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Catalog Covers |
Winter Tide on Plum Island, 2011
New Life, 2008 A self-taught photographer, Juergen Roth was born and raised near Cologne, Germany, and has lived in Brookline since 2001 with his wife Helen and daughter Nina. New Life, a photograph of the leaf of a rose bush, was taken in Brookline's beautiful Minot Rose Garden. With its vibrant green color and intense veins, the photo represents the beginning of a new life; it conveys a new energy to make dreams come true.
Snow Cone, 2004
Woman with Butterfly, 2005
Woman Juggling, 2003
Ginko, 2009 Courtesy of the Adelson Galleries, private collection
Provincetown Lobster Boats, 2007
A Stroll Down Newbury Street, 2007
Reflections in the Liquid Wall, 2006
Tree Top Kaleidoscope, 2006 I feel it is important to let my audience know how I see when I create a work of art. My world of vision is slightly skewed from most other people. I have been legally blind in my left eye since birth. I'm not sure if this handicap is a blessing or a hardship when it comes to painting, but regardless, I'm afraid to paint any other way. I'm not sure how my blindness affects my painting or how my paintings would look if I had perfect vision, but the more I think about it, the more it scares me. I just paint with the same arsenal of tools that any other artist paints with; a lifetime of seeing the world through the same set of eyes day in and day out and the art education I've been fortunate enough to have throughout my lifetime. My artwork is a direct reflection of who I am. I don't paint uncharacteristic to my personality as a human being. Everything I do on canvas is premeditated, from the start of the composition to the last brush stroke. My style is realism and I choose compositions that engage me through color, shape, and narrative. My subject matter includes anything and everything. I don't like to pigeon hole myself as a certain type of painter because I constantly want to be developing my craft and my creativity throughout the years. Tomorrow I may be an abstract painter who knows. For me art is an everyday awakening whether you actively put your brush to the canvas or mentally capture a moment in your daily routine that would make a great composition. My artwork is an expression of who I am and how I perceive the world. I try to explore the world with a fresh set of eyes everyday as I continue to mature and grow as an artist.
Serengeti Abstract, 2006
Wings, 2007
Southwest Abstract I, 2004 35mm Archival C-Print 13" x 18"
Of her most recent body of work, comprised of abstract images developed through the interplay between fabric and light, Wilda Gerideau Squires says: "When I first began creating photographs, my images were primarily landscapes and portraits; however, a few years ago, I began creating abstract images. I have found the technique that I use, photographing fabric, which I have manipulated into various shapes, a totally magical and absorbing process. I am continually amazed by the number of shapes and forms one can discern in a piece of folded fabric. The resulting abstracts always remind me that in everything, no matter how mundane or simple, there is always an extraordinary element simply waiting to be found and appreciated. Because of the abstract nature of my most recent images, including "SOUTHWEST ABSTRACT I", I encourage each viewer to allow his/her own "voice" to inform and inspire their viewing o f these photographs." Wilda Gerideau-Squires is an award-winning fine art photographer who has received international recognition for her abstract, human-interest and landscape images. As the jurors for the ARTROM Gallery of Rome, Italy said of her abstract works in awarding her second-place for overall excellence in their 2007 exhibition "ABSTRACTIONS": "Wilda's photographic images isolate details of common forms and exalt them, allowing us to look deeper into them, extracting their nuances, folds, shadows and highlights, making them appear bigger than life". More recently, the jurors for Women In Photography International selected a photograph of Wilda's as one of 75 images from photographers around the world for inclusion in their 25th Anniversary exhibition "THE PORTRAIT". Several of her images were also included among the finalists in the 2007 Prix De La Photographie Paris competition. Born in New York City, Wilda is a graduate of the College of DuPage and has studied at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She is an exhibiting member of Women in Photography International, the Photographic Society of America, the Royal Photographic Society - United Kingdom, the London Photographic Association, the Center for Fine Art Photography - Colorado, the Woman Made Gallery of Chicago, the Newburyport Art Association, Concord Art Association, the Lowell Art Association of the Whistler House Museum and the Arts League of Lowell. She is a supporting member of the National Museum of Women in the Arts and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Wilda is a resident artist at Western Avenue Studios and she serves on the Board of Directors of the Brush Art Gallery in Lowell, MA. Wilda's work may be viewed on her website at www.wgsgallery.org.
August Housatonic, Loosestrife, 2002, Jim Schantz, Pastel 38 1/2" by 35 1/4".
