Griffin Museum of Photography

griffin state of mind

Griffin State of Mind – Stefanie Timmermann

Posted on

In today’s Griffin State of Mind, we feature Stefanie Timmermann. Her creative work, Blue Morphs is on the walls of the Griffin until August 29th, 2021. We wanted to get to know more about Stefanie and her work, so we asked her a few questions.

Tell us how you first connected to the Griffin Museum.

timmerman headshot

Stefanie Timmermannhttps://griffinmuseum.org/wp-admin/edit.php

My friend Janice Koskey told me about the Griffin, and was incredibly positive about her experience. Naturally, I checked the Griffin out a few days later. Just coming up on it, I loved the house and surroundings. And I felt very welcome inside, too. A funny thing happened right away – I only had a $20 bill to pay admission (I wasn’t a member yet), and there was not enough cash in the till, so the staff graciously let me in for free. It kind of set the tone, and I was glad to become a member soon after.

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

Photography is pretty integral to my day-to-day life. Of course, I’m usually the dedicated photographer on any outing or party, but that just scratches the surface. On our walks, my teenage daughter and I collect anything out of the ordinary that could be used as a prop, and we do impromptu photoshoots where she might be wearing a fish head or gluing pufferfish spines to her face. I also use my camera as a license to be curious: A question might come up, and I will investigate and document the answer with photography. My most recent research answered whether chocolate burns or simply melts when you use a focused magnifying glass on it.

As to which artists have caught my attention recently – they don’t all have to be photographers, right? – I’m very much enjoying Serena Korda’s bizarre sculpture conglomerations right now (@serenakorda). Very recently, I discovered the phantasmagorical drawings of Anna Zemánková – in a way they feel like kin to my Blue Morphs.

For photographers, I’m really digging Suzanne White (@shepherdess1), Anneli Kunosson (@annelikunosson) and Laura de Moxom (@alibraryoflaura). Then there’s the always incredible Cho Gi Seok (@chogiseok), and also Sarah Waiswa (@lafrohemien) for cool fashion photography.

 

Anna Zemánková, Untitled, undated.

@Alibraryoflaura: “Anthotype of my spirit city Berlin. Made with a beetroot emulsion, the sun and patience.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please tell us a little about your exhibition, Blue Morphs and how it was conceived.

crying morph

Stefanie Timmermann, “Youth”, 2019

Blue Morphs is a series of cyanotypes layered with marks from paints, pens and the heat from a soldering iron. It is a melding of deliberate photography and expressive painterly gestures, and incorporates environmental and social justice messages in some images.

I started working on Blue Morphs during my Artist in Residence in Stone Quarry Hill Art Park in Cazenovia in upstate New York, in 2019. The natural surroundings really inspired me to make a lot of different cyanotypes from the available plants, and to research different ways to make my images multi-layered.

The artist paint manufacturer Golden Artist Colors is located quite close to Cazenovia, and after we artist residents toured the factory, we got a large box of seconds to take home. I started adding acrylics to the cyanotypes and was hooked!

I continued experimenting with overprinting and layering colors on cyanotypes when I came home. At first, I mainly worked intuitively, picking colors and forms subconsciously. During the pandemic, this meditative approach increasingly felt at odds with my escalating worry about social injustices and looming environmental disasters. I read a lot of thought-provoking articles during this time. Soon, I realized that my cyanotypes connected with these theories and constructs, and I developed these ideas further with the help of a paintbrush. My approach therefore shifted to meditating on the forms presented in the cyanotype before picking up the brush. Once I settle on a fitting theme, I interact with the raw cyanotype as if writing an essay.

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

Oof, there have been so many! Most recently, I’ve been enamored with the sublime and thought-provoking exhibit “Spirit: Focus on Indigenous Art, Artists and Issues”. 

nail gate

© Jerry Takigawa from Balancing Cultures, “EO 9066, 206”

 

 ‘Balancing cultures’, by Jerry Takigawa, was another standout. Such a beautiful and subtle exhibit on a heart-rending theme (the Japanese-American experience before and during WWII). Having Jerry talk so eloquently about his series in a Zoom presentation really deepened my understanding of his work and his subject matter.

 

Edie Bresler - anonymous

© Edie Bresler, Anonymous.

The same can be said for Edie Bresler’s incredible photo/embroidery hybrids (‘Anonymous’). Her talk opened the subject matter to me, and in I engaged much deeper with her show when I visited. In general, being able to zoom into presentation has made it much easier for me to participate in evening talks, and I really hope that this format continues to be offered by the Griffin for quite some time.

Of older shows, Rocio de Alba’s ‘Honor thy mother’ still is very much on my mind. The unabashed campiness of the images hides the rather sordid truth of stereotyped roleplaying that goes on in so many families. 

 Last but not least, Gary Beeber’s ‘Personalities’ was in turn funny, sad, and poignant and has stayed with me all this time.

I should also mention that the annual member shows, both the juried Summer show and the open Winter solstice shows are also always very engaging. I personally love to see the variety of styles, techniques and thematic approaches that comingle under one roof during these shows.

What is your favorite place to escape to?

The beach in winter, when it’s mostly empty; the woods in summer; and always my own mind whenever I can have a little quiet space.

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

‘Braiding sweetgrass’ by Robin Wall Kimmerer was an eye-opening and hope-inspiring book. I wish books like this would be required reading in high school.

Griffin State of Mind – Vicky Stromee

Posted on

In today’s Griffin State of Mind, we feature Vicky Stromee. Her creative work, Envisioning Solitude, is on the walls of the Griffin until August 29th, 2021. We wanted to get to know more about Vicky and her work, so we asked her a few questions.

Tell us how you first connected to the Griffin Museum.

