Openings Connecting: Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison

Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison
(PLEASE click on their link right above this to look at the collections)
LAST WEEK,
ART JOURNEYS FOR ME.
one trip was on thursday.
a photographer friend and i went to ann arbor to hear robert and shana ParkeHarrison speak in a lovely venue, the michigan theatre in the downtown area, followed by a reception at the shusser gallery on the University of Michigan's campus in the art/design center...the pieces were about 40 inches square or larger. haunting, intriguing.
i've long been intrigued with their work, which is perhaps less about photography than performance/staging/messages for the earth. I'd seen his work at the Edelman gallery in chicago, and i'd bought his book, the architect's brother in 2000 from twin palms publishers in santa fe. a small reception with time to visit with robert about the work and their time spent in new mexico.

8 comments:

christinaNovember 17, 2009 at 3:23 PM
This sounds like such a nice time. And the books sounds so interesting.
: )
Ps: I just emailed you a little note. : )
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Caterina GiglioNovember 17, 2009 at 3:34 PM
well it may be less about photograpy, but this is one cool photo!
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Blue Sky DreamingNovember 17, 2009 at 3:52 PM
What an intriguing photo...mystery, beauty and strange all wrapped into one image! WOW!
Mary Ann
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BeaNovember 17, 2009 at 6:29 PM
First off, is that a new header? I love it.
Second, I went to their link. WOWOWOSER those are amazing. I just wanted to sit and study some of them. It was interesting to notice my responses to some of them. Excellent. You must have had a wonderful time. Thank you for sharing these with us. :)Bea
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layersNovember 17, 2009 at 9:09 PM
mystical, mysterious, almost futuristic-- dream like images that are very otherworldly beautiful
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ArtPropelledNovember 17, 2009 at 9:44 PM
Oh. My. Word!!! These pieces are extraordinary and the size of each piece must have made them even more amazing. Loved the one where he is poised for take off holding strings of ravens. Absolutely wonderful!!! Thanks so much for posting the link, Nancy.
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ELKNovember 20, 2009 at 12:42 PM
so excited that you got to see & hear, I find that combination from an artist I like to be so magical!

your new header is really cool too!
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AnonymousNovember 23, 2009 at 8:07 PM
I was just introduced to Robert's work today! in a book of art journals.
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FOUR DIRECTIONS/FOUR VISIONS: Two Graces: First showing for me, JUNE 3, 2011

With no directions home, I found Taos in the late 60s. It felt like home immediately. It still does. I know this sentiment is familiar to countless others.

The mountain stopped me in my tracks, and I stayed for several years. Since that time, I circle back annually.

To me, that circle is symbolic of this body of work at Two Graces. This is a time in my life when I've been fortunate enough to experiment with art making. Not surprisingly, I found myself drawn back to the images in the Ektachrome slides that I'd taken in the early 80s of Chaco Canyon, the San Francisco de Asis Church, dusty roads, and the ever changing skies of Northern New Mexico. The spirit of this adobed land lingers in my core and manifests itself within these works.

This past Michigan winter was spent creating enlarged negatives from my thirty year old slides, pulling part of my past into the present via today's tools of scanner and computer. Using traditional silver-gelatin darkroom processes, these resurrected and modified negatives acquired a new life. The majority of these prints are the result of this mediated reincarnation.

The smaller images took me into photographic processes from the mid-1800s. These handmade platinum/palladium prints are created coating vellum, for translucency, with these metal salts and exposing them to ultraviolet light. They are then bathed in the alchemy of the darkroom. The tonal qualities are unique in each print. Finally, 24k gold is layered to the backs of the prints, emanating the warmth, glow, and depth of these beloved places.