Jim Schantz says, "We belong to nature. We cannot deny that. It is nature that is our salvation and at times an awesome power that reminds us of our limitations. Our natural world provides an abundance of wealth, yet paradoxically it has become apparent that our planet is changing and expressing this change as a warning to humanity entrusted with protecting our fragile ecosystem. I have been very fortunate to be placed in a position of reflecting upon and honoring nature through art. My work allows me to focus on the poetry of our natural world. We have this gift of the landscape, which surrounds us daily with a spirit of renewal and hope. Each day anew is a feast of visual promise. Each place becomes an offering of peace and tranquility reminding us of our humanity. It is from these lessons of nature that one can respond only by honoring in some way with a deep reverence and respect." Jim Schantz uses the medium of pastel as a vehicle for expressing his unique, personal spirit and aesthetic universe. Pastels are chalk-like sticks of pigment bound together with gum arabic. Masters including Degas, Cassatt and Whistler favored pastels. Early in his career, Schantz worked almost exclusively in oil paint. His switch to pastels grew from a desire for a greater closeness to his medium, which he often manipulates directly on the paper's surface. Jim Schantz lets the rich layers of color glow through the built up layering of the pastels on the paper's surface. The gradations of color allow for delicate detail in his vast yet inviting vistas. Many of the meadows and trees appear to be a single shade of blue or green. However, closer examination shows us that the grass and leaves are multi-colored with hints of yellow, purple, and pink beneath. Jim Shantz's work invites us to view something more powerful and grander than simply layers of pastels and color. Schantz records nature in such an awe-inspiring way that we feel touched by something almost divine. We hope our cover selection inspires you to reflect on the beauty and grandeur of nature. Born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey in 1955, Jim Schantz received his Master's Degree in Painting at University of California, Davis and his Bachelor's in Fine Arts at Syracuse University. He also studied at The Hornsey School of Art, London and at the Skowhegan School in Maine. His works are in numerous public collections, including: The Center for Spiritual Life at Emerson College; Lowe Art Museum, Syracuse University; The Art Complex Museum, Duxbury MA; Nelson Museum, U.C. Davis; Rose Art Museum, Brandeis University; Skidmore College; Simon's Rock of Bard College; and University of Massachusetts. Jim has had six solo exhibitions at Pucker Gallery in Boston. The artwork on our cover this year represents an exciting collaboration between Brookline Adult & Community Education and the Pucker Gallery, 171 Newbury Street, Boston, MA. The Pucker Gallery has represented Jim Schantz since 1988. Please visit their website at www.puckergallery.com to view a catalog showing the range of his work.
Half Full, 2000, Ali: The Texture of Still Life - Ali (Alison Cann-Clift) - Cloth Painting 20" by 19 1/2".
(Ali) Alison Cann-Clift's method of creating cloth paintings is distinctive. Ali was initially inspired by work made from bits of cloth and cotton, which she saw at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. It made such an impression upon her memory that she began to experiment with making pictures from fabric. Half Full chosen for extra-ordinary spatial illusions and atmospheric effects offers a mysterious and calm setting. The viewer is invited to reflect upon the subject, handling of light and possible meaning of its objects. Ali shows how everyday domestic life items can draw us in and represent the tenor of our inner emotions and views. Ali was born in Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Ali is of Canadian heritage, and she spent portions of her youth in both Canada and Cuba. Ali's family moved to Florida in 1960 after the Cuban revolution. She came to Boston in 1967 to attend Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Ali divides her time between New England, Florida and Mexico. Her work has been exhibited extensively throughout North America and can be found in public institutions in New England, New York, Kansas City, Israel and Bali. The artwork on our cover this year represents an exciting collaboration between Brookline Adult & Community Education and the Pucker Gallery, 171 Newbury Street, Boston, Ma. The Pucker Gallery has represented Ali since 1977. She has extended the range of her art in a variety of media such as monoprints, serigraphs, drypoint etchings, pastels and aquatints. Please visit their website at www.puckergallery.com to view a catalog showing the range of her work.
Starry Night, 1988 Gerald Garston (1925-1994) - Oil on Canvas 40" by 44".
Gerard Garston's use of bold playful graphics in Starry Night rekindles in the viewer a childlike sense of wonder at nature's creations. Chosen for its invitingly abstract motif, the image magically uplifts and connects us to the beauty of the natural world. One is immediately struck by his carefully choreographed use of distinctive colors, flat, dense surfaces, and vivid contrasts of color, shape, and pattern. Never straying toward complete abstraction, his works show a love for his subject: from sports figures, to wild animals, to fruits and flowers. Part of the appeal of Garston's deceptively simple paintings resides in his ability to distill life's essential qualities by removing the clutter and confusion of everyday life. In A Good Life in Your Eyes: The Art of Gerald Garston, Bud Collins writes," If artists are indeed here to offer a constructive criticism of life's disorder, then Gerald Garston was among our kindest but most uncompromising of critics." Born in Waterbury, Connecticut in 1925, Gerald Garston was educated at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and studied with several notable artists, including painter and sculptor Kart Metzler, printmaker Harry Sternberg, and painter and art theorist, Josef Albers. He participated in numerous group and one-man exhibitions throughout the country and his work is in the permanent collections of the Fogg Museum (Harvard University), Los Angeles County Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Rose Museum (Brandeis University), and the Wadsworth Athenaeum (Hartford, Ct.), to name a few. The artwork on our cover this year represents an exciting collaboration between Brookline Adult & Community Education and the Pucker Gallery, 171 Newbury Street, Boston, MA. The Pucker Gallery has represented Gerald Garston since 1970. Please visit their website at www.puckergallery.com to view a catalog showing the range of his work.
Parade, 1998 B.A. King - Iris Print.
