorce as a former Evangelical Christian, it was REALLY personal. I hadn’t talked to anyone about how unhappy I was, not even my closest friends until I began formulating my escape because I didn’t think anyone would tell me it was ok, I didn’t think anyone would believe it was a “biblical” reason for divorce at that point so I just kept my mouth shut and I prayed all the time for a change. So when I was making the series this was the only title it could be.

Because this work is deeply personal, What do you want us as viewers to walk away with after experiencing it?

Well there is a great part of me that wants it to be seen by women who don’t believe they have a choice to leave a bad situation and that they will know that it will be ok. I hope that people who grew up in the same way that I did will identify with it, and to a certain extent it was a chance for me to tell my side to people who won’t listen to my words. I think what I would wish for everyone though is that it moved them in some way emotionally.

What was winning the Chervinsky Award like for you? How has an exhibition at the Griffin Museum impacted you as an artist?

It was a dream come true to be honest. When I got the email I cried, screamed and freaked out for a bit before I was able to craft a response, I was so happy. The scholarship is going to help not only with finishing the work with framing but also with starting new work and becoming more self-sufficient with printing. Having a show at the Griffin is something I have dreamed about for a long time and it’s an honor to have my first solo exhibit there, as well as a homecoming since I was at Lesley University for my MFA and spent 2 years in the Boston area.

What is the next step in your creative future?

Right now I’m working on images that take a very different direction, my family and my farm and the beauty that life can hold. It feels just as important to tell the story of the beauty of a life well lived, that the world won’t collapse even if you have been taught that it will if you follow your instincts, heart, and what you know is right for you.

The Mantle of Reserve

Artist’s Statement of Purpose as submitted to the John Chervinsky Scholarship
Since I began graduate school in Boston in 2012 I have been on a journey of deconstruction of faith and reclaimation of my life for myself which catapulted me into a divorce in 2014. I knew then that I would eventually tell the story of this final step in leaving behind the faith I was raised in and an abusive situation. Not Waving But Drowning tells the story of my marriage and my escape. It is my own stand against oppression of any people by religion or other factors.

Although my work has been about my own journey I believe in the power of photography to change and empower people. I feel that it is more important than ever to stand up and tell my story openly. When I left my husband many people believed I should run away and hide in shame. Instead, living the life that is right for me, free from the stifles of religion has brought me joy I never imagined.

I want to share my photography with a larger audience, and to continue developing my career as an emerging photographer. The grant money would allow me to finish printing and framing this series, which would enable me to exhibit the series in its’ entirety. -MRP

About Michelle Rogers Pritzl –

A Peculiar and Delicate Organism

Michelle Rogers Pritzl was born and raised Southern Baptist in Washington DC area. She fell in love with photography in a high school darkroom and has been making images ever since. Pritzl received a BFA from the Corcoran College of Art and Design in 2001, a MA in Art Education from California State University in 2010, and a MFA in Photography from Lesley University College of Art, where she studied with Christopher James, in 2014. Her work explores the tension between past and present in our psychological lives as well as the photographic medium itself, often working in a digital/analogue hybrid and using historic alternative processes.

Pritzl has been widely exhibited in New York, New Orleans, Fort Collins, Boston and Washington DC, as well as internationally. Pritzl was a Critical Mass Top 250 finalist in 2013, 2014, and 2017; she has been featured in Lenscratch, Fraction Magazine, Diffusion Magazine, Lumen Magazine, Shots Magazine, Your Daily Photograph via the Duncan Miller Gallery amongst others.

Pritzl has taught photography and drawing in both high school and college for the last 12 years, including as an adjunct instructor at Lesley University College of Art, and leading workshops at the Griffin Museum of Photography and Vermont Center for Photography. She lives on a farm in the Finger Lakes with her husband John and their son.

About the John Chervinsky Emerging Photographer Scholarship

The John Chervinsky Emerging Photographer Scholarship seeks to recognize, encourage and reward photographers with the potential to create a body of work and sustain solo exhibitions. Awarded annually (until funding expires), the Scholarship provides recipients with a monetary award, exhibition of their work at the Griffin Museum of Photography, and a volume from John’s personal library of photography books. The Scholarship seeks to provide a watershed moment in the professional lives of emerging photographers, providing them with the support and encouragement necessary to develop, articulate and grow their own vision for photography.

If you would like to consider supporting the continuation of John’s legacy Scholarship by making a contribution to the John Chervinsky Emerging Photographer Scholarship Fund, now in its fourth year. In doing so, you honor John’s legacy by making it possible for others to continue his work of tirelessly questioning the world around us.

To see more of Michelle Rogers Pritzl please check out her website.

Find her on Instagram at @michellerogerspritzl

Griffin Gallery

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