Debbie Yost ~ photo '11

Debbie Yost is relatively new to the world of fine art photography, yet her work is stunningly beautiful and sophisticatedly consistent. Yost presents the beauty of fresh frozen plant life trapped in a geometric crystallization of ice. The imagery brings to mind our youth-obsessed culture with its fears of the aging process and its preoccupation with Botox. The budding artist freezes her subjects before the wilting and imperfections begin. Yost's doesn't make reference to the use of metaphor, Instead, she focuses her comments on the visual aesthetic created by the natural and reoccurring patterns found within the imagery. Yost explains:

My inspiration for this series comes from the photographic work of Karl Blossfeldt (Urformen Der Kunst), as well as the work of Edward Weston, and the allure of nature itself. I’m interested in the variety of forms, details and patterns naturally occurring in all botanicals and organics. The intricate detail within the structure of plants is captivating, providing an abstract view of nature through the repetition of shapes and patterns. I’m inspired to investigate this diverse but orderly world that sometimes goes unnoticed or taken for granted. Plants should be valued for their aesthetic, architectural structures, and my photographs depict the appearance of these structural elements. They are displayed in ice. With the density, opacity and texture both on the interior and on its surface, ice provides an interesting medium within which to observe the plants. Furthermore, the division of space, light and shadow accentuates nature’s details, while the silhouettes highlight the structure and texture. The detail present in these organic forms ultimately reveals the fundamental structure of the natural world.

Yost is one of ten artist exhibiting in photo '11 at Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago. Commissions from sales will benefit Heartland Alliance in their Human Rights efforts. The entire exhibition can be seen at gallery180.com The exhibition continues through March 3rd.



Images:
[top] Sunflowers in Ice
Silver Gelatin Print, edition of 20, 12.5” x 10", 2009

[above] Anthurium in Ice
Silver Gelatin Print, edition of 20, 12.5” x 10", 2009
Crabapples in Ice
Silver Gelatin Print, edition of 20, 12.5” x 10", 2009

Each image is available for $400.
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Christopher Shoup ~ WKCC radio interview

Christopher Shoup, one of the ten artists who’s work was selected to for inclusion into the photo ’11 exhibition at Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago, was featured in a nine minute NPR radio story this past weekend. The interview gives insight into Shoup’s process and a little background information on the selection process of the photo '11 exhibition.

"photo ’11" opened this past Friday with a catered reception, courtesy of the Institute’s Culinary School. The exhibition continues through March 3rd and the commissions from all sales will be donated directly to Heartland Alliance for their work toward Human Rights. The exhibition can also be viewed online at gallery180.com

Please feel free to contact me directly for purchase inquires.

Image: foreground: Christopher Shoup, Rock Pile, Purple Asters, Salina Township 24” x 24” • 2010 [edition of 10] $700.

Background images: Debbie Yost… More on Yost in future posts.

Christopher Shoup ~ photo '11

I started my day—yesterday—meeting with Heather Claborn, a Producer and Reporter for WKCC Public Radio in Kankakee, Illinois. Claborn is doing a story on Christopher Shoup—one of the ten Artists participating in photo '11, the National Juried Exhibition which will open at Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago on the 21st. The exhibition presents a snapshot of the imagery currently being produced with—or through—the photographic process. The show is produced in conjunction with the annual Art of Human Rights® event to benefit Heartland Alliance. Commissions from work sold will be donated directly to Heartland Alliance to help with their work in supporting human rights. Proceeds will help Heartland Alliance provide housing, healthcare, economic security, and legal services to more than 200,000 people whose lives are threatened by poverty and danger, including those living with HIV/AIDS.

Claborn is a beautiful and charming woman with a very large portable microphone. We sat down in a room, adjacent to Gallery 180, to discussed the importance of the Heartland Alliance, the photo '11 Exhibition—and specifically—the inclusion of a piece by local Artist, Christopher Shoup. The interview was an interesting experience. I rarely explain how exhibitions are created and why specific works are selected. In the case of Shoup's "Rock Pile, Purple Asters...", I was drawn to the peaceful repetitive qualities of the abstracted imagery.

Shoup photographically isolates details found in nature then repeats the image—altering, flipping as well as adding new imagery modules to a grid—creating a geometric pattern similar to that of a kaleidoscope. The final image is a culmination of complex segments resulting in an intriguing and approachable visual experience.

An exhibition catalog for the "photo '11" exhibition was produced to help in the promotion of this benefit show. Included is Shoup's statement and it reads as follows:

A drive through my native Salina Township in rural Illinois reveals blocks of farm fields interspersed with fragments of nature and remnant farmsteads. But a stop, followed by a closer exploration, reveals a complex ecology thriving within man’s landscape. There is rich soil, composed of thousands of year’s worth of prairie flora’s decomposition; there is sand, blown from the bottoms of past sloughs; farm rock piles contain granite boulders that were carried from Canada on the backs of the last glaciers, and creek beds cut through submerged limestone formations—records of ancient coral reefs.

Rock Pile/Purple Asters is one piece in a growing body of work that captures the vestige beauty of Salina Township. Its hand-tiled construction, select points of focus and impressionistic background highlight my use of the camera as a painter’s brush more than a fine arts instrument.