The play of sunlight on water captured in our cover photograph, Parade, creates a dream-like image that is almost hypnotic in its ability to make one pause and attend to the geese moving through a stream of red and gold. "Pictures of wildlife bore me terribly, says King. "They work like scientific facts. But wild elements abstracted slightly can work in a way that makes connections, that touches us mysteriously and take us out of ourselves and beyond society." "In photographing living things, whether people or animals, B.A. King's aim is to expose the true essence and soul of his subject; to catch them at the moment when they are doing the thing that most clearly typifies what or who they are," writes Liz Brooks of the Pucker Gallery. " His images exemplify his attention to detail and his propensity to always look closer, longer and more carefully at all of the creatures in the world that surrounds him." In B.A. King's own words, "We live in Paradise but many people live like they are in hell or some in between place. It is hard for people to let glory register and so they miss chances for meaning." King cast his thoughtful eye and photographic lens on a wide range of subjects and places from animals to people to landscapesÑand produces both black and white photographs and iris prints with rare honesty and grace. Born in Toronto, Ontario, B.A. King received his Bachelors degree in French Literature and International Relations from Hamilton College and later studied at the Sorbonne. After pursuing a short career as a writer, his childhood interest in photography was transformed into a lifelong passion. He currently resides in Kennebunkport, Maine and Southborough, Massachusetts. His work can be found in the public collections of the Boston Public Library; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Cleveland Museum of Art; the Worcester Art Museum; and the Fogg Museum, Harvard University, to name a few. His numerous solo exhibits include the Witkin Gallery, New York; the Minneapolis Institute of Art; the Photographer's Gallery, London; the National Film Board of Canada, and the Pucker Gallery, Boston. His show, "Places of High Wonder" is on exhibit at the Pucker Gallery, Boston from September 9th through October 5th 2006. The artwork on our cover this year represents an exciting collaboration between Brookline Adult & Community Education and Pucker Gallery, 171 Newbury Street, Boston, MA. Please visit their website at www.puckergallery.com to view a catalog showing the range of B.A. King's work and to view photographs from his current exhibit.
Opening Day, 1975 By Gerald Garston (1925-1994).
Oil on Canvas, 44" by 40".
Gerard Garston's work, Opening Day, reminds the viewer of early American folk art and the pre-Renaissance paintings of Giotto and Duccio. One is immediately struck by his carefully choreographed use of bold, distinctive colors, flat, dense surfaces, and vivid contrasts of colors, shapes, and patterns. His diverse subject matter includes everything from sports figures, to wild animals, to fruits and flowers. "I'm not a sports painter", Garston said, "but every once in a while a sport thing will pop into my head, and I'll do it". "I believe a painter should reflect his time, and sport is very important in American culture." Part of the appeal of Garston's deceptively simple paintings resides in his ability to distill life's essential qualities by removing the clutter and confusion of everyday life from his images. In A Good Life in Your Eyes: The Art of Gerald Garston, Bud Collins writes," If artists are indeed here to offer a constructive criticism of life's disorder, then Gerald Garston was among our kindest but most uncompromising of critics." Born in Waterbury, Connecticut in 1925, Gerald Garston was educated at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland and studied with several notable artists, including painter and sculptor Kart Metzler, printmaker Harry Sternberg, and painter and art theorist, Josef Albers. He participated in numerous group and one-man exhibitions throughout the country and his work is the permanent collections of the Fogg Museum (Harvard University), Los Angeles County Museum, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Rose Museum (Brandeis University), and the Wadsworth Athenaeum (Hartford, Ct.), to name a few. The artwork on our cover this year represents an exciting collaboration between Brookline Adult & Community Education and Pucker Gallery, 171 Newbury Street, Boston, MA. The Pucker Gallery has represented Gerald Garston since 1970. Please visit their website at www.puckergallery.com to view a catalog showing the range of his work.
Bim-Bim Lady: The Harvest, 2005 By Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons.
Detail of composition of six Polaroids, 20" x 24" each.
A study in contrasts and texture, Bim-Bim Lady: The Harvest, suggests the eternal promise of renewal brought forth by the season. Rich with the varied and vibrant hues of magenta fabric, smooth brown hands, buttery yellow star fruit, and gleaming silver bracelets, the photograph is alive with movement, energy, and promise. Working in large format 20" x 24" Polaroids that are brilliant in color, Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons' photographs display a strong attachment to her cultural African heritage. At the core of her work is a humanistic investigation of the complexities of identity and race, and a negotiation of differences in a world and time where experiences and stories are juxtaposed with frantic speed. Born In Matanzas, Cuba, Campos-Pons attended the Higher Institute of Art in Havana, and Massachusetts College of Art in Boston. She has exhibited extensively, both nationally and internationally, at same time mentoring numerous artists as a professor at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. Her work appears in the collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Museum of Modern Art, New York; the Victoria Albert Museum, United Kingdom; The Fogg Museum, Harvard University; and the National Gallery of Canada, among others. Along with a recent permanent installation In Monte Marcello Italy, she has exhibited internationally in Johannesburg, Venice, Liverpool, Havana, and Dakar. Currently her work is exhibited at the Inaugural Exhibition of MOAD, San Francisco; a solo show at Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, Miami; and an upcoming solo show at Julie Saul Gallery in New York. Locally, a collection of her photographs, Bojeo: Traces of Fragmented History is on view at The DuBois Institute For Africa and African American Research at Harvard University. Together with her husband Neil Leonard, Campos-Pons founded the Gallery Artists Studio Projects (GASP), a new gallery, studio, and project space in Brookline. Their vision of the community-building power of art resonates strongly with BA&CE's own, to use the medium of the catalog cover to make fine art directly accessible to the community. The artwork featured on our catalog covers this year represents an exciting collaboration between BA&CE and GASP (www.g-a-s-p.net).