I met Paula in Portland at Photolucida. This was my first portfolio review and I really had no idea what to expect or how it worked. She was so kind in conversation. She was supportive of my work and encouraged me to stay in touch. Several years later she contacted me about doing an exhibition at one of the Griffin’s satellite sites where they had an unexpected cancellation. I had a show I had just taken down so I jumped at the chance to send off a crate of framed botanicals. My partner and I traveled to Boston for the opening and got such a warm welcome from Paula and the staff.  I remember seeing Jane Fulton Alt’s Burn series in one of the gallery spaces at the Griffin and falling in love with her work.  I’ve been a fan of the Griffin ever since.

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

vicky stromee studio

Vicky Stromee in her studio

I walk every morning with a good friend and our dogs and I carry my camera everywhere. I try to take pictures everyday – plants, animals, insects, patterns, and shadows – whatever catches my attention.  I’m pretty much in my studio every day where I build light experiments that I shoot for source images. I’m fortunate to have many rich connections with photographers – mostly through virtual connections on Facebook and Instagram, through my local ASMP chapter and an international group that I belong to – Shootapalooza. I have to say lately I’ve been following the work of Alanna Airitam – not only are her images beautifully executed (portraits and still lifes), but she is an impassioned and eloquent writer about her own journey as an artist and a person of color. I’m fascinated with the surreal qualities of Fran Forman’s work and the emotional explorations of Sandra Klein. I’m always inspired by Melanie Walker’s out of the box constructions and immersive installations. Annu Palakunnathu Mathew’s exploration of cross-cultural experience and invisibility also comes to mind.

Please tell us a little about your exhibition, Envisioning Solitude, and how it was conceived.

Vicky Stromee, “Capturing the Moon”, 2019.

Pattern and texture, light and shadow, movement and transformation –these are undercurrents that have dominated my explorations throughout my life. From an early interest in math and science, an education in literary criticism, my chosen profession in mental health and my interest in photography beginning at age 8, I have been fascinated with the continual processes of deconstruction and reconstruction, looking for what is eternal amidst the transitory.

I am interested in edges and intersections of transformation where one thing moves inexorably to become something else. When is the moment when love fades into anger and resentment; when disillusionment erupts into a violent uprising; when order descends into chaos? And when is the moment when war turns towards peace; unbearable grief shifts towards acceptance; or when pain gives way to relief?

In this series: “Envisioning Solitude,” I seek out close-up views of known objects to reveal patterns of color, texture and form, then capture these images and layer them together to create objects of meditation on that transformative process.  Central to this series is the image of the moon – a solitary celestial body reflecting the light of the sun. In mythology the moon is alternately a symbol of love, desire, change, passion, fertility, insanity, and violence. Often associated with the feminine, the nighttime illumination provided by the moon offers us a different perspective and cause for reflection.

Hear Vicky discuss Envisioning Solitude on the Griffin Museum YouTube channel In Their Own Words

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

Wow, that’s a tough question. I was moved by Jane Fulton Alt’s Burn work when I first saw it. Living at a distance, the experience of seeing images online is not the same as being in the room with the work.  That said, of recent note was Jerry Takigawa’s Balancing Cultures. My best friend in high school was second generation Japanese-American and I remember her frequently crying in front of the mirror because “she didn’t look like everyone else.” Both her parents had survived the internment camps. I’m also so fond of Patricia Bender’s work and loved Euclidian Dreams. I am amazed with the variety of exhibitions that the Griffin offers – often showcasing artists I am unfamiliar with. Paula and the Griffin are real treasures for the photographic community.

Jane Fulton Alt, “The Burn”, undated.

Jerry Takigawa, “Like Goes With Like”, undated.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What is your favorite place to escape to?

We have a 100+ yr old log cabin in the Pecos Wilderness of New Mexico – if I’m looking to just be – that’s the place. I lose track of time and can sit for hours listening to the river and watching the weather and the wildlife from the front porch. It is a place that brings me great peace. Beyond that, I love to travel and mostly to places that are so unfamiliar to me that it wakes up all my senses. India comes to mind as a favorite destination.

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

Most of the reading I do is of an academic nature. I do, however, listen to music when I’m working on images on the computer. I like a mix of jazz, blues, pop, world music – my current favorites are anything Taylor Swift, Adele, and Dua Lipa. My current visual obsession is watching the refracted early morning light that comes through the beveled glass window this time of year and fills the walls with rainbows.

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

First, I think James Hillman, a Jungian analyst. The conversation would be wide ranging and of a spiritual nature – about the soul’s progression, the meaning of existence, and where creativity comes from. If I could have a second option it would be to sit in on a gathering of the Bloomsbury Group (Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell, John Maynard Keynes, E. M. Forster and Lytton Strachey), of whom Dorothy Parker famously said: “they lived in squares, painted in circles and loved in triangles.” I would be content to just listen in to their conversations about life and art.

How do the people in your life influence your art?

Wow this could be a very long essay! Growing up our home was filled with gatherings of artists and scientists, rabbis and priests, and concerts with string quartets. I was surrounded by dancers, painters, musicians, photographers, actors, and philosophers. Art has always been a part of who I am.  I’ve explored a variety of mediums with many great teachers who have taught me so much about “seeing.”

When I was getting started as a fine art photographer many people told me I should go see Mary Virginia Swanson (who, lucky me, lives in Tucson). I guess I heard it enough that I set up a session with her. I brought my favorite prints and set them down on the table. I still remember the humbling moment as she rifled through my stack, sliding them quickly off the pile with “seen it, seen it, seen it,” and then a pause: “I haven’t seen this.” I began to take an interest in looking at my work as others might see it.

I have a tendency to fall in love with my most recent work and count on my wife and close friends to offer honest feedback and ask insightful questions. Through this process I have increasingly learned to step away from my work and view it as an outsider. I value their perspectives and hold that alongside my own resonance with a particular piece. These conversations and participating in critiques with mentors have helped me to cultivate my ability to see and reflect on my work.

Five years ago, we realized a dream with our best friends and created an artist compound with two houses and four studios. We are all artists in different mediums (author, painter, musician and photographer).  We often share long conversations about our latest projects, our hopes, and our challenges. Our home is filled with an eclectic mix of art that I draw inspiration from every day.

