Mondo Public Slide Show

Saturday, October 13th, FRANK in collaboration with the Town of Chapel Hill hosted the Mondo Public Slide Show on top of the Wallace Parking Deck. Photographers of all ages gathered to celebrate their artwork against the backdrop of a clear, crisp October night.

FRANK opened up the opportunity to the public to submit between 15 and 30 slides of personal work to share through projection onto a large screen. Local artists Barbara Tyroler, Bryce Lankard, and Lori Vrba were among the photographers who participated, showing works both old and new. As the slideshow rotated through the art, the crowd enjoyed complementary popcorn and live music by Mahalo Jazz and Friends.

Upcoming Events:

1.Tea Tasting, Thurs., Oct. 18 at 6-7:30pm at the Ackland Art Museum

Sample a variety of teas while learning about traditional and contemporary tea practices in Japan. Led by Nancy Hamilton, Cultural Programming Coordinator, Sarah P. Duke Gardens, and instructor in the Urasenke Tradition of Tea.

2. Salon: Taming Technology for the Photographic Creative Process Thurs., Oct. 18 at 6pm at FRANK

Creating fine art photography in the digital age requires more than a push-button solution. From custom made programs to mastering your cell phone camera. Dispelling myths of the “magic button” are Goodloe Sutter, Sam Kittner, Irene Owsley, and Shawn Rocco.

3. Music in the Galleries Sun., Oct. 21 2pm at the Ackland Art Museum

Enjoy the dynamic, traditional drumming of Triangle Taiko, the only taiko ensemble in North Carolina.

Advertisement

Special Focus: The Curatorial Perspective

Sunday afternoon, FRANK hosted “The Curatorial Perspective,” a 6pm panel discussion in UNC’s Wilson Library with Stephen Fletcher, Dennis Kiel, Roger Manley, Linda Dougherty, and moderator Xandra Eden.

To begin the event, each panelist introduced both themselves and their background in curating. Linda Dougherty, chief curator and curator of contemporary art at the North Carolina Museum of Art, published critic, and exhibition cataloger, started by talking about her museum and its rotating exhibits. Dennis Kiel, chief curator of the Light Factory, specialist lecturer, and North Carolina Arts Council Visual Artist Fellowship Panel and NEA Panel member, followed Dougherty, explaining his process of selecting theme then artist for exhibitions. Roger Manley, director of the Gregg Museum and grant and fellowship-awarded published artist, spoke about the expanding collection at his museum. Stephen Fletcher, Photographic Archivist for the NC Collection and photographer, presented last, introducing the collecting and archiving process used at Wilson Library.

After the short presentations, the panel, moderated by Xandra Eden, published curator of the Weatherspoon Museum, opened up for discussion. When asked about their institution’s involvement with photography, the panelists had different responses. Stephen Fletcher answered about promoting the use of archival photographs as a parallel means of research to text over its common use as a secondary source in accompanying analysis. Dougherty and Manley spoke of the increasing presence of photography in museums of today. Kiel added that although more commonly seen, some places such as Charlotte require photography be defended as an art form now more than ever.

The panelists discussed the increasing ease of access for photographic production and reproduction in the digital age. All agreed that the omnipresence of photography today was beneficial to the visual literacy of the public.

Dougherty, Kiel, Fletcher, and Manley are all excited about the trajectory photography is taking, re-exploring alternative processes and expanding through digital means.

Following the panel discussion, panelists and FRANK members gathered at the gallery for a celebratory cocktail party. Board members mingled with curators over hors d’oeuvres and a live band.

Upcoming Events:

1. Tea at Two, Wed., Oct. 10 at 2pm at the Ackland Museum

“Colors of Confinement: Rare Color Photographs of Japanese American Incarceration in World War II.” Join Eric Muller as he looks at and discusses Bill Manbo’s documentation of his family’s experience in a Japanese-American internment camp.

