Jane Fulton Alt: The Burn Book Release

Last night, I attended the book signing reception for The Burn, a newly published book presenting the work of award-winning photographer, Jane Fulton Alt. The event took place at the DePaul Art Museum and was hosted—in part—by the Ragdale Foundation. The DePaul Art Museum is relatively new to the city—it opened in the autumn of 2011. Located on Fullerton Avenue in Lincoln Park, the museum is easily accessible by public transportation [CTA brown and red line trains] and street parking was abundant. If you have the opportunity, take the time to experience this venue.

To give a little background... The Burn series of photographs are a mystical journey into the place between life, death and rebirth. The images depict the beauty, violence and regenerative power of controlled prairie burns. Alt first experienced a prairie burn during an artist residency at Ragdale in 2007. Since then, she has documented the Lake Forest prairie burns each spring and fall.

Last night's book signing event was beautifully choreographed. When we arrived, we were confronted with a larger-than-life video presentation of a prairie burn. The images flickered across a large wall and the crackle and snapping of burning wood was heard in surround sound. The numerous people in the room, sipping wine and conversing, created a surreal experience... As though we were attending a cocktail party in the burning wilderness.

The evening paused to include a presentation by Alt, defining her journey as a photographer. Clearly inspired by the mysteries of life and death, Alt began her talk by presenting a projected image of a face emerging from a pool of water. She pointed out that the image represented both the emergence of life—the first breath, as well as the cold, lifelessness of a death mask.

Alt's journey has taken her from photographing the birth of children to the last days of hospice patients... slaughterhouses and autopsies... exploring the holy cremation site of Varanasi and the Day of the Dead celebrations in Mexico. She has even photographed the result of Hurricane Katrina. But each of her images seems to include an element of hope and rebirth.

If you missed last night's event, Jane Fulton Alt will be speaking in Evanston, Illinois at Perspectives Gallery on Sunday, January 12th at 4:30 pm. If you have an opportunity, try to attend. You won't be disappointed. Jane Fulton Alt is multifaceted, has a powerful story and is an amazing public speaker. December Book Release / Speaking Engagements include venues in San Francisco and New Orleans. Additional information can be found at janefultonalt.com

Jane Fulton Alt: The Burn

 

Jane Fulton Alt, Burn 55

Award-winning Fine Art Photographer, Jane Fulton Alt will discuss her recently published book, The Burn, at the Book Release Party hosted by the DePaul Art Museum, on Thursday, November 7th from 6-8pm. The work captures the beauty and violence of controlled prairie burns. The photographs are a mystical journey into the place between life, death and rebirth. Fulton Alt explains:

While observing controlled prairie burns, I was drawn to the ephemeral quality of the moment when life and death are not contradictory but are perceived as a single process to be embraced as a whole.

The beginning of this project coincided with my sister’s diagnosis and treatment of ovarian cancer, more than four years ago. The parallels between the burn and chemotherapy were immediately revealed to me. Just as the burning reduces invasive vegetation that crowds out native plants, chemotherapy destroys unwanted growth, allowing for new healthy cells to establish themselves. These images were created and inspired with this deeper awareness and understanding of the life cycle.

The Burn, book release party will take place on Thursday, November 7th from 6-8pm—Fulton Alt will speak at 7pm—at the DePaul Art Museum located at 935 W. Fullerton Avenue, Chicago. Admission is complimentary. This event is presented in cooperation with The Ragdale Foundation and the DePaul Art Museum.

Jane Fulton Alt, a Chicago native, received her BA from the University of Michigan and MA from the University of Chicago. She studied art at the Evanston Art Center, Columbia College and the Art Institute of Chicago. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Smithsonian National Museum of American History, New Orleans Museum of Art, De Paul University Art Museum, Southwest Museum of Photography, Beinecke Library at Yale University, Centro Fotografico Alvarez Bravo in Oaxaca, Mexico, Center for Photography at Woodstock, Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center, and the collection of William Hunt. Alt is the recipient of the 2007 Illinois Arts Council Fellowship Award, the 2007-2009, 2011 Ragdale Foundation Fellowships and winner of Critical Mass for her Katrina and Burn portfolios in 2007, 2009 and 2011. She has authored Look and Leave: Photographs and Stories of New Orleans’s Lower Ninth Ward and her Crude Awakening portfolio was been picked up by multiple publications worldwide. Most recently she received the Photo District News 2011 Curators Choice Award. Jane Fulton Alt is represented by the Corden Potts Gallery in San Francisco.

Maggie Meiners, Winner of the Ragdale Prize

Maggie Meiners has been selected to receive the Ragdale Prize from her participation in the "From Nature" exhibition at Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago. The winner was selected by a committee of Ragdale Administrators who attended the opening reception to review the work. Meiners' subtle high-key composition, titled "Snow Abstract", got the committee's attention. Meiners will receive a two-week residency at Ragdale, where she will have the time and space to work on a project of her choosing. I look forward to the opportunity of reviewing the work she creates. Additional work by Meiners can be found on her web site: maggiemeiners.com. Take a moment to look through her work. There are some wonderful images.

A little background on Ragdale... from the Ragdale website:

At Ragdale we believe that time and space are not luxuries but necessary elements for creating important new work. Ragdale provides these necessities to artists in the form of two- to eight-week residencies. Add eleven other creative individuals to the mix, acres of idyllic prairie, a family-style dinner each night, and you have Ragdale.

Residency Experience
Ragdale artists come from all over the country and around the world to create, write, experiment, research, plan, compose, rejuvenate, brainstorm, and work. Residents' uninterrupted time at Ragdale is their own. In this community of unique individuals, Ragdale also offers the possibilities of dialogue and connections with other artists.