Griffin State of Mind | Jürgen Lobert

Posted on

Griffin State of Mind, a continuing series acquainting you with the members of the Griffin creative community, introduces you to Jürgen Lobert, one of our newest instructors here at the museum.  His upcoming class on Daytime Long Exposure Photography class starts Wednesday May 26th. For more information on the class, see our Events and Programs page. 

Tell us how you first connected to the Griffin Museum.

As part of my evolving business in fine art photography, I was looking for a creative outlet and community to engage in. The Griffin was a perfect fit, in my area, focused on photography and larger than some other organizations. I also had a couple of friends who were already a member, hence, I decided to join. 

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

jl tree 1Photography most certainly made me go through life with a lot more visual appreciation for my surroundings. I often find myself driving along a road, or walking / hiking around and thinking: “ooh, that would make for a neat photo location”. As part of my activity in organizing Meetups and workshops, I have explored and gotten to know the greater Boston area much more than any other of the numerous locations I have lived in before. 

I constantly view other people’s image streams on Instagram, Facebook and more recently also the Griffin’s “Runway” and I find a lot of inspiration doing this. A few communities are catching my eye more recently, one being the light drawing community, the other being certain landscape images, but I do look for many other aspects, too. The main goal is to find inspiration and ideas on what to do or do differently. There are a lot of great artists out there, but what happens to catch my attention most is to see how some of my former students evolve into creating beautiful imagery that I find intriguing.  

The most recent exploration was Alexey Titarenko’s time-bending “City of Shadows” collection, which targets something between freezing moments and blurring them away through long exposures. Quite evocative! 

Can you tell us about the new class you will be teaching at the Griffin this summer?

jl landscape 2I will be teaching Daytime Long Exposure photography, which in itself is really just a technique, but one that can transform landscape or cityscape photos into serene works of art. It is a technique that adds the element of time, or the effects of time to your composition, which is something we usually don’t capture during the day, because high shutter speeds freeze motion. Blurring motion by reducing the amount of light available not only enables us to record the path of clouds and smoothing over water waves, it also makes people, cars and boats disappear, giving the scenery an otherworldly look that sets it apart from most land or city-scapes that we usually view. Images created this way immediately set themselves apart from the mainstream, and they can make mundane places look exciting. It’s a great technique to add to your photography toolbox. In addition, the workshop’s main learning goal is to embrace manual photography, to get out of auto modes and truly master manually setting exposure time, aperture and ISO and playing each other off to arrive at the perfect illumination. It will be an interactive workshop with classrooms for image review, editing and theory, alternating with small group, in-field photo shoots. A safe but fun environment for all.

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

I haven’t seen too many exhibits yet, but I thought that the recent DIGITS was well thought out and presented a different aspect of photography, apart from mainstream collections we often see. I do also like the variety of the members and winter juried shows.

What is your favorite place to escape to?

jl landscape 3Any location where I create photos! Photography itself is my escape, and it doesn’t matter so much where I am. Everyday life and whatever problems there may be magically disappear when I am out and about with my cameras. I do, however, particularly cherish moonlit nights, be it to capture the moment when our planetary companion comes over the horizon, or when it is brightly lighting up the landscape. And, of course, the grand landscapes of the western US, which seem to be made for night photography. I happen to be there this week, my first trip in 15 months.

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

I don’t know why, but lately my mind keeps playing a lot of my favorite tunes from the 70s and I made it a point to revisit my music library, amend it with more releases from my favorite artists and keep listening to what I have. My favorite genre is Progressive Rock, and the latest “ear worm” has been Greenslade. Perhaps age does that to you, but it’s fun. 

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

Oh, that question needs to be more narrow! There are too many people whose minds I’d love to pick or understand. And, of course, to have one more conversation with those no longer among us for closure. 

For photography, I would love to learn about Margarete Bourke-White’s mind when she was taking photos of a nighttime air raid on Moscow. I believe talking to her would be quite insightful.

About Jürgen Lobert

jurgen headshotJürgen Lobert

Jürgen Lobert is a Massachusetts-based fine art photographer born and raised in Germany. He received a Ph.D. in atmospheric chemistry before moving to the US in 1991. Jürgen specializes in night photography, daytime long exposures, urban exploration and infrared imagery.He has been taking photos since his early 20s, mostly using color negative or slide film. He adopted digital cameras in the late 1990s and found Nikon cameras to be most suitable for his work. Jürgen started embracing night photography after taking a course at the New England School of Photography in 2011, advanced his skills quickly and enjoys the technical aspects as much as the artistic vision required.

He started organizing night photo events through Meetup groups in 2012 and founded the Greater Boston Night Photographers in 2013. Along with organizing some 40 photoshoots annually, he also lectures at camera clubs, serves as a photo competition judge and organizes professional tours and workshops. Jürgen is an executive member of the Boston Camera Club and member of the Stony Brook Camera Club, the Photographic Society of America and the Professional Photographers of America. Jürgen was an instructor at the New England School of Photography (NESOP) until 2019. Jürgen’s photography expertise is published in camera club newsletters, his own blog and on his Patreon channel. His artwork is in the permanent collection of the Art Complex Museum in Duxbury, MA. Jürgen finds profound peace in roaming the nights in remote places. Capturing the element of time is the most intriguing part, where clouds become bands, cars are bright streaks in the roads, people disappear, stars form trails in the sky and water smooths over to a mirror finish. Night and daytime long exposure photography transform the familiar and create serene views of our surrounding, revealing beauty in the mundane, which we often rush by, but rarely acknowledge in its potential. The resulting images are otherworldly, hauntingly beautiful and serene lightscapes.