The Christopher Shoup interview is scheduled to air on WKCC 91.1FM, on Thursday January 20th.

Please join me for the opening reception of "photo '11" on Friday, January 21st from 5:30-7:30. Gallery 180 is located at 180 N. Wabash—at the corner of Lake and Wabash—in Chicago’s Loop. The exhibition is free and open to the public. All works are available for purchase and commissions will be donated to Heartland Alliance. The entire exhibition can also be found at: gallery180.com

Image: Christopher Shoup
Rock Pile, Purple Asters, Salina Township, 24 hand-tiled 35mm photographs; perfect mounted on MDS; sealed with polyurethane, 24" x 24", 2010, $700


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photo'11: A Photography Exhibition to Benefit Human Rights

Image: Jeff Phillips

"Tourist Crowd Encounters Storm", Inkjet / Pigment Print, open edition, 24” x 65”, 2008

January 17 – March 3
Opening Reception: Friday, January 21, 5:30-7:30 pm
Gallery Hours: Monday-Thursday 8am-8pm; Friday, 8am-5:30pm; Saturday, 9am-5pm

Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago presents “photo ’11”. This exhibition is the result of a national call for artists and presents a snapshot of the imagery currently being produced with—or through—the photographic process. The show is produced in conjunction with the annual Art of Human Rights® event to benefit Heartland Alliance. Commissions from the sale of work included in this exhibition, will be donated directly to Heartland Alliance to help their work in supporting human rights. Proceeds will help Heartland Alliance provide housing, healthcare, economic security, and legal protection services to more than 200,000 people whose lives are threatened by poverty and danger, including those living with HIV/AIDS.

Exhibiting Artists that are local to Chicago include: Jennifer Jackson [Chicago], Maggie Meiners [Winnetka], Jeff Phillips [Chicago], Ted Preuss [Chicago], Christopher Shoup [Bradley], and Debbie Yost [Park Ridge]. Additional Artists include: Ginny Mangrum [Walnut Creek, CA], James Mullen [Brunswick, ME], Gina Randazzo [Hastings-on-Hudson, NY], and Barbara Simcoe [Omaha, NE].

When the show selections were finalized, each accepted artist was asked to submit a statement defining their work. A catalog composed of the various Artist’s statements—as well as images of the included work—is available at the exhibition.

Image: Ted Preuss

"Virtue", Silver Gelatin Print, edition of 10, 14 x 20”, framed size 22” x 28”, 2006

With work featured in Zoom Magazine, Focus Magazine, and Large Format Magazine, Chicago Photographer, Ted Preuss defines his depictions of the human body as being inspired by the figurative work found in Ancient Greece as well as Renaissance, Italy. Pruess explains:

I believe there is something inherently beautiful about the human body. Using traditional techniques and a large format view camera with century old lenses, I seek to capture the elegance and natural beauty of the female spirit. My images are studies in light and form, radiating the individuality of my subjects through their emotion-laced gestures. Consequently, the images capture the subject’s warm inner beauty with a poetic and distinct vintage feel.

Jeff Phillips is fascinated by the random arrangements of public gatherings. Phillips explains:

As my crowd-spotting series evolves [image at top of post], I become better at identifying opportunities: a crowded tourist attraction, a busy intersection, and a packed subway car are all opportunity-rich environments. I look for animated characters within separate groups of people who—absorbed in their own moments—are often completely unaware of the contribution they are making to the larger scene.

Image: Jennifer Jackson

"Fuller Lane", Archival Print from Film, edition of 125, 16” x 20”, 2010

Jennifer Jackson reveals inhabitable spaces from her past. Her words and her work—poetically—tells the story:

My household turned from five to four when I was still new to this world. The home on Washington Street that makes up my first moments of life, and the only memories of my father living with us, is where my obsession with architecture began. The next three residences we inhabited; Reading Court, Fuller Lane, and Route 59, marked significant turning points in our lives.

Knowing that we would never occupy a particular space for long I grew increasingly obsessed in how one occupies a space, where they place their belongings, and how they design their environment and create a home. For me, this act of nesting mimics the manner in which one archives moments from their past. In most cases, one chooses how to store their memories as a method of coping or remembrance; we bury them to protect ourselves from pain, or they remain as fresh as the day they were created, or time picks away at the once richly layered imagery, until it fades. When one may least expect it, a memory resurfaces when confronted with a familiar smell, color, or sound. These elements trigger the memory deep within our mind until it is brought back to our consciousness.

I hope that you will have the opportunity to view this incredible collection of work—and perhaps purchase a piece to support Human Rights as well as one of these amazingly talented artists.

Photo ‘11 will be presented at Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago through March 3. An Opening Reception will take place on Friday, January 21, 5:30-7:30 pm. This exhibition is free and open to the public. All works are available for purchase. Gallery 180 is located at 180 N. Wabash—at the corner of Lake and Wabash—in Chicago’s Loop. The gallery is open Monday through Thursday from 8am-8pm, Friday 8am-5:30pm and Saturday 9am-5pm. Additional information can be found at gallery180.com.

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