2. Salon: Alternative and Legacy Processes Thurs., Oct. 11 at 6pm at FRANK

Discover the appeal of the hand-made, getting your hands dirty approach to photography with Alan Dehmer, Bryce Lankard, and Brady Lambert.

3. Curator’s Seminar Thurs., Oct. 11 6-7:30pm at the Ackland Art Museum

Ackland curators Peter Nisbet and Timothy Riggs present on and look at Noh Kabuki theater woodblock prints.

4. Opening: “Border Glitches” UNC MFA Visions in Contemporary Photography Fri., Oct. 12 at 6pm at FRANK

Ali Halperin discusses the blurred line today between our digital lives and our corporeality through her works.

5. Opening: “A Sense” UNC Undergraduate student photography exhibition Fri., Oct. 12 at 7pm at the Allcott Gallery of UNC’s Hanes Art Center

6. *Opening: “The American Landscape” Fri., Oct. 12 at 8pm at 143A University Square

FRANK intern Kaitlin Knapp is curator of this show, delving into the topic of the political and cultural landscape of America. Featured artists are Knapp, Jeremy Bass, Diego Camposeco, and Hannah Shaban.

7. Photo Gazing: Mondo Public Slide Show Sat., Oct. 13 at 6pm at the Wallace Parking Deck

All are welcome to bring 15-30 images on a CD or thumbdrive to share your work on a giant projector. Bring a blanket, lawn chair, picnic, and friends to enjoy a night of art and live music.

8. Public Tour: “Perspectives on Japanese Painted Screens and Scrolls” Sun., Oct. 14 at 2pm at the Ackland Art Museum

This tour explores the history and aesthetics of the Japanese painted screens and scrolls on view in New Light on Japanese Painting: Recently Conserved Screens and Scrolls.

Artistic Trajectories: Voices in Contemporary Photography

Saturday evening, FRANK hosted a 6pm lecture on Contemporary Photography at UNC’s Carroll Hall. Speakers Jackie Tait-Leebrick, Lori Vrba, and Jeff Whetstone presented on their works and experiences in the art scene of today.

Jackie Tait-Leebrick, internationally exhibited, award-winning photographer and Associate professor in the School of Art and Design at East Carolina University, began the night with her presentation. Many of Tait-Leebrick’s works are collaged photographs, created with the layering of photographs and addition of photo oils and pastels. Through the years, Tait-Leebrick has explored themes like a search for the home and, as with her later works, transition. In working with the idea of transition, Tait-Leebrick pulls images from her dreams and personal stories and incorporates them in her photographs.

Lori Vrba, internationally exhibited and award-winning photographer, spoke after Tait-Leebrick. Vrba is a self-taught artist whose art career began after the birth of her children. What started as a job in portraiture soon developed into a love for the photographic process and a full-time career in fine art photography. In her latest series, “Drunken Poet’s Dream,” she studies elements of life that bring tension due to their dual nature as both uncomfortable yet beautiful.

Jeff Whetstone, UNC Associate professor of photography and award-winning, published, internationally exhibited, Guggenheim Fellowship winner, followed Vrba in the night’s discussions. Whetstone graduated from Duke with a degree in Zoology, a background that would influence his art through his life. His works touch on the idea of the “wild” and its presence in humans, animals, the environment, and in the interaction of all three. His more recent works focus on cave art and the collapsing of the visual and historical that occurs within.

Upcoming Events:

1. Art for Lunch Wed., Oct. 3, 12–1pm at the Ackland Art Museum
“Transwar Design: Yusaka Kamekura from Nippon Kobo to the Tokyo Olympics.” Gennifer Weisenfeld, Art History, Duke University.

2. Public Lecture and Film: “Fire and Water: The Apocalyptic Imagination of Hayao Miyazaki” Thurs., Oct. 4, 5:30pm at the Nelson Mandela Auditorium, Fed Ex Global Center, UNC Campus

Susan Napier will explore the artistic practices of Hayao Miyazaki. Her talk will be followed by a screening of Isao Takahata’s Grave of the Fireflies (1988).