See more of Jurgen Lobert‘s work on his website. Follow him on Instagram @jmlobert

Griffin State of Mind | Donna Garcia

Posted on

We are delighted to have artist and educator Donna Garcia join our team at the Griffin as a curator and instructor. Donna will be a part of our upcoming show Spirit: Focus on Indigenous Art, Artists and Issues, and she will be teaching a one-day workshop, Marketing for Emerging Artists on Saturday, April 24th, along with her Self Portraiture class, taking place this fall. To see what gets her in the Griffin State of Mind, we asked her a couple of questions. 

Donna Garcia with camera

© Donna Garcia

Describe how you first connected with the Griffin.

Paula Tognarelli was a juror for a show that I had been selected for in New York City, and she really made me want to learn more about the Griffin.

Can you tell us about the workshop and the new classes you will be teaching at the Griffin?

I am excited to be able to share my experience in marketing and as an emerging lens-based artist, who has had to navigate ways to market my own work, in a one-day workshop, Marketing for Emerging Artists. However, Self-Portraiture is my passion. It is not just a contemplation of self, but it is a way we allows others to see us, reflects how we see the world and our place in it. Particularly during this past year, as we have all experienced an alienation of self in many ways.

We are so excited to have you join us as a curator for the Spirit: Focus on Indigenous Art, Artists and Issues. Can you tell us a little bit about the show and how a sense of spirit will influence the exhibition?

images from Spirit: Focus on Indigenous Art, Artists, and Issues

Spirit: Focus on Indigenous Art, Artists and Issues

Spirit is an initiative designed to educate the public, through lens-based art, regarding the true history of Indigenous people and recruit advocates for Indigenous issues everywhere, but with a specific focus on the US and Canada, where native lands and people аre still coming under attack. Collectively, this exhibition offers a partial glimpse, rather than a sweeping overview, of the many complex issues that Indigenous people navigate as part of their lived realities. It reflects, in part, the intricate nature of Indigenous identity. These ten artists have created images that reveal expressions of trauma, resiliency, resistance, healing, tradition, celebration and the undying spirit to preserve Indigenous culture even through the ravaging effects of centuries of colonization.

abstract woman in a dress with mirror, flowers, and tornado

© Donna Garcia – Air

As an adjunct professor you have said that mentoring students is very important. Can you tell us about why it is important to you to establish a time where students can come to you for support?

Teaching and learning the basic techniques of photography or filmmaking аre very straight forward, but learning to be an artist cannot be taught, it can only be learned. To help my students discover more about who they аre as artists and what they want to say, involves asking them the right questions, which only they can answer – that is how I view mentorship. That time of exploration where we find our own voice as artists usually happens before, after or in-between lectures.

How do you involve photography in your everyday life? How have your subjects changed during these unique times of distance and isolation?

woman surrounded by abstract lines

© Donna Garcia – Swarm

As an artist who does a great deal of self-portraiture, photography is a conduit between my self and the world outside. Photography is often a way that I visually define my role during a particular time. We all have three “roles” in time; the person we are in the present, the past and the future, so what happens when we only have the present? During the pandemic, time became elongated, stretched out, hence those “roles” stopped being linear and for me, the challenge became about dealing with a distancing or alienation of self just as much as being isolated from others.

Joan Didion - Slouching Towards Bethlehem

Joan Didion – Slouching Towards Bethlehem

 

What is one of your favorite exhibitions shown at the Griffin?

The Disappearance of Joseph Plummer, by Amani Willett. I absolutely love that work.

What is one book, song, or other visual obsession that you have at the moment?

I have read a lot of Joan Didion over the past year with Slouching Towards Bethlehem and The White Album being two that I would read again. One of my favorite quotes from her is, “I have already lost touch with a couple of the people I used to be” – Joan Didion.

 

To learn more about Donna Garcia and view her work, visit her website, and check out her Instagram, @DonnaGarcia23. 

Griffin State of Mind | Erin Carey

Posted on

Artist, curator, and educator Erin Carey had been a valued member of the Griffin Museum Community since 2019. We are so excited to have Erin join us as an instructor for  Siren Song: Exploring Poetry & Photography and Making Better Pictures: Fundamentals of Design. We interviewed Erin to hear about the origins and influences of her Griffin State of Mind. 

Image of Erin Carey

Erin Carey

How did you first connect with the Griffin?

In 2008 I became Gallery Director at New England School of Photography and with my new appointment, I was invited to participate in NEPR as a reviewer that spring. I was completely new to the professional/academic photo scene in Boston and Keith Johnson, who was also teaching at NESOP at that time, took me under his wing introducing me to everyone including Paula, who later offered me (a perfect stranger!) a lift back to NESOP so I wouldn’t miss my afternoon class!

How do you involve photography in your everyday? Can you tell us about an image or images that have recently caught your eye?

book open to black and white images of nature

© Robert Adams – Summer Nights Walking

I carry a small, fixed lens film camera in my pocket with me everywhere I go. You’ll find rolls of film in my backpack, jacket pockets, the arm rest of my car. It’s a tool that has served me well.

Since the onset of the pandemic, I have been spending a lot of time looking at and thinking about landscape as a construct. My first true love in photography was the large format, color landscape work of the 1970’s. Robert Adams has been at the forefront of my mind, “Summer Nights Walking” and “From the Missouri West.” Sternfeld’s “Oxbow Archive” has also been a close friend to me in recent months, quietly powerful and debilitatingly beautiful. Last week I attended a fabulous lecture at ICP by Richard Misrach and was reminded of how much Desert Cantos moved me so many years ago and how relevant that work continues to be.

Can you tell us about the new classes you are teaching at the Griffin?

man fixing truck with water tower in background

© Jon Horvath – This is Bliss

I am so excited about Siren Song, it’s the first time I am offering it and it is many years in the making. I’ve always felt photography has everything to do with poetry… perhaps it has to do with asking questions and leaving something to the imagination.

Has there been a Griffin exhibition that is a favorite of yours?

This is Bliss by Jon Horvath was on view last winter, right before the pandemic hit. It is a magical and melancholy essay on a disappearing town in the midwest.

What is your favorite place to escape to?

