Posts from ‘Photography’
“Here is the new Bison Bromoil, another first for the Jackson art scene.” - David Brookover
For the past five years Jackson, Wyoming based photographer David Brookover has been immersed in platinum palladium prints, gorgeous minimalist images of landscapes, southwest architecture, and a subject new for Brookover, Yellowstone’s wildlife. Brookover continues to explore that photographic medium.
At this writing,(April 25, 2011) platinum is trading at $1,836.75 US an ounce, while palladium is at $775 US an ounce.
Those prices may be a little stiff, even for Brookover! Whether they are or not, the photographer will soon introduce his new Bison bromoil print to the Jackson arts community, as well as to the world at large. Brookover’s works are part of private collections around the world. Brookover is often at his gallery, on the corner of Gaslight Alley in downtown Jackson. An unusually accessible photographer, he loves to talk about his printing processes and tell the stories behind his hallmark photographic prints. The practice has helped win Brookover a devoted following.
“I am very pleased with the bromoil prints we have done and will be introducing a few more this year,” says Brookover. “The printing process has been around for over a 100 years and has (like the platinum palladium prints we showcase) a proven archival track record that our collectors appreciate. This new bison image will be framed by the world renown Randolph Laub. Randolph is famous for his one-of-a-kind profiles and finishes, handcrafted individually to fit each image. I am honored to be amongst his client list ; that list includes Irving Penn, Edward Steichen, Albert Watson and Herb Ritts. We look forward to showcasing photography as we feel it is meant to be.”
The new bromoil print will be in the gallery June, 2011. Brookover has also switched up his downstairs gallery space and invites the public to stop by to take a look.
Want to learn more about bromoils? Brookover suggests this site: http://www.saelon.com/bromoils/bromoils.html
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The Jackson Hole Art Association is changing up its Studio Tours format. Long before Jackson’s Fall Arts Festival 2011 gets underway artists will be able to showcase their work at the Center for the Arts Lobby beginning August 5 and continuing through September 30, 2011. The tour, turned show, is entitled “Artists’ Open Studio.”
“It will be a little more informal,” says the Art Association’s Jenny Dowd. “We will showcase art by artists involved in the Studio Tour.”
Artists will display their art (at the Center for the Arts) and have opportunity to show their work. They will also be able to schedule individual appointments to their own working studios. If an artist has an open weekend, they may provide scheduling details alongside the art.
A partial list of participating artists includes: Natalie Goss, Huntley Baldwin, Terry Chambers, Dee Parker, Susan Thulin and Laurie Thal.
Travis Walker may be designing this year’s promotional card; not confirmed. At this writing, no formal opening reception is planned, but stay tuned! For more information contact Jenny Dowd: jenny@artassociation.org.
Joe Riis is a wildlife photojournalist, a National Geographic Young Explorer and an iLCP photographer and biologist. And he will share his experiences when he appears at the Jackson Hole Community School on Tuesday, March 22, 2011. The talk begins at 6:00 pm.
Just a few weeks ago the Smithsonian’s new collection of wildlife photographs made the news. Their cameras were hidden, and referred to as “camera traps.” Here in Jackson Hole, and throughout the Yellowstone region, we’re awash in great photography; this place is a shutterbug’s dream. So it takes a special eye, a way with a lens, to catch our attention when it comes to wildlife photography. The Smithsonian’s shots were notable for their fish eye view of animals snared by camera traps–and Riis’ wildlife images remind me of those Smithsonian shots. And another photographer’s work fits into this style envelope: Michael Forsberg.
Like Forsberg, Riis is a midwesterner; hence, I checked out his Missouri shots. My short time living in the midwest—back in the late 60′s and early 70′s—included a few trips to the Ozarks. There’s a rustling hush to that
landscape. Sit quietly on a bed of dropped leaves, dangle your toes in the river, and through the silence you begin to suspect some kind of miracle to happen. Emerald blades peep through those mudflats; a giant polliwog slips away from the underside of your boat.