Designer Protest Sign Holders, 2005 By Micah Malone. Each Holder: 57" x 39" x 2".
Micah Malone's sculptures include wall and floor space, a palette, and functional objects to achieve visual wholeness, elevating ordinary parts into an artistic statement, while not losing sight of their original function. In Designer Protest Sign Holders, he reclaims protest signs originally used to market ideas and cleverly subverts their purpose from marketing to fine art, although the distinction remains blurry. As part of the installation, Micah Malone manufactured four prototypes of a sign holder that could fulfill various protest needs. Made with epoxy and fiberglass, this structurally sound and wonderfully colorful object is built for both longevity and aesthetic appeal. In his words, "It is tempting to understand these objects as enabling devices to promote debate and cultural uprising. However, the poppy colors and stylish treatment make them more of a fashion statement than a "real" vehicle for cultural change. In this sense, they reflect a culture that produces and promotes commodities with style for just about every constituent, even those that are trying to rebel against it." Micah Malone is an artist and critic living and working in Boston, MA. He has curated exhibitions at the GASP Gallery, been a part of group shows at the Mills Gallery, Contemporary Arts collective, Las Vegas and the Arlington Museum of Art in Arlington, Texas. He is a founding contributor to the online journal Big, Red, and Shiny, where he is currently an executive editor. He graduated with his M.F.A. from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. Micah Malone's work was featured in the exhibition, "Strategic Design" at Gallery Artists Studio Projects (GASP), a new gallery, studio, and project space in Brookline founded by artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard. Their vision of the healing and community-building power of art resonates strongly with BA&CE's own, to use the medium of the catalog cover to make fine art directly accessible to the community. The artwork featured on our catalog covers this year represents an exciting collaboration between BA&CE and GASP (www.g-a-s-p.net).
Converging Territories # 9, 2003. By Lalla Essaydi, native of Morocco,
living in the Boston area. Chromogenic print, 30" by 40".
Our cover photograph is part of Lalla Essaydi's Converging Territories, a collection of large format photographs of women and children taken at an unoccupied residence in Morocco belonging to her extended family. In a practice that has recently been abandoned, young women who transgressed their traditional roles were send to such houses for a month at a time, accompanied only by a housekeeper, and spoken to by no one. Essaydi returns to the house of her confinement to photograph and reclaim the space as a place where women are seen, not hidden. She reclaims the sacred art of Islamic calligraphy, usually inaccessible to women, by covering every inch of wall space, clothing, and flesh with text that she herself has written. She uses henna, an adornment worn and applied only by women, to write the text. In Essaydi's words, "The henna/calligraphy can be seen as both a veil and as an expressive statement. Yet the two are not so much in opposition as interwoven." "Through my photographs," says Essaydi, "I am able to suggest the complexity of Arab female identity, as I have known it, and the tension between hierarchy and fluidity that are at the heart of Arab culture." Her work has been the focus of solo shows at the Laurence Miller Gallery, New York and the Howard Yezerski Gallery, Boston, and currently at the DeCordova Museum, Lincoln, MA, the Columbus Museum of Art, Ohio, and Saltworks Gallery, Atlanta. Some of the museums with her work in their permanent collections are the Chicago Art Institute, the Kodak Museum, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Fries Museum, the Netherlands. Lalla Essaydi's work was featured in the exhibition "Visualizing Diaspora/Constructing Self" at GASP Gallery Artists Studio Projects, a new gallery, studio, and project space in Brookline founded by artists Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and Neil Leonard. The artwork featured on our catalog covers this year represents an exciting collaboration between BA&CE and GASP (www.g-a-s-p.net).
Untitled, from the series "I must utter what comes to my lips," 2003.
By Ambreen Butt, native of Pakistan, living in Cambridge. Watercolor with white gouache on
wasli (traditional handmade paper), 7 1/2" by 11".
"This particular series "I must utter what comes to my lips" is a direct response to the events that happened after 9/11 and the uncontrollable nature of these events on an individual life. The figure is a venue for the viewer to enter and get involved in the landscape of the painting, which serves as a metaphor for defense, survival and escape. The paintings raise many questions regarding our social and political environment in contemporary times and yet it does not offer any outcome." Ambreen Butt. Ambreen Butt was born Lahore, Pakistan where she studied traditional Indian miniature painting before moving to the Boston area over ten years ago. Her drawings and paintings are a unique hybrid, representing her traditional background and her responses to contemporary culture. In a very personal sense, her multi-layered paintings depict her experiences as an Islamic woman living in the western world. While revealing a tension between the old and the new, her work remains respectful of the ancient tradition of miniature painting. The winner of numerous awards and fellowships, she has exhibited her work in the USA and abroad and has been invited to be artist-in-residence in many locations around the United States, Her work appears in private collections in Pakistan, USA, and Europe. Currently, Ambreen Butt is a visiting faculty member at the Massachusetts College of Art, Boston. Her work can be viewed at the Bernard Toale Gallery, Boston. The art work featured on our catalog covers this year represents an exciting collaboration between Brookline Adult & Community Education (BA&CE) and Gallery Artists Studio Projects (GASP), a new gallery, studio, and project space in Brookline founded by artist Maria Magdalena Campos-Pons and her composer husband Neil Leonard. Their vision of the healing and community-building power of art resonates strongly with BA&CE's own, to use the medium of the catalog cover to make fine art directly accessible to the community.