I grew up spending summers in the lakes region of the white mountains and am extremely lucky to be able to spend time there as an adult. I also live near the seacoast, so when I can’t get away to the mountains I enjoy foggy bike rides on the Merrimack river.

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

Kamasi Washington’s Harmony of Difference is on my playlist every day. It was written as a collaboration with a film maker and debuted at the 2017 Whitney Biennial. I am continually surprised by the movements and the energy.

woman with umbrella, shot through car window

© Saul Leiter

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

How can I answer this? There are so many people I could name here, historical figures, artists, deceased family members. In an attempt to keep the conversation related to photography I’d have to say Saul Leiter. I cannot imagine where the conversation might have taken us and that would have been part of the delight…no agenda at all, just coffee, a plaid scarf, a pile of books, and some stories about New York and art.

To view Erin Carey‘s work, visit her website, www.erin-carey.com, and check out her Instagram, @NegativeJoy.

Griffin State of Mind | Lou Jones

Posted on

photographer lou jones

Portrait of Lou Jones

Photographer and long time board member Lou Jones has a bright energy that emulates well from his personal work and more importantly was evident in his responses to our Griffin State of Mind interview.
 
Recently we asked Jones about how his journey started with the Griffin and we wanted to get to know a bit more about what his latest inspirations are. Here is what we learned.
 

Describe how you first connected with the Griffin. How long have you been part of the Griffin team and describe your role.

tuta bridge by lou jones

tuta bridge by Lou Jones

I think I visited the Griffin Museum once when Arthur Griffin was still alive. I wanted to meet him having seen his byline on so many photographs during my early career. Subsequently I was recruited by the previous executive director to join the board of directors.
 

How do you involve photography in your everyday? Can you describe one photograph that recently caught your eye?

I make my living taking pictures. I have maintained a studio in Boston for many years. A very long-time colleague sent me a photograph of myself taking pictures in the 1980s & it rattled me.

What is your favorite place to escape to in nature…mountains? beach? woods? and why?

pan africa logo

Pan Africa Project © Lou Jones

I have been traveling to Africa continuously for the last several years & found it draws me back because of its almost infinite variety in things that are completely alien to me & my world here. The continent provides almost continuous new opportunities & completely new narratives that cannot be imagined from our western imaginations. It is a cornucopia. 
 
See Lou Jones’ body of work from Africa on his website www.panAFRICAproject.org. 
 

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

Since the pandemic started I have been working on photographing how people have been dealing with the new paradigm, how it affects their lives positively or negatively, how they have adapted to the new complexities, imaginative ways to continue & what our environment “looks” like with all the restrictions.
 
mirror covid

Mirror COVID by Lou Jones

lifeguards

Lifeguards COVID by Lou Jones

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

What has been the most eye opening part of our time of physical distancing?   

The fact that the whole world can come to a voluntary standstill. I am mystified by what segments can/cannot operate inside the pandemic. 
 

If you could be in a room with anyone to have a one on one conversation about anything, who would that person be and what would you talk about?

 
jb headshot

James Baldwin

Maybe James Baldwin. He was so ahead of his time in being creative, gay & an African American. He was the darling of the “intelligentia” until he became strident about race relations. His analysis is becoming more & more pertinent & relevant today & he was ignored towards the end of his life.

I would like to talk about being an artist being so ahead of the debate & how do you maintain your resolve under such pressure. I chased him down the street in Paris once but never caught up with him.

Griffin State of Mind | Barbara Hitchcock

Posted on

barbara hitchcock in gallery

Snippet from Glasstire TV Curator Interview for “The Polaroid Project at the Amon Carter Museum of Art”

The alternative process powerhouse herself, Barbara Hitchcock gave us some of her time this past week so we could interview her via email.

She shared her latest insights with us and below are some of the ways she hops into her Griffin State of Mind.

Her strong voice in the art community has been a part of the Griffin journey for many years as she has even curated multiple shows for us.

We have always appreciated her true and authentic appreciation for the history of photography and the integration of all photographic processes to create imaginative masterpieces.

How long have you been part of the Griffin team and describe your role at the Griffin?

In 2006, Blake Fitch, the Executive Director then, and her team, established the Focus Awards and I was one of the awardees. I joined the Board of Directors shortly thereafter and continued on the Board the maximum number of terms and then became a Corporater.

I still serve at the discretion of the Board. Periodically, I have curated exhibitions displayed at the Griffin, among them William Wegman: It’s a Dog’s Life; Barbara Crane: Challenging Vision; Patrick Nagatani: Themes and Variations and most recently, Shadows and Traces: The Photographs of John Reuter.

Describe how you first connected with the Griffin.

The then director of the Griffin Center contacted me, asking me to do an exhibition at the Griffin that illustrated creative art photography, a departure from their usual practice. At that time, the center’s mission concentrated on photo illustration and journalism, highlighting the professional work of Arthur Griffin who established the Center that then evolved into the Griffin Museum.

I believe it was the 1990s. I hung an exhibition titled  “New Dimensions in Photography” that featured artists making photographs using antique or alternative processes – cyanotypes on fabric, Polaroid image transfers on watercolor paper, platinum prints and the like.

How do you involve photography in your everyday?

I’ve started to take photographs again, much more than I used to. But I have been lucky as I have continued to curate exhibitions – the most recent titled The Polaroid Project: At the Intersection of Art and Technology currently at the MIT Museum – and I occasionally write about artists and their artwork for catalogs and books.

"From Polaroid To Impossible" By Barbara Hitchcock

“From Polaroid To Impossible” By Barbara Hitchcock

Can you describe one photograph that recently caught your eye?

West Coast artists Victor Raphael and Terry Braunstein are collaborating on a series of images that deal with climate change. One dramatic, eye-grabbing image of a partia house on fire floats above palm trees into a hellishly scarlet sky scarred by black and red- reflecting clouds. A man, sitting on the edge of the house’s roof, weeps. The image is searing! Unfortunately, we know this image is not a warning, not fantasy. It is already a reality.