Riis’ Pronghorn Migragtion portfolio is stunning. It is not an easy task to track pronghorn–my one foray into the Gros Ventres with a tracking group taught me that (I hope to do it again). We were literally washed out of the Upper Slide Lake area by a series of thunderstorms—clay roads turned to slip and our four-wheel-drive vehicle did not hold much sway. We spotted only one family of pronghorn that day, and it took six people with high powered binoculars, spotting scopes and lots of patience to find them. Riis’ series of migrating pronghorn captures pronghorn on red mountained hillsides, negotiating barbed wire fences, fording rivers—-leading one another through the valleys and harsh conditions that make up their lives. It’s an incredible photographic journal.
Joe Riis’ presentation is free and open to the public. Contact Sarah at 307-733-5427 or email sdrake@jhcommunityschool.org for more info.
Jackson photographer Jon Stuart is the man behind the scenes of the Art Association’s (A.A.) Makarapa and Vuvuzela, opening March 4, 2011 in the Artspace Loft Gallery. On exhibition through April 28, it opens with a March 4th reception at 5:30 pm.
No end time! Stuart must be bringing good wine.
The show tells the story of South African national identity through a series of portraits shot by Ian van Coller. In 2010 the FIFA World Cup contest was held in South Africa for the first time.
“Sixteen years after the end of apartheid this event represents a particularly important time in South African history, where South Africa was able to stage a massive “coming out” party for the rest of the world,” notes A.A. Images of football fields, fans, and all the colorful energy World Cup created are the show’s focus. Wild headgear, known as makarabas, were in great evidence during World Cup. Inspired by mining hard hats once synonymous with apartheid black migrant workers, these helmets are now symbols of joy and identity.
“I looked at some other work of Ian’s, but I knew he had been to South Africa for the World Cup. And this subject seemed so current,” says Curator of Photography Stuart. South African soccer fans are particularly “colorful” and are known for their trumpeting of Vuvuzelas and their outrageously adorned headgear. Today, these mining helmets have been transformed into colorful symbols of a uniquely South African national identity, and are now donned by blacks and whites.
www.worldcup2010.ianvancoller.com
Class note:
You don’t see the word “wonky” often; but it popped out at me in an Art Association posting. Can’t ignore wonky. “Working Past the Wonky Stage in Clay” is a fine opportunity for those who love the clay, but the clay reserves its affections. Instructor Dean Stayner will help you get that pot centered, shaped and pulled, glazed and ready for its close-up. The class meets Tuesday evenings, April 12-May 24. Registration deadline is April 1; register by phone at (307) 733- 6379. www.artassociation.org
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The Heather James Gallery currently features some way out, cool psychelic art.
Pioneering “way out master” Pablo Picasso is represented by painted vessels new to the gallery. Picasso’s work will influence art through eternity but the work of two artists, Carlos Betancourt and Robert Walker, caught my eye.
Gallery director Lyndsay McCandless notes “Robert Walker’s carved-acrylic paintings transport the viewer to a meditative, internal place of creativity. His repetitive patterns, lines and colors create an otherwordly atmosphere that falls somewhere between reality and dream. His work is very process-oriented, and the actual creation of it
is a meditative experience in itself.”
I get a little dizzy looking Walker’s work–but I’m also transported. His colorful, tidal textures are evident even in images of the work, an unusual effect. Ribbon-like ocean vortexes; a million whirling hand-printed African skirts. We’re bound for a parallel universe.
Wikipedia describes C-prints (like Carlos Betancourt’s) as prints “that can be exposed using digital exposure systems such as the Durst Lambda, Océ LightJet and ZBE Chromira, yielding a digital C print (sometimes called a Lambda print or LightJet print). These are exposed using LEDs on light sensitive photographic paper and processed using traditional silver based chemistry.”
Kudos if you comprehend that technology. McCandless says Betancourt best describes his work.
