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.

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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.