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Photographic Journeys: Three Visions
December 3, 2011 – January 16, 2012

SEARCHING FOR THE ESSENCE OF THE COLORADO PLATEAU
In the fall of 2010 the Museum of Northern Arizona welcomed three photographers as artists-in-residence. Rick Braveheart of Columbus, Ohio; Jim Knipe of Radford, Virginia; and Prescott Lewis of Ashland, Oregon came to northern Arizona to spend three weeks in search of subjects that conveyed to them the essence of the Colorado Plateau. MNA’s new exhibit Photographic Journeys: Three Visions is the story of their exploration of the human environment, open spaces, light, and atmosphere of this region. This exhibit will be open to the public on Saturday, December 3, 2011 through Sunday, January 16, 2012.

Fine Arts Curator Alan Petersen said, “One of the goals of MNA’s artist-in-residence program is to develop new insights and understandings of the Colorado Plateau region through the artistic process. The program offers artists the opportunity to pursue their work, while immersed in the inspiring landscape of northern Arizona and the Colorado Plateau. The three photographers stayed in a historic home on the Museum grounds and had access to studio facilities, and the Museum’s library and collections for research. However, most of their time was spent exploring northern Arizona and Flagstaff in search of subject matter.”

As a Native American, Rick Braveheart (Iroquois/Tuscarora) feels guided by the principles of walking gently upon the earth and honoring the land, its people, and creatures in order to help maintain harmony in nature. One of Braveheart’s goals as an artist is to share the beauty of the natural world and to inspire viewers to recognize the importance of doing their part in maintaining it for future generations. The works that make up his series “Walking with the Ancient Ones,” many of which will be in the exhibition, convey a sense of timelessness, a quality that Braveheart seeks to instill in his work. He writes, “With slow, mindful observation and reflection, the subtle details of the subject, its past, and relationship to its surroundings reveal themselves. The length of a shadow explains the time of day, a blurred leaf exposes a gentle breeze, and a white frost on a leaf conveys the chill of a late autumn morning.” Braveheart’s images achieve that goal through their poetic and almost dreamlike quality.

With respect to the works that he produced while in northern Arizona, Jim Knipe states, “I found an astounding beauty in the emptiness and vacuity of this space. I have come to appreciate this feeling of loneliness, this sense of isolation and separateness. It is the air, the openness, and the emptiness that I have attempted to articulate. If the images are successful, I trust that the viewer will feel the wind and smell the air that encapsulates you. And most of all, I hope the viewer can feel the resolute independence and uniqueness that this sparseness holds.” Knipe’s imagery depicts his interaction with often idiosyncratic elements found within the landscape. Many of his works reveal a wry sense of humor that emerges from the apparent dislocation of man-made forms found in an austere landscape.

Prescott Lewis creates complex, technically demanding, photographic montages assembled from dozens of negatives, color matched manually, and then assembled. He uses traditional film and photographic paper. Lewis recalled, “As a child I “was transfixed by the infinite rows of plowed fields and the towering electrical transmission lines that march across the landscape. To this day I am still struck and amazed by the human signature wherever I go and increasingly share contemporary concerns regarding our impact on the natural world.” Lewis’ photomontages are richly imagined and executed views of the interaction between human society and nature. The human elements in his images often seem incongruous, revealing our paradoxical relationship with the natural world.

Museum Director Robert Breunig added, “The work in Photographic Journeys by Braveheart, Knipe, and Lewis documents their deep exploration and makes a significant contribution to the artistic legacy of the region, and to our understanding of our home. Revealing nuances in these three fresh perspectives are often lost to those of us immersed in our daily lives. This exhibit invites us all to take another look at scenes and structures that we often accept without a second glance.”

There will be a gallery talk by Rick Braveheart and Prescott Lewis on December 2 at 2 p.m. at the Museum.

Photo:
"Time Traveler" by Rick Braveheart