“I explore selective recollection of images that generate feelings of happiness to create artworks that explore beauty,” says the artist. “I play with the forces of personal and collective memory all in a communion that can not be separated. The resulting artworks I consider magical ritualistic compositions empowered by the secrets and mysteries of their beauty.”
Here, in X-ray detail, are explosions of petals & pistols, sepals and stamens.
“I had never seen a truly iconic image of lightning hitting the high peaks of the Tetons and had envisioned this photo for at least a couple years. With patience and a little luck, the perfect storm finally pushed into the mountains, and I watched the intense clouds brew for several hours before deciding I had a chance of making the shot. It was 2 a.m. and I was the only one around…driving through GTNP was both exhilarating and daunting as all I could see was a wall of blackness fronted by a veil of occasional lightning strikes. These powerful stabs of light were my only gauge of the storm’s progress as it slowly engulfed the Teton Range and headed [straight] toward me.” ~Jeff Diener
There’s another photog in town.
In truth, Jeff Diener has been around Jackson and the Greater Yellowstone region for 12 years, doing very well for himself shooting outdoor and adventure shots for corporate sports clients like Cloudveil, Patagonia and Title Nine, and popular sports journals like Outside, Mens Journal and Backpacker. The work’s been lucrative, but now Diener wants to bond a little more with the world of fine art. And to that end, he’s built a new website, www.jacksonholegallery.com. (On this blog, you’ll find a link to his site under Arts Links.)
There’s something in the water…I’ve not researched it, but if anyone can point to a Jackson Hole sector exercising more entrepreneurial gumption than the arts, I’d like to hear about it.
Diener says his new site offers over 3,000 hand-picked images of Jackson, the Western U.S. and several international destinations. The site is the most recent venue to offer a way for photography lovers to search for new images. Featured galleries and photos guide visitors, and Diener has supplied ways to search for images via keywords and browsing. It’s a full-service photography and social-media connected site.
Diener talks about the inspirations for his work.
“The site has a high-end, well edited collection of landscapes available for fine art print purchase as well as outdoor adventure & active lifestyle pics on tap for stock photo licensing. The locations represented span the western U.S. and the world with a focus on Jackson Hole and Grand Teton National Park. (The collection) is growing….national parks, national forest lands and outdoor sports including skiing, trail running, backpacking, snowshoeing, hiking, camping, mountain biking, fly fishing, mountain climbing….everything under the sun including walking the dog, horse grooming, cruiser biking and tons of fun lifestyle images.
Conceiving and capturing powerful and soulful moments has been the driving force for my photography and provides the fuel for new work. I’ve spent the past fifteen years traveling the western U.S. and the world making iconic adventure sport and active lifestyle images for commercial clients.
Allan Bard once wrote that ‘there is a lure to the backcountry, to the unexplored, that is like the magnetic draw of the Promised Land to a wandering pilgrim.’ Whether deep in a wilderness river canyon or
planning locations for an upcoming shoot in the jungles of Thailand, I’ve always felt that draw. My hope is that the images I create give a window into the incredible beauty of wild places, my “Promised Land”, and that this imagery gives the inspiration for others to pursue stunning locales and memorable moments whenever possible.”
February 7-9 and Feb. 11-13 2011, getting-famous glass blower Charlotte Potter will hold two glass blowing workshops at The Factory/Teton Art Lab in Jackson.
As far as Potter knows, these are Jackson’s first glass blowing workshops. Material properties of molten glass, basic techniques and some “non-traditional” practices will be examined. Students will work in teams, doing “couples skill-based drills with material exploration to conclude in a series of glass objects.” Hands-on practice is supported with lectures and demonstrations.
Potter, who last year received her MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design (considered by many to be the country’s most prestigious arts university), says she is thrilled to pioneer a new arts program. Her time at RISD 
has been transforming. If you are a Jackson chick, you probably have a pair of Potter’s earrings. I took my blue ones right out of her ears back in the day, when Potter was a SRB wait person. If you frequented Teton Art Lab’s earliest exhibitions, you remember Potter’s cutting edge, wickedly imaginitive glass wildlife wall trophies.