3. Salon: The Documentary Project Thurs., Oct. 4, 6pm at FRANK

Vincent Joos, Jessica Kennedy, Christopher Sims, DL Anderson, and Jeremy Lange.

4. Art Adventures Sat., Oct. 6, 10:30am-12pm and 1-2:30pm at the Ackland Art MuseumEnjoy looking at modern Japanese prints and do some oraigami.

5. Special Preview: Photographic Angles–News Photography in the North Carolina Collection Sun., Oct. 7, 4:30-6pm at Wilson Library Gallery, 200 South Road, Chapel Hill, NC 27514

Stephen Fletcher, Photographic Archivist of the NC Collection and curator of this exhibition will be on hand for a guided preview of this special exhibition.

6. Critical Focus–The Curatorial Perspective Sun., Oct. 7, 6pm at Pleasants Family Room, Wilson Library, UNC Campus

Stephen Fletcher, Dennis Kiel, Roger Manley, Linda Dougherty, and moderator Xandra Eden.

The Discerning Eye: North Carolina Museum of Art Special Tour

Friday, September 21st at 7 pm, Linda Dougherty, chief curator of the North Carolina Museum of Art, led a special tour of the Julian T. Baker photography collection at the NCMA.

Julian T. Baker, Raleigh native and long-term friend of the NCMA, was a great collector of photography, acquiring famous works from artists such as Ansel Adams and Diane Arbus. Although only starting his collection in the mid-1990s, Baker amassed over 700 impressive photographs by the end of his life. The works on display in the museum were a personal gift from his collection.

In the tour, Dougherty led the FRANK: In Focus group through a portion of his works. Visitors gazed upon pieces by Alfred Stieglitz, Minor White, Danny Lyon, Sally Mann, and others as Dougherty explained their importance to photography and how they came to be in Baker’s collection.

The tour ended with a brief question and answer session.

Upcoming Events:

1. David Spear Presentation

Thursday, September 27th at 6 pm at FRANK Gallery

John Rosenthal presents Guggenheim Fellowship and NC Artist Fellowship award winning photographer David Spear.

2. Sake Tasting

Thursday, September 27th from 6-8 pm at the Ackland Art Musuem

$25 for members/$35 for non-members. For ages 21+

Advanced registration required. RSVP to acklandRSVP@unc.edu to reserve your spot.

3. 2012 Daylight Photo Awards Opening

Friday, September 28th at 6pm at Daylight Books, 121 W. Margaret Ln. Hillsborough, NC

Plus a book signing for Kevin Kunishi’s book “Los Restos de la Revolucion.”

4. Artistic Trajectories-Voices in Contemporary Photography

Saturday, September 29th at 6 pm at Carroll Hall Auditorium, room 111

Jeff Whetstone, Jacquelyn Leebrick, Lori Vrba, and moderator Gilbert Leebrick will be looking at trends in contemporary photography with photographers whose work is at the forefront.

5. Ackland Art MuseumTour

Sunday, September 30 at 2 pm at the Ackland Art Museum

“Perspectives on Elegance and Extravagance in Japanese Design” with Chief Curator Peter Nisbet and Molly Renda, graphic designer and Exhibit Librarian of the NCSU Libraries, Special Collections Research Center.

6. The Informed Curator-How and Why to Collect Photography

Sunday, September 30 from 1-3 pm at The Carolina Inn, Chancellor’s Ballroom

Roylee Duvall, Gabrielle Larew, Jennifer Schwartz, Frank Konhaus, and moderator Kelly Flanders explore the question “How and why does one start and grow a collection of fine art photography?”

7. The Carolina Inn Collection

Sunday, September 30 from 3-5 pm at The Carolina Inn, South Parlor

Join us after The Informed Collector panel in the South Parlor for a cocktail reception with the panelists for “The Informed Collector” and take a guided tour of the Carolina Inn’s exhibit given by the curator, Dr. Kenneth Zogry.