LensWork #98 Jan-Feb 2012

Brooks addresses Shelby’s connection to the Appalachian people he is photographing. Brooks says, “You’re from there – an insider to the community – and you’re photographing your roots, your people, and the place you grew up. What you end up showing us is something that is anything but stereotyped – what we so often get when an outsider goes into that area.” But after the release of Shelby’s first book, Appalachian Portraits in the early 90′s, critics questioned his intentions behind the photographs. Returning year after year to photograph the families, in some cases through multiple generations within one family, has helped shed these concerns. Shelby says in the interview, “Photographs capture surfaces, but at the same time I’m capturing my people – they’re real human beings – and there’s a depth of character, a depth of culture, and a relationship that I have to these people that’s very significant.”

Loyd Dean's Pool Table, 2006 © Shelby Lee Adams

In the interview, Shelby also discusses his personal “rule” when making portraits. He will not allow himself to make any new images until the individual has a copy of an image from his previous visit. It is a rule he strongly encourages his students to get in the habit of doing as well. Through seeing the portraits from the previous session, a new dialog begins. A detail may be noticed for the first time and this detail may conjure up an idea for the next photograph. Shelby shares some of these moments, his peers and subjects looking at the photographs he has taken of them, on his blog.

The Napier's Living Room, 1989 © Shelby Lee Adams

CEG will be exhibiting a selection of Shelby’s work in May 2012. The show will focus on several generations of families photographed by Shelby. Until then, be sure to read the full interview in LensWork.

Viktoria’s show, Anna & Eve, will be on exhibit at CEG from January 6 – February 25, 2012.

Congratulations to Viktoria!

CEG will show a selection of work from the Anna & Eve series beginning next week through February 25th. Don’t miss the opening reception on Friday, January 6 from 5-8pm or her public artist talk on Saturday, January 7th at noon.

Exchanging Wisdom, 2006 © Viktoria Sorochinski

You can view all the 2011 winning work on the PDN Photo Annual website here.
You can view 2010 winners on the PDN Photo Annual website here.

Double Life
Photographs by Kelli Connell
Published by Decode Books
Signed copies available through CEG’s bookstore

Gary’s show, Photographs, will be on exhibit at CEG from November 4 – December 31, 2011.

James, 2003 © Shelby Lee Adams

If you live in Madrid or happen to be there between September 16 and October 23, 2011, then we hope you’ll make it over to see Shelby Lee Adams’ one person exhibition at EFTI, Escuela de fotografía y Centro de Imagen, Madrid. It will feature work from Shelby’s upcoming book, Salt & Truth. Below is a short video on Shelby from Ovation TV.

LCIW 9, Pamela Winfield, 2000 © Deborah Luster

Mark your calendars—this fall you will be able to hear from two of CEG’s artists at Columbia College Chicago’s Lectures in Photography series. All lectures are free and open to the public, so get there early because they usually fill up quick.

Roger Ballen
Thursday, September 15, 6pm
Stage Two / 618 S. Michigan Avenue, 2nd floor

John Gossage
Thursday, October 13, 6pm
Stage Two / 618 S. Michigan Avenue, 2nd floor

Deborah Luster
Thursday, November 10, 6pm
Ferguson Lecture Hall / 600 S. Michigan Avenue, 1st floor

Images from Terry Evans’ Matfield Green project can be viewed here.

Radius Books will be publishing a monograph of this work in the Fall of 2012.