Swirling Veratrum, Alaska, 1993.
Christopher Burkett was born in 1951 and raised in the Pacific Northwest. In 1975, while he was a brother in a Christian order, he became interested in photography as a means of expressing the grace, light, and beauty he saw present in the world of nature. He left the order in 1979 to pursue his interest in photography. Twenty-five years later, the clarity and brilliance of his work has led him to be considered the premier color photographer of our time. He travels extensively throughout the United States using an 8" x 10" view camera as his primary tool. Because of his use of sophisticated and unique masking techniques, he is a recognized national expert in printing Cibachrome. He hand prints his 2 1/4" by 2 1/4" transparencies to 20" x 20" and 30" x 30" with incredible sharpness and rich tonality. He uses no filters, does not crop his images, and uses no digital component in his work. His purpose in making his fine art photographs is to create a direct link between the scene and the viewer; a link created solely by light. What he has created are visual "poems" that reveal something of the spiritual power of the natural world, the divine tapestry of nature. Burkett's masterful printing and numerous exhibitions have brought him international acclaim and his work is featured in many public and private fine art collections. He has self-published Intimations of Paradise, a retrospective collection of his work, and recently has published a second volume, Resplendent Light. He lives with his wife Ruth in Milwaukie, Oregon. His worked can be viewed online at www.christopherburkett.com.
Glowing Winter Aspen, Colorado, 2000.
Christopher Burkett was born in 1951 and raised in the Pacific Northwest. In 1975, while he was a brother in a Christian order, he became interested in photography as a means of expressing the grace, light, and beauty he saw present in the world of nature. He left the order in 1979 to pursue his interest in photography. Twenty-five years later, the clarity and brilliance of his work has led him to be considered the premier color photographer of our time. He travels extensively throughout the United States using an 8" x 10" view camera as his primary tool. Because of his use of sophisticated and unique masking techniques, he is a recognized national expert in printing Cibachrome. He hand prints his 2 1/4" by 2 1/4" transparencies to 20" x 20" and 30" x 30" with incredible sharpness and rich tonality. He uses no filters, does not crop his images, and uses no digital component in his work. His purpose in making his fine art photographs is to create a direct link between the scene and the viewer; a link created solely by light. What he has created are visual "poems" that reveal something of the spiritual power of the natural world, the divine tapestry of nature. Burkett's masterful printing and numerous exhibitions have brought him international acclaim and his work is featured in many public and private fine art collections. He has self-published Intimations of Paradise, a retrospective collection of his work, and recently has published a second volume, Resplendent Light. He lives with his wife Ruth in Milwaukie, Oregon. His worked can be viewed online at www.christopherburkett.com. Locally, his work is available at the Robert Klein Gallery, 38 Newbury Street, Boston, MA.
Green Oak and Golden Maple, North Carolina, 1993.
Christopher Burkett was born in 1951 and raised in the Pacific Northwest. In 1975, while he was a brother in a Christian order, he became interested in photography as a means of expressing the grace, light, and beauty he saw present in the world of nature. He left the order in 1979 to pursue his interest in photography. Twenty-five years later, the clarity and brilliance of his work has led him to be considered the premier color photographer of our time. He travels extensively throughout the United States using an 8" x 10" view camera as his primary tool. Because of his use of sophisticated and unique masking techniques, he is a recognized national expert in printing Cibachrome. He hand prints his 2 1/4" by 2 1/4" transparencies to 20" x 20" and 30" x 30" with incredible sharpness and rich tonality. He uses no filters, does not crop his images, and uses no digital component in his work. His purpose in making his fine art photographs is to create a direct link between the scene and the viewer; a link created solely by light. What he has created are visual "poems" that reveal something of the spiritual power of the natural world, the divine tapestry of nature. Burkett's masterful printing and numerous exhibitions have brought him international acclaim and his work is featured in many public and private fine art collections. He has self-published Intimations of Paradise, a retrospective collection of his work, and recently has published a second volume, Resplendent Light. He lives with his wife Ruth in Milwaukie, Oregon. His worked can be viewed online at www.christopherburkett.com. Locally, his work is available at the Robert Klein Gallery, 38 Newbury Street, Boston, MA.