What has been the most eye opening part of our time of physical distancing? 

How difficult physical distancing is. You want to embrace friends and family; people want that basic warmth of physical connection. And some people just don’t seem to know how far 6-feet away really is…or their attention is on other things as they wander into your path.

What is your favorite place to escape to in nature…mountains? beach? woods? and why?

© John Reuter, “Rendering”

I’ve always loved walking in the woods and going to the beach. I grew up in houses with yards, but my brothers and I always used to play in the lots that had underbrush and rocks where garden snakes unsuccessfully hid from us. Walking in wooded parks with the sound and sighting of birds, the smell of plants, trees and fallen pine needles, the occasional deer sighting, the quietude – it is like a loving embrace. And walking barefoot along the ocean with its crash of waves on the beach is similarly magical.

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

Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway production Hamilton. The music, the choreography, the history, the emotion, the humanity. I still get goosebumps watching it!

If you could be in a room with anyone to have a one on one conversation about anything, who would that person be and what would you talk about?

Georgia O’Keeffe would be an irresistible choice. Her paintings make me weep; I don’t know why. She was such a talented, strong, independent woman who was married to Alfred Stieglitz, an incredibly strong, monumental, stellar figure in the world of art. How did they negotiate the life they shared together and apart that allowed them both to grow and succeed? That, I assume, would be a fascinating conversation.

What is one of your favorite exhibitions shown by the Griffin?

John Reuter

© John Reuter, “The Witnesses”

I have too many favorite exhibits to highlight only one. It would be unfair to the ones I don’t mention! In general, I am attracted to work that is experimental in nature, imaginative and pushes the envelope visually and intellectually. What is the artist communicating to the viewer through his/her photograph? Is there a subtle message or is the image straight forward and uncomplicated? Stop. Look. Ponder. What is being revealed?

Saba Sitton | Griffin Online Interview

Posted on

We contacted Saba Sitton to ask her more questions about her journey in life and her photography. Below you will find her bio and her artist statement. You can see her work Journeys in Between and Distances Near Away in our Critic’s Pick Gallery.

tree and fabric

© Saba Sitton, “Acacias Dream,” from “Distances Near Away”

Saba, thank you so much for taking the time to answer some of our questions for our audience. I enjoyed meeting you in Houston at Fotofest this past March. Can you talk a bit about “the present day Persian diaspora” for you and your family that you mention in your statement?

I think the experience of being part of a diaspora is different for each person, but I believe there are some common threads. For example, I feel that many from my parents’ generation have always hoped that one day they could return home. For me, home is more nuanced; the concept of home is somewhere between the two cultures, and the intricacies of that, is at the core of my creative work.

 

 

You talk about transitory instances where your present recalls the past. Can you speak about what that means to you?

For an immigrant or an exile, there is always some degree of longing for one’s place of origin. This sense of longing does not undermine or overwhelm one’s being. It is just a part of one’s existence. Sometimes a familiar scent, a familiar shape, or a gentle breeze on a summer’s afternoon, can recall a similar experience from the past. These transitory instances of time, while not easy to define, are moments when one’s awareness is threaded between the present and a similar moment remembered from the past. It is these transitory moments that inspire and inform much of my work.

I love the words you use to describe your work and journey. One phrase especially is the “poetics of migration” and “stories of exile”. Can you talk about this in reference to your work?

Over the years, I have come to know many who live in exile, and others who have migrated to different countries around the world. I have heard stories of hope, of loss, of struggle, of longing, and of reconciliation. We are all on a journey. Some journeys are more layered, others have great contrast. I often think of my work as visual poems, and these are the poetics that find their way into my work.

fabric and flowers

© Saba Sitton, “Finding Solace,” from “Distances Near Away”

What does the flower mean to you in your photographs? It seems to me that the flower is a constant. Why flowers? Do you personally identify with the flower?

The flower has a special reverence in Persian culture. Throughout history, Persians have always prided themselves in their magnificent flower gardens. In Persian poetry, a flower symbolizes life’s beauty and fragility. A bouquet of flowers is considered a precious gift symbolizing life and renewal. In my work, a flower becomes a visual metaphor for a sense of connection with a remembered past and culture.

How do you use poetry with your work?

The poems that I use in my work are written by contemporary Persian poets. Persian culture has a strong history of poetry and celebrated poets. The culture has embraced poetry as a powerful carrier of ideas. The poetry in my work is an accompanying voice. Beyond the voice, the poems are also an integral element woven into the visual presence of the piece.

Is your use of color in your photographs deliberate. Reds are predominant in your work. I see reds holding such richness and strength. Can you talk about what the colors you use mean to you?

turquoise flowers

© Saba Sitton, “A Path in Turquoise”, from “Journeys In Between”

Color has always been an important part of my work. I often work with colors intuitively. But there are times when I use colors deliberately. For example, in my work, I often reference colors that are revered by the Persian culture like certain shades of blue, turquoise, and yellow. Intuitively, I am drawn to certain colors, like the color red. These colors, in all their variations, embody certain expressive qualities that I am looking for in my work.

 

Can you tell us about Ten by Ten: Ten Reviewers Select Ten Portfolios from the Meeting Place 2018, FotoFest 2020 Biennial as so many of us missed it due to the pandemic.

The Ten by Ten exhibition showcased the work of ten artists whose work was selected by ten international reviewers from the FotoFest 2018 Meeting Place. The selected work was very diverse and displayed a richness of ideas and approaches. My series, Journeys in-Between, was one of the selected portfolios. The exhibition was well received by the community and it was an honor to have been a part of it. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, the exhibition closed early. I believe FotoFest is planning to reopen the exhibition at a later date when it will be safe to open it to the public.

What work are you thinking about doing now?

I am always photographing life around me. I often explore new locations in search of images that embody a quality of expression that I am after. I work with these photographs, along with poems, and other materials to create my work. Today, the pandemic has changed so much of our everyday experiences. I am exploring new ways to produce my work with an awareness of today’s challenges.