Location
Located at the historic summer home of Arts and Crafts architect Howard Van Doren Shaw, Ragdale exists in a peaceful setting adjacent to over 50 acres of prairie. Residents reside in live/work spaces in the Ragdale House, Barnhouse and Friends' studios. Ragdale is located one mile from downtown Lake Forest, and just 30 miles (only one hour by train) from downtown Chicago.

Additional information on the Ragdale Residency Program can be found at: ragdale.org

Selections have been made...

Frances Cox, Black Apricot Tree, Oil, 34 x 40"

This past April, Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago opened an exhibition titled "From Nature" to benefit the Ragdale Foundation. The exhibition was produced to help call national attention to the Ragdale Foundation and to raise money to support the Ragdale residency program. I've written about the program in past posts but basically the program allows artists—from all over the world—to attend Ragdale and create in a beautiful, serene, and uninterrupted environment.

The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago is committed to supporting the arts as well as to supporting Ragdale by purchasing at least one of the exhibited pieces for inclusion into the school's permanent collection. Actually... the school has chosen to purchase three. The pieces selected for inclusion into the school's permanent collection are: "Black Apricot Tree" an oil on canvas painting by Frances Cox [Wilmette, IL], "Blue Leaf on Stream" an oil painting on canvas by Diane Kunzler [Glidden, IA], and RK Williams' [Denver, CO] Platinum-Palladium Print titled "Fog and Light". Commissions from the sale of these pieces—as well as all other sales in this exhibition—will be donated to The Ragdale Foundation residency program.

Many of the works are still available. If you are in—or passing through—downtown Chicago, please drop by to see the exhibition. Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago is located at 180 N. Wabash, at the corner of Lake and Wabash in Chicago's Loop. You can also review the work on line at gallery180.com


Above: Diane Kunzler, Blue Leaf on Stream, Oil on Canvas, 24 x 24"


Above: RK Williams, Fog and Light, Platinum-Palladium Print, 4 x 5"

One Last Detail...

As I went through my day—today—I kept thinking about my Ragdale experience and the images that I created of the grounds. I found this wall of stones on a path near a meadow which leads to the latest Ragdale studio addition.

Details of Ragdale

As a wandered around the tranquil grounds of the Ragdale estate, I found myself photographing the details of the environment. Ragdale is beautiful even on a gray day. There is something wonderful—to visually explore—no matter where you are on the grounds. The environment helps to quiet the mind, allowing introspection. The beauty of the surroundings is the source. I only spent an afternoon and had a wonderful experience. Imagine the benefits of a residency.

Benefiting Ragdale...

The Friday night reception for the "From Nature" exhibition at Gallery 180 was a wonderful event. Many of the exhibiting artists were in attendance. And—as always—the Culinary School of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago, catered the event with amazing food and friendly service.

The exhibition was produced to help call national attention to the Ragdale Foundation and to raise money to support the Ragdale residency program. A little background from their web site... "Ragdale artists come from all over the country and around the world to create, write, experiment, research, plan, compose, rejuvenate, brainstorm, and work. Residents' uninterrupted time at Ragdale is their own. In this community of unique individuals, Ragdale also offers the possibilities of dialogue and connections with other artists."

Commissions from the sale of all work presented in the "From Nature" exhibition will be donated to the Ragedale Foundation. The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago is committed to supporting the arts as well as to supporting Ragdale by purchasing at least one of the exhibited pieces for inclusion into the school's permanent collection. Many of the works are still available. Please take a moment to review the work on line at gallery180.com


I attended another Ragdale benefit this rainy Sunday afternoon. The event was held on the fifty-acre grounds of the Lake Forest compound. I had visited a time or two before but I never had the opportunity to explore the surroundings. The environment is peaceful and spectacular... even in the rain. It's obvious why this space would be a wonderful place to create.


The main house

From Nature ~ A National Juried Exhibition to Benefit The Ragdale Foundation

I spent most of the day, on Saturday, hanging the "From Nature" exhibition at Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago. Hanging exhibitions are always like Christmas morning... opening boxes which have made their way across the country and you never know what to expect of the contents. Seeing the actual work—relative to the digital or slide representation—has always intrigued me. It's a lot like studying a painting in an art history book and then seeing that same painting hanging in a museum. There is often a disconnect. But each box that I opened this weekend resulted in finding a treasure.

All of the pieces in the exhibition are wonderful. I found myself shopping as I hung—or placed—each piece. In any case, the exhibition opens today with a reception this Friday, April 24 from 5:30-7:30. The exhibition is free and open to the public. Commissions from the sale of work will be donated to the Ragdale Foundation.

Ragdale is an artists' retreat located on the grounds of Arts and Crafts architect Howard Van Doren Shaw's 1897 summer home in Lake Forest, Illinois. The artists' community, which is situated just 30 miles north of Chicago and overlooks 50 acres of prairie, now hosts over 200 emerging and established artists of all disciplines each year. These writers, artists, and composers come from around the country and the world to work and experience Ragdale's remarkable gifts of community, tranquility, and creativity. Additional information on the Ragdale residency program can be found at: ragdale.org

Image: Sheila Ganch [sculpture], Deanna Krueger, and Renee McGinnis. Exhibiting Artist Information, Images and Pricing can be found at: gallery180.com/nature.html

From Nature - Entry Deadline

Just a reminder that the postmark entry deadline for the upcoming "From Nature" exhibition is Saturday, March 14. The exhibition—presented at Gallery 180 of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago—will run from April 20-July 24 with an opening reception on Friday April 24th. "From Nature" is a National Juried Exhibition to Benefit The Ragedale Foundation. Awards include The Ragdale Prize, a two week residency, as well as a Purchase Award for inclusion into the Permanent Collection of The Illinois Institute of Art-Chicago. Additional information and Prospectus are available at gallery180.com I look forward to reviewing your work.