Pascal Lily
Christopher Burkett was born in 1951 and raised in the Pacific Northwest. In 1975, while he was a brother in a Christian order, he became interested in photography as a means of expressing the grace, light, and beauty he saw present in the world of nature. He left the order in 1979 to pursue his interest in photography. Twenty-five years later, the clarity and brilliance of his work has led him to be considered the premier color photographer of our time. He travels extensively throughout the United States using an 8" x 10" view camera as his primary tool. Because of his use of sophisticated and unique masking techniques, he is a recognized national expert in printing Cibachrome. He hand prints his 8" by 10" transparencies to 20" x 24" and 30" x 40" with incredible sharpness and rich tonality. He uses no filters, does not crop his images, and uses no digital component in his work. His purpose in making his fine art photographs is to create a direct link between the scene and the viewer; a link created solely by light. What he has created are visual "poems" that reveal something of the spiritual power of the natural world, the divine tapestry of nature. Burkett's masterful printing and numerous exhibitions have brought him international acclaim and his work is featured in many public and private fine art collections. He has self-published Intimations of Paradise, a retrospective collection of his work and is currently working on a second volume. He lives with his wife Ruth in Vernonia, Oregon. Locally, his work is available at the Robert Klein Gallery, 38 Newbury Street, Boston, MA.
Boston Public Garden
Nixon produces his work in series, concentrating for extended periods on a single project. Like a clear shaft of light, his images glisten with sincerity, expressed through a deliberately intense journey that takes the viewer from the complexity and exuberance of his city views, to the raw and surprising familiarity of the "porch pictures," the transparent and ordered happiness of the Brown Sisters, the intimate melancholy and joy of his family pictures, the withdrawal and disturbance of AIDS sufferers and old people, and the intense physical and emotional intimacy of nude couples. A two-time Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship recipient, Nixon has published numerous monographs including Nicholas Nixon: Photographs From One Year (Friends of Photography); Nicholas Nixon: Pictures of People (Museum of Modern Art); People with AIDS, Bebe Nixon, co-author (David Godine); Family Pictures: Photographs by Nicholas Nixon (Smithsonian Press); School, Robert Coles, co-author (Little Brown); and The Brown Sisters (Museum of Modern Art). He has had solo exhibitions at the Museum of Modern Art, NY; Detroit Art Institute; Victoria and Albert Museum, London; St. Louis Art Museum; San Diego Art Museum; Dallas Art Museum; Chicago Art Institute, and San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Nicholas Nixon teaches photography at the Massachusetts College of Art in Boston and lives in Brookline, MA with his family. Our cover photograph, Boston Public Garden, shows the torso of a thirtyish male seated on a park bench with legs crossed, while the oversized face of a beautiful woman peers out from the back page of his open newspaper. The images are almost abstract representations, yet they never loses their sense of humanity.
Caballos Blancos, Keith Carter, Photographer, Beaumont,
Texas, 1996.
Called a "poet of the ordinary" by the Los Angeles Times, Keith Carter's haunting, enigmatic photographs have been shown in over seventy solo exhibitions in nine countries. Eight monographs of his work have been published including a mid-career survey, Keith Carter Photographs-Twenty-Five Years. He has appeared on the national television program, CBS Sunday Morning and is the recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts Regional survey grants and the Lange-Taylor prize from the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University. His work is included in numerous public and private collections. Keith Carter teaches at Lamar University where he holds the endowed Walles Chair of Art and was named Distinguished Faculty Lecturer.
Curiouser and Curiouser, 1998. Courtesy of Abelardo Morell, Photographer,
Brookline, MA. A re-issue of Lewis Carrolls classic, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, with illustrations by Abelardo Morell, was published in 1998. In our cover photograph, Curiouser and Curiouser, Morell creates a totally modern interpretation of Alice, imposing the original illustration by Sir John Tenniel on a slightly out of kilter, three-dimensional context of his own creation. Yet the image is perfectly consistent with Lewis Carrolls wonderful tale of puzzle and paradox, magically transforming what is ordinary and familiar, and compelling us to look from a new point of view. By juxtaposing Alice next to a towering pile of books, our perspective becomes that of a child. The play of light and shadow on the books creates a rich sense of texture and tension, as well as a slight sense of foreboding. Rather than diminishing Carrolls earlier work, this version allows us to see and appreciate Alice in a new way.
Starting Out After Rail, 1874. Thomas Eakins, American (1844-1916).
Courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Born in 1844, Thomas Eakins lived all his life in Philadelphia, with the exception of four years of study in Europe. One of the foremost artists of the 19th century, Eakins created paintings that reflected his familiar environment and turn of the century life in America. His family and friends often served as subject matter for his deeply moving portraits, and the masculine world of sport inspired many of his outdoor scenes. Deeply interested in photography, Eakins was the first American artist to bring photography to the artist's studio, both as an artistic medium and as a tool to create works of art. A gifted teacher, Eakins's contributions to the curriculum at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts helped to define it as one of the most advanced art schools in the nation.
Summer Night's Dream (The Voice), 1893. Edvard Munch (1863-1944).