Is there something I haven’t asked you that you would like to talk about for our audience? 

I hope this interview will help reveal additional insights into my work. I want to thank you for this opportunity to discuss my work with you and with your audience.

Artist Statement

tree and fabric

© Saba Sitton, “Acacias Dream,” from “Distances Near Away”

My work explores the transitory instances of time when one’s awareness is threaded between the present and a similar moment remembered from the past. At times, these threaded moments have hard juxtapositions due to differences from the change of context, the passage of time, or a change of place. Other times, they blend and fuse a sense of continuity that are more fluid and often share a moment of contemplation. Oftentimes my work is a reflection on the poetics of migration and the stories of exile. As an Iranian-American artist, my work is informed by idealized landscapes and intricate designs of early Persian art. Persian miniature paintings are adorned with intricate depictions of flowers, plants, and tightly woven patterns of imaginary gardens. In Persian poetry, a flower often symbolizes a fleeting moment, a poetic remembrance

flowers 6

© Saba Sitton, “August Light”, from “Journeys In Between”

of life’s transience and fragility. In my work, a flower becomes a visual metaphor for a sense of connection with a remembered past. I often include poems in my work. These poems become an accompanying voice within the work. Sometimes the poems echo a sense of hope or longing, other times they evoke a sense of disorientation or doubt, as might be felt by an immigrant or an exile, on a life’s journey, of being in-between.

Bio

yellow and red fabric and flowers

© Saba Sitton, Distances of Resolve,” from “Distances Near Away”

Saba Sitton is part of the present day Persian diaspora. Her work explores transitory instances of time, either shared or solitary, visceral or recalled. Originally from Tehran, and having lived in Asia, Europe and the United States, Saba has firsthand experience living between cultures, languages, and traditions. Her work is often influenced by Persian art and literature as experienced and shared in a modern multicultural society. Saba studied art and design at the California Institute of the Arts and the University of Oregon where she received her MFA. She

machines and flower

© Saba Sitton, “Of Stillness Abound,” from “Distances Near Away”

has worked on art and design commissions, and has exhibited her work in solo and group exhibitions. Most recently, Saba’s work was on exhibit at the Ten by Ten: Ten Reviewers Select Ten Portfolios from the Meeting Place 2018, FotoFest 2020 Biennial, and will be a part of the upcoming exhibition The Blue Planet, at H2 – Center for Contemporary Art, Glass palace, Kunstsammlungen und Museen, Augsburg, Germany. Saba lives in the United States and spends her time between California and Texas.

Griffin State of Mind | Marky Kauffmann

Posted on

Since her first involvement with the Griffin Museum about twenty years ago, Marky Kauffmann has shown a dedication and love for the art of photography. For instance, her work has shown at the Griffin in numerous Annual Juried Exhibitions as well in a solo show of her work “Landscapes and a Prayer.”

Also, Kauffmann has taught professional workshops and lectures for us in an effort the raise up the next generation of photographers. Over the years, her creative spirit has fluidity blended with our mission to broaden the appreciation and understanding of the impact of photographic art to the world.

As a part of our Griffin State of Mind series we interviewed this creatively contagious personality to better illustrate to you the spirit of the Griffin Museum of Photography.

Describe how you first connected with the Griffin. How long have you been part of the Griffin team and describe your role at the Griffin.

Marky Kauffmann portrait

In 1996, I had an image in the Griffin Museum’s The Juried Show. That, I believe, was my first association with the museum. But when Paula Tognarelli joined the Griffin team as an intern in the early 2000’s, my interest in the museum grew.

Paula had been my student at the New England School of Photography and when she became executive director in 2006, I was thrilled!

In 2016, after I retired from teaching photography at the secondary school level, Paula asked me to join the museum’s Board of Directors as a Corporator. I have been on the Membership Committee since joining the board. In that capacity, I have used my connections at Boston area high schools and independent schools to create the Griffin Museum Secondary School Photography Teachers’ Alliance.

Every spring the Griffin hosts a luncheon for the Alliance, bringing together public and private school teachers to share ideas and forge bonds. And every winter, we sponsor an exhibit of their students’ work at Regis College’s Carney Gallery. In these ways, I have expanded membership to the museum.

 

How do you involve photography in your everyday? Can you describe one photograph that recently caught your eye?

Rachel Wisniewski Memento

Photo by Rachel Wisniewski from her series “Memento”

I remain primarily an analog photographer and have a darkroom in my studio in Somerville. If I am not shooting film, I am printing in my darkroom, so making photographs is part of my daily life.

I recently went to see the exhibit, THE FENCE, brought to Winchester thanks to the vision and foresight of Paula Tognarelli. Many of the images on display caught my eye but “12 years old. My house. A family friend” and “13 years old. High school parking lot. My English teacher” by Rachel Wisniewski from her Memento portfolio held particular resonance.

 

 

 

 

What is one of your favorite exhibitions shown by the Griffin (see online archive here ).

There have been so many extraordinary exhibits put on by the Griffin that it is difficult to choose just one. But Nancy Grace Horton’s exhibit, Ms. Behavior, at the Griffin’s satellite gallery at Digital Silver Imaging in 2014, is a standout.

When I saw the show, I simply laughed out loud. Horton’s images use wit and satire to skewer prescribed gender roles. As a life-long feminist, Horton’s sly, piercing humor captivated me.

What is your favorite place to escape to in nature…mountains? beach? woods? and why?

In 1990, my husband and I bought 86 acres of land on Cape Breton Island off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada. We built a small cabin there, surrounded by ocean, mountains, and pine forests.

It is the place where I am most at home and most at peace. We have traveled there every summer for thirty years, and since retiring, we have also gone in the fall. But because of the surging cases of COVID-19 in the US, the Canadian border is closed until further notice. I find it utterly heartbreaking that I can’t go there this summer.