She is in awe of glass. “Glass has binary qualities cloaked with competing characteristics: liquid and solid, elastic and brittle, captivating and humbling,” says Potter. Before she embarked on her graduate studies she wasn’t really “clear” about why she was into glass, compelled as she was to work with her medium. Gradually, she became deeply focused on traditional glass-making; she now understands glass as an experience that culminates in a tangible object.
“Graduate studies at RISD required self-analysis and alert questioning of why I remain…inspired by hot glass as an artistic medium. Integral to the glass blowing process is [one's] body, and working with an assistant. Perhaps for this reason much of my work is concerned with the way people relate to one another, and being grounded in the body….I am curious about the ways in which humans relate to one another and…I court the allure and illusion of fusion.”
Potter believes that blowing glass immediately locates a person in their body, and quickly reveals dexterity’s importance. The process requires developing muscle memory crucial to creating an object.
“In my own studio practice, I am not wedded to glass or glassblowing, however I remain inspired by my native material, returning to glass studies when mystified [by] an idea. I believe I will always dip back into the well of glass for stimulation.”
Tuition for Potter’s class is $300. To register, call 307.699.0863 or email info@tetonartlab.com. To learn more about Potter’s impressive achievements, awards and exhibitions, and her art, log onto her website at www.charlottepotter.com.
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Before he left office former Wyoming Governor Dave Freudenthal announced the recipients of the 2010′s Governor’s Arts Award. Jackson’s own arts education non-profit pARTners is a recipient, and the group will accept that prize on February 11, 2011, in a celebratory event at Cheyenne’s Little America. The Wyoming Arts Council (WAC) award recognizes arts groups and individuals providing outstanding arts services to Wyoming.
“I think pARTners is a great fit for the award because we have such a strong, sixteen-year track record of bringing the arts into local classrooms to improve learning,” says the organization’s Matt Daly. “Each year we help students at every grade level participate in the creative process. I think the fact that Governor Freudenthal recognized pARTners for the award indicates the important place the arts have in our local schools. The arts can be integrated into every academic discipline, offering new challenges to all students. PARTners could not do our work if there weren’t teachers and administrators, artists and arts organizations who are all willing and eager to collaborate to bring the arts into the classroom. For us, receiving the award confirms the value Teton County places on the arts in the education of our young people.”
Congratulations, pARTners! To learn more about this arts non-profit and its award, log onto www.edu-partners.org/
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Jackson based photographer John Richter, who opened his shop on King Street last summer, has a new image, “Thanksgiving.” An edition of 250, the shot pictures Jackson Hole’s iconic Mormon Row barn. And though he’s seen lots of sunrises in his photographic career, Richter says this shot takes in one of the most beautiful sunrises he’s ever seen over the Teton Range.
“It was 20° below zero Thanksgiving morning, and I was struggling to record the beauty being presented to me as the biting cold literally sunk its teeth into my hands,” says Richter. “I could only imagine the hardships endured by the settlers who built this homestead a century ago!”
Stop into John Richter’s gallery, say hello to our new neighbors, and check out this and other images on display. It’s a riot of color in there, and the space transformed, now a den-like venue, dramatically lit. www.johnrichterphoto.com
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An artsy party benefitting theater in Jackson takes place February 5, 2011. The Madame X “Le Cabaret Artistique” cuts loose 6-9:00 pm at the Center for the Arts in Jackson. $100
buys you a festive evening enjoying the great music and talents of headliners Nicole Madison and Pam Drew Phillips, dinner, wine & dessert. Over 40 talented Jackson artists will take the stage. Proceeds benefit Off Square Theatre Company.
For information and to purchase tickets phone 307.733.3021. www.offsquare.org