Courtesy of Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. Edvard Munch was born in Norway in 1863 to a prominent professional family. His young life was shadowed by tragic events; he lost his mother and eldest sister Sophie to tuberculosis, and another sister, laura, suffered from mental illness. Munch's worldvieew and introspective artwork were profoundly shaped by these early losses: "Illness, insanity, and death were the black angels that kept watch over my cradle and accompanied me all my life." Much defined his unique style as a painter and printmaker by focusing on inner psychological and philosophical themes, rather than on the popular realism of his day. His work was considered to be a major influence in the growth of the 20th century German Expressionism and he has been long recognized as one of the first great modern painters. Upon his death in 1944, Munch donated his estate and all of the artwork he possessed to the city of Oslo, which erected the Munch Museum in 1963.
Rehearsal of the Pasdeloup Orchestra at the Cirque d'Hiver Born in 1856 in Florence Italy to American parents, John Singer Sargent lived most of his life in Europe. He was greatly influenced by Carolus-Duran (a noted French portraitist with whom he studied), the Spanish Master Velazquez, the Dutch Master Frans Hals, and the Impressionist movement. He was known for his portraits of socially prominent people of the period and was considered the most admired portraitist of his time, both in Britain and the United States. In 1907 he stopped painting portraits and turned to landscape painting, producing over 1,000 oils and watercolors. He visited the United States for the first time when he was 21 years of age and only returned for short trips. In spite of his short stays, he produced outstanding murals for the Boston Public Library, the Museum of Fine Arts, and for the Widener Memorial Library at Harvard, a project that was left uncompleted at the time fo his death in 1925. Hard to label, Sargent was considered to be the last great generalist because of his fluency with so many different painting styles.
Passion Flowers and Hummingbirds Born in rural Bucks County, Pennsylvania in 1819, Martin Johnson Heade had no formal schooling in art, yet he traveled throughout America and Europe painting portraits and scenes of daily life. He moved to New York in 1859 and was greatly influenced by the landscape painter Frederic Edwin Church. It was there that he began to develop his own personal style and lifelong interest in the fleeting beauty of nature that he translated into still-lifes and landscapes. Excursions to Latin America from 1863-1870 expanded his repertoire to include tropical landscapes and unique compositions that combined flowers and hummingbirds. Virtually ignored and unknown in his day, Heade now is considered one of the greatest American romantic painters, admired for his originality, subtle atmospheric effects, glorious light, and warmth of his canvases.
People's Federal Savings & Loan Association Bank, a building designed by Louis Henry Sullivan and erected in 1917. It brings into bold relief Sullivan's imaginative integration of organic materials into his building design, including intricate terra cotta, mosaic, and natural brick ornamentation. Louis Henry Sullivan (1856-1924) is considered by many to be the defining figure in modern American architecture. Born in Boston, Sullivan spent his adult career practicing architecture in Chicago, and was the key force in what came to be known as the Chicago School. Using steel frame construction rather than masonry, his work celebrated the vertical rise of tall urban buildings and early skyscrapers, and emphasized simple, geometric forms, often embellished with lightweight materials like terra cotta. His philosophy was firmly rooted in creating an original American architecture that reflected the spirit and needs of the day. Sullivan's work was influenced by H.H. Richardson whom he greatly respected for his ability to marry art with craft. In turn, Sullivan influenced Frank Lloyd Wright, his disciple for a short time in the late 1800s, who embraced Sullivan's vision of blending the man-made and natural worlds. Balthazar Korab is an architectural photographer whose vision is deepened by his background as an architect. His photography has been featured in over 17 major books, exhibited in numerous shows in the U.S.A. and Italy, and is part of many permanent collections. Speaking about his work, Balthazar Korab says "I am an architect with a passion for nature's lessons and man's interventions. My images are born out of a deep emotional investment in their subject. Their content is never sacrificed for mere visual effects, nor is a polemic activism intended to prevail over an aesthetic balance."
Oak Park Home and Studio, Library, Courtesy of Paul Rocheleau, Photographer, Richmond, MA. As you enter the library, the eye is carried inward by the room’s circularity, drawing attention toward its center and then upward to the vast, extended skylight, opening to the world, and blurring the separation between the built and natural environment. Considered to be the most innovative and influential architect of his time, Lloyd Wright’s work inspired generations of architects and artists all over the world. He designed over 1,000 structures, almost half of which were built; founded and ran a successful school of architecture; authored books, and was an important artist in his own right. His interest in design went beyond the exterior to the smallest details of interior space, including furniture, art glass, and other aspects of interior design. He described his “organic architecture,” based on natural forms, as “...buildings qualified by light, bred by native character to the environment, married to the ground.” Ahead of his time, Wright resisted box-like houses and rooms, preferring instead to define, rather than enclose spaces. Using subtle changes in ceiling heights and screening devices, he created fluid living environments that were defined by the user rather than the space. His building structures were modern yet completely in harmony with the natural environment in which they were situated, and his influences can be found in many homes today. Renowned photographer Paul Rocheleau has specialized in Americana for the past 15 years, focusing on three dimensional art, architecture (interiors and exteriors) and landscape architectural subjects. With over twenty-five titles to his credit, including major projects for notable publishing houses such as Rizzoli, Houghton Mifflin, and Monacelli Press, Mr. Rocheleau roams the highways and byways of the nation developing self-conceptualized projects to record and interpret the human environment, its structures, and its varied artistic expressions. He lives with his family in the small hamlet of Richmond, Massachusetts.