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

I recently read the novel, On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous, by Ocean Vuong. The visual-ness of Vuong’s writing startled me. You get a glimpse of it just by reading the title of the book! And Sara Bareilles’ songs, especially her version of Elton John’s Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, got me through the spring.

What has been the most eye opening part of our time of physical distancing? 

I found and find the act of social distancing to be excruciating. Not setting eyes on my son for several months was hell, quite frankly. So, what is “eye opening” metaphorically, is that this could happen! We can be put in the position of not being able to be with the ones we love.

And literally “eye opening?” It was one of the most beautiful springtimes I have ever witnessed in New England. With less to do, there was more to notice. And that’s what photographers do – we notice, as in, make note of, and call attention to, the world.

If you could be in a room with anyone to have a one on one conversation about anything, who would that person be and what would you talk about?

I would like to be in a room with Francesca Woodman, the young photographer who killed herself at the age of 22. When I read about her life and work, I find parallels within my own life that I would love to explore with her. And I would like to tell her that I am inspired by her creativity everyday.

I find parallels within my own life…”         

Pivotal to Woodman’s career was her year spent in Rome, Italy, as part of the RISD’s Junior Year Abroad Honors Program. She was nineteen. I, too, spent my nineteenth year studying abroad – in Paris, France.

There, I studied with French photographer Claude LeMont and artist Tony Thompson. For me, the experience was also life altering, cementing my love for photography. I have always found Woodman’s self-portraiture to be extraordinarily inventive. She experimented wildly with clothing, props, and environments. I also try to be inventive with my photography, experimenting with darkroom techniques and chemistry.

In her essay, “On Being an Angel,” Gianni Romano writes that Woodman “utilized the female body to gain self knowledge.” In Fred Turner’s essay, “Body and Soul,” he states that Woodman “left behind images of an extraordinary inner life.” Her use of photography in these ways resonates with me, as I, too, explore themes around the female body and the female experience as a means of gaining self knowledge and an understanding of the life I have lived.

Why did she jump out of that window on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in 1981? I wish I could ask her. Her premature death and the loss it presents to the art world are incalculable.

 

See the work of Marky Kauffmann on her website. 

Griffin State of Mind | Julie Williams-Krishnan

Posted on

Yet another Friday has rolled around and we are back at in again in the Griffin State of Mind. We are ready for the dawn of the weekend, but before you settle beside your Friday night campfire with some toasty s’mores, let’s see what our Director of Programs has to say about what puts her in the Griffin State of Mind.

Julie has been with the Griffin for ten years now and currently working as the Director of Programs. Some may say she is the “woman behind the curtain” when it comes to all things classes, programs, and talks hosted by the Griffin.

More recently we got the chance to get to know more about her green thumb and outstanding love for fine art photography.

If you could be in a room with anyone to have a one on one conversation about anything, who would that person be and what would you talk about?

jwk headshot

Julie Williams-Krishnan      by Elizabeth Dourian

I can think of three people off the top of my head, all artists, and all who carved time out for their practice against the current of everyday life – Julia Margaret Cameron, Virginia Woolf, and Allen Ginsberg.

I know there are many more people I would like to talk with, but these three came into my life as beacons at important developmental moments, so it would be nice to meet with them, learn more from them, and have the chance to thank them each for their legacy and vision. 

 

What is one of your favorite exhibitions shown by the Griffin?

jt fake food

© Jerry Takigawa

 

One of my favorite shows at The Griffin was False Food by Jerry Takagawa. It was soon after I began my role at the museum, and I was able to meet the artist, hear Paula’s curatorial perspective, and see how photography as fine art was a vehicle for this important environmental message. 

 

 

 

 

Describe how you first connected with the Griffin. How long have you been part of the Griffin team and please describe your role at the Griffin.

I first connected with the Griffin ten years ago, when I moved to the area from London. I was so excited to learn of the Griffin and its focus on fine art photography – it was one of the first phone calls that I made.

I volunteered there that first summer and then I was then part of the community, taking a few classes and attending shows and events for five years. In 2015, Paula approached me to ask if I would like to be the Director of Programs.

I was delighted, and have enjoyed that role very much. As the Director of Programs, I help organize talks, programs, and classes for the museum.

Can you describe one photograph that recently caught your eye?

This photograph [Ta-Dah Pour Deux by Gary Nellis] was recently featured in YourDailyPhotograph.com.

This photograph captures a moment of stillness in performance, a spotlighted duo in shadow, high above the world. It feels nostalgic, it captures the imagination, and the composition keeps my eye and my spirit of adventure roving around the image with excitement. It shows comfort in the midst of risk. 

 

 

…my spirit of adventure roving around the image with excitement “

How do you involve photography in your everyday?

I am always thinking about photography. In addition to my work at the museum, I follow various artists on Instagram, follow blog postings, stay connected to the photography happenings in the Boston region, I am involved in a “salon” group where we discuss our own work, I photograph, and I teach photography.

Ta-Dah Pour Deux © Gary Nellis

What has been the most eye opening part of our time of physical distancing?

Well, from the museum point of view, social distancing has allowed us to focus on the tools of virtual connection to stay together as community, and it has broadened our reach. We are now able to regularly connect with photographers and friends outside of New England. 

So, though we have not been able to meet in person, we have connected in new and exciting ways with people across the US and internationally during this time.

On a personal level, I have wanted to grow a vegetable garden for seven years, and I am now focusing on tomato seedlings, growing beans up poles, and planing those potato spuds that have started sprouting! Can’t wait to harvest these things!!!

What is your favorite place to escape to in nature…mountains? beach? woods? and why?

I love to go to the ocean, or a lake, or a river. Water soothes me, the power of the ocean tides awe me, the river current carries life. I grew up on an island in the middle of a swift and wide river, so water has always been my go to place for calm. 

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

I have been journalling a bit – a bit like the gardening – I am enjoying having time to slow down, to think, to plan, to ground myself.  My seedlings and the growing plants are my visual obsession at the moment!

 

MENU