Baldwin Gallery exhibition brings world-class photographic art to Middle Tennessee
Constellation shines, offers diversity of styles and processes
While there’s no shortage of terrific photographic art created in Tennessee, it’s a rare opportunity to see the work of world-class photographic artists the caliber of Beth Moon, Louviere + Vanessa, and Debbie Fleming Caffery on local gallery walls. The new exhibition at Baldwin Gallery brings the art of 15 fine art photographers to Murfreesboro, courtesy of Obscura Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The power of the exhibition is that it offers such a diverse sampling of photographic styles and processes. The photograph that greets you when you enter the gallery is Octans, a luminous nocturnal image of an ancient baobab tree photographed by Beth Moon, an artist I have admired for years. In Octans (which is the name of a constellation in the southern sky), a brilliant night sky glows behind the gnarly branches and thick trunk of the old tree, which is rooted firmly in the rocky soil below. According to Moon’s artist statement, research has shown that trees grow faster when exposed to cosmic radiation. The tree connects heaven and Earth, literally.
Octans is an archival inkjet print on cotton rag paper. Also represented in the show are more exotic examples such as platinum/ palladium, hand-colored gelatin silver, wet plate collodion, kallitype, gum dichromate, and resin printing. New Orleans artists Louviere + Vanessa created “Arcuatim,” an archival inkjet print on handmade Japanese paper, toned with blood.
Every image in Constellation is a stand-out, but a platinum/palladium print called “Onion Flowers,” by Cy DeCosse is one of my personal favorites.
Baldwin Gallery is a terrific, intimate space
MTSU’s Baldwin Photographic Gallery is a beautifully spare and intimate space, specifically designed for showing photography. Sure, gallery hours and campus parking are barriers, but DO NOT MISS THIS SHOW! Trust me, this is a very rare opportunity to see amazing work by the some of world’s best fine art photographers, without traveling to Santa Fe, Chicago, or New York. And it’s free!
The details:
Constellation: Fifteen Fine Art Photographers. An exhibition of work by photographers represented at Obscura Gallery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
- August 28 – October 20, 2017
- 8:00 am – 4:30 pm, Monday – Friday
- Admission: Free
Lecture by the gallery owner:
Jennifer Schlesinger, artist and owner of Santa Fe’s Obscura Gallery, will discuss the works, photographic approaches, processes, and intentions of the exhibited artists. Monday, September 18 at 6:00 p.m., MTSU’s Bragg Building, Room 104, Admission: Free
Website: baldwinphotogallery.com
Facebook: facebook.com/BaldwinPhotoGallery
(615) 898-2085
If you go:
Baldwin Photographic Gallery is located on the campus Middle Tennessee State University, in the Bragg Building (John Bragg Mass Communication Building), at the top of the stairs on the second floor. Note that the gallery closes daily at 4:30 pm, but will be open late on September 18 for the lecture by Jennifer Schlesinger.
Constellation includes works by:
Susan Burnstine – Los Angeles, CA
Debbie Fleming Caffery – Lafayette, LA
Brigitte Carnochan – Portola Valley, CA
Cy DeCosse – Minneapolis, MN
Neil Folberg – Jerusalem, Israel
Coco Fronsac – Paris, France
Louviere + Vanessa – New Orleans, LA
Kurt Markus – Santa Fe, NM
Norman Mauskopf – Santa Fe, NM
Beth Moon – New York, NY
Jennifer Schlesinger, Santa Fe, NM
Aline Smithson – Los Angeles, CA
Caitlyn Soldan – Santa Fe, NM
Keith Taylor – Minneapolis, MN
Curtis Werhfritz – Toronto, Canada
Thanks for reading.
~ Keith