Allegheny County Courthouse, Main Stairway, Courtesy of Paul Rocheleau, Photographer, Richmond, MA. The Allegheny County Courthouse, one of the most impressive public buildings in America, was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson
and erected between 1883 and 1888. Embodying the "majesty of the law", it is considered to be one of the most significant monumental works of Richardson's
short-lived career (1838-1886). The "great glory" of the courthouse interior is the grand staircase, with its restraint in ornamentation, and elliptical
play of arches that offer changing vistas as one goes up or down. Renowned photographer Paul Rocheleau has specialized in Americana for the past 15 years, focusing on three dimensional art, architecture (interiors and exteriors) and landscape architectural subjects. With over twenty-five titles to his credit, including major projects for notable publishing houses such as Rizzoli, Houghton Mifflin, and Monacelli Press, Mr. Rocheleau roams the highways and byways of the nation developing self-conceptualized projects to record and interpret the human environment, its structures, and its varied artistic expressions. He lives with his family in the small hamlet of Richmond, Massachusetts.
Front Entry, The Gamble House, Courtesy of Alexander Vertikoff, photographer, and The Gamble House, Pasadena California. From the book, Greene and Greene Masterworks. Text by Bruce Smith. Photographs by Alexander Vertikoff, 1998. The elegrant front entry featured on our cover invites you into the Gamble House in Pasadena, California, an internationally recognized masterpiece of the turn-of-the-century Arts and Crafts Movement in America. Designed by Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene in 1907, the house is considered to be one of the most complete and original examples of their work.
Supposed Portrait of Jayavarman VII From the National Museum, Phnom Penh, Cambodia (detail) The serene Buddha-like image featured on our cover is, in fact, the head of a sovereign, Jayavarman VII, one of the most forceful and productive kings of the
Khmer (Cambodian) Empire of Angkor (reigning from 1181-1218). Portrayed in his maturity, his lips are set in the famous "Angkor smile," his eyes are lowered, and his expression
is one of restrained humility, as if in meditation. The simplicity of the sandstone carving perfectly complements his image of spiritual serenity.
Alabaster Lid of Canopic Jar This image is courtesy of Araldo De Luca, Photographer, Rome, Italy. The image was photographed at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Egypt, 1999. From the book, Egyptian Treasures from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Edited by Francesco Tiradritti. Photographs by Araldo De Luca. The elegant alabaster lid featured on our cover sits on top of a canopic jar (funerary urn), holding the preserved remains of Tutankhamun's internal organs. The image depicted on the lid is thought to be that of a youthful Tutankhamun. The contrast of his pale face with black almond-shaped eyes and bright red lips provides a striking image of youth and vitality. His head is framed by the nemes headcloth and crowned with images of the sacred deities, the cobra and the vulture, representing a united Upper and Lower Egypt. Araldo De Luca is an internationally acclaimed Italian photographer renowned for his images of ancient statuary and jewelry. His photographs have appeared in books and periodicals published by some of the world's most prestigious museums. Mr. De Luca's photographs, featured in the book, Egyptian Treasures from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, flawlessly and artistically document remarkable collection of Egyptian art.
Endymion (detail), 1819 Antonio Canova (1757-1822) In Greek mythology, Endymion was granted eternal youth by the goddess Artemis who caused an endless sleep to come over him, preserving for all time his youthful beauty. The story of Endymion has inspired many of the world's greatest artists, including the poets Keats and Longfellow, who saw in him a symbol of the timelessness of beauty. Perhaps the best visual representation of Endymion, capturing the essence of his youth and beauty, is in the sculpture by Antonio Canova, a detail of which is featured on our cover. Antonio Canova (1757-1822), an Italian sculptor, was recognized as the foremost neo-classical sculptor of his day. His work, "Endymion" was commissioned by the Duke of Devonshire in 1819 and became the Duke's most treasured possession. Canova himself was especially pleased with this work, saying that the marble from which it was carved was the finest quality he had ever seen. The sculpture may be viewed today as part of an outstanding private art collection at Chatsworth, U.K.
Phra Buddha Ong Luang (1998) Mark Standen is a British photographer who has lived in Thailand since 1998. Originally trained as an architect, he later pursued photography as a means of recording aspects of life and the environment. His architectural background has influenced his photographic work, which focuses on relationships between people and architecture, both from historical and present-day perspectives. His book, Buddha in the Landscape (Pomegranate Communications, Inc. 1999), is a thoughtful, lucid history of the styles of the Buddha image in Thailand, intertwined with what the Buddha image symbolizes, and an overview of Thailand's regional cultures and environment. Thailand is a land of Buddha images. No other country in the world presents such a wealth and variety of statues of the Buddha, sculpture that is both an art form and a sacred expression. Among the most striking images are the huge statues of the Lord Buddha, many rising to a height of 15 meters or more, which are to be seen in the Thai countryside. Phra Buddha Ong Luang, featured on our cover, is a typically serene Buddha, dwelling in a leafy grove that evokes both the calm and the emphasis on nature that are intrinsic to Buddhism. This photograph was taken towards the end of the year, during mid-day, to allow enough light to penetrate the trees from above and more reflected light to reach the Buddha's face. |
