january art matters

Jerry Uelsmann (born 1934) Untitled, 2003 Gelatin silver print 19 3/8 x 15 in (49.1 x 38 cm) © Jerry Uelsmann. This and other photo montages by Uelsmann will be on display in the exhibition “The Mind’s Eye” at the James A. Michener Museum, Jan. 19 to April 28.

Friday, December 28, 2012www.montgomerynews.com

James Ingraham’s fine art photographic works of art are much more

than endearing images of women; along with convey-ing strength, confidence, self-awareness, defiance and even ownership, the message throughout his col-lection is that women are to be honored, celebrated and appreciated for the beauty that they all possess, espe-cially women of color.

Ingraham’s images reflect his efforts to also exude the warm feelings of memo-ries, emotions, grace and elegance.

His powerful images, along with his passion and devotion, are projected from the image on the canvas and create an emotional con-nection with his viewer. His inimitable style has been re-ferred to as being “romantic, challenging and intriguing,” as he “brings a sense of peace and reflection to the modern-day world.”

Ingraham’s photographic style of replicating and melding the techniques and styles reflecting the perspec-tive of the old masters using todays photographic meth-odologies and his cultural

ideology that especially women of color deserve to be subjects of fine art col-lections has been his passion and mission.

His interpretation of the human figure, especially the female figure, evokes sen-suality, a sense of innocence and still a sense of pride, ownership of self-worth and strength; the images embody complex imagery, dynamic human forms and serve as symbols that all women can offer pure en-joyment, pleasure and value and appreciation as collect-able works of fine art.

Ingraham’s work has been exhibited in galleries and is displayed in private collections throughout the nation and globally; he can be reached at 856-589-9114 or email at [email protected] and his work can be viewed at www.electronicimaging-plus.com.

Ivy WilsonGallery Owner/ Artist/ Ivy Chaya Art Gallery106 E. Pine St.Millville, NJ 08332609-425-3510www.ivychayaart.com

A celebration of women

James Ingraham with several of his artistic nudes.

ABstract EXpressions Contemporary Art Gallery announces its winter exhibit of works by Monmouth and Ocean county, New Jersey artists Jean Hutter, Wayne Lerman, Lorraine Madsen, and Leona and Scot Shultes.

“These artists are old friends and long-time paint-ing colleagues of mine as well as alumni of the Gallery, having been in previous shows in 2008 and 2009,” said Gallery Director James Kent. “I am pleased to present a selection of their recent works. It is very exciting to see their development over the past few years.”

The winter exhibit is on view at the Gallery from December 1 through February 23, 2013. Three “Meet the Artists” receptions will be held. The receptions will be on Saturday December 15, Saturday January 12, and Saturday February 9. Each reception is from 2:00 until 4:00 PM. The public is cordially invited.

Also on display in the Gallery are paintings by selected Gallery artists; ceramics by Veronica Kairos, Nancy Reese, Helge Speth, Rose Marie Strippoli, and Eric Wolff; sculptures by Dan Becker, Frank Krimmel,

Donna Payton and Michael Taylor; and furniture by Greg Melartin and William Robbins.

ABstract EXpressions Contemporary Art Gallery is located at 70 High Street in Mount Holly, New Jersey. Gallery hours are Friday from 1:00 until 7:00 PM and Saturday from noon until 7:00 PM, and by appoint-ment. Contact the Gallery at 609-267-7513, by email at [email protected] or visit the Gallery’s website at www.ABstractEXpressionsGallery.com.

Winter Exhibit at ABstract EXpressions Gallery

Friday, December 28, 2012 www.montgomerynews.com

By Adam Crugnale

When we think ab-stract, some may tend to picture a

jumble of colorful images meshed into a psychedelic pattern. We think Jackson Pollack — art that works like a visual language and skips over describable real-ity and speaks directly to the heart and soul. It was Wassily Kandinsky (1866-1944), a pioneer of the abstract method, who said, “The soul is the piano with its many chords. The artist is the hand that, by touching this or that key, sets the soul vibrating automatically.”

The abstract, almost otherworldly pieces found within the Woodmere Art Museum’s current exhibit, “Murray Dessner: A Ret-rospective,” will certainly set your soul vibrating, if not move it completely. It works as a homage to the life and work of a Philadelphia-born artist and abstract expressionist.

Murray Dessner, a well-known and respected Philadelphia-based artist, passed away in September of 2012 at the age of 77. His work has been — or is still — on dis-play at numerous locations, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. It’s catego-rized into various sections, typically by decade: Wood-mere’s show contains about

30 pieces that emphasize the most substantial phases.

The hard-edge abstrac-tions of the 1960s (lots of thick, bold shapes and lines), the poured paintings of the ’70s (the paint is liter-ally poured onto the canvas, resulting in movement and fluidity), the mysterious Greece-inspired paintings of the ’80s, the more figurative “memoir” works of the ’90s and, last but not least, his at-mospheric paintings (large-scale ambrosial works that attempt to pull the viewer in, creating a surrounded sensation).

“It’s the story of his career as an artist,” explained Wil-liam Valerio, the museum’s director. “The earliest piece in the exhibit was made when he was only 25, and from there we can follow all the twists and turns of Murray’s career in a very personal way.”

“Murray Dessner: A Retrospec-tive” will be on view through Jan. 6. To view a few examples of his work, visit www.murraydess-ner.com. Ac-companying the exhibit is a brochure that contains an in-depth interview with the artist about his life, his art and his artistic phi-losophy while

also archiving his career for visitors.

Dessner explored light, color and the relationship between them in his work. This is especially evident in his large-scale, atmospheric paintings — some of which stretch close to billboard-

sized creations — a brilliant expression of this dialogue of colors and how light can manipulate them, not to mention the technique required to demonstrate the affair between the two.

Showcased in this exhibit are bright swaths of color that fuse together seam-lessly, lending to a sunrise (or perhaps a sunset) effect. The paint gradually washes out only to kindle again, the cold edges giving way to ar-cane warmth. Dessner also titled most of his works, possibly imparting the art-ist’s frame of mind and the reason behind the painting’s conception.

One of his more recent efforts is a beautiful blend of colors measuring 54 inches by 42 inches titled

“Waves” (2011). It flows like polished onyx, eventu-ally giving way to ripples of violet and blue in dozens, maybe even hundreds of hues, and eventually yields to a rounded sphere of golden light.

“The purpose to make art that size is to envelop the viewer,” said Valerio. “Some of them are very psychedelic paintings, a primordial soup of color, if you will. Something that exists outside the confines of reality.”

“Spanish Skies, Egyptian Sands” (2007) lends heavily to the imagination. Slashes of scarlet and crimson, anchored by what could be interpreted as a fiery shore-line, transports one to the Strait of Gibraltar. The strait

is the closest point between Gibraltar (located at the tip of Spain) and Morocco, in Africa.

The exhibit has a $10 admission fee, but these alien landscapes of color,

along with Dessner’s other works make it an enriching experience. Though he has since passed, this artist’s memory has been carved in stone (or paint) and his light will carry on.

Murray Dessner: Master of Light

If You Go

“Murray Dessner:A Retrospective”will be on view at the

Woodmere Art Museum, 9201 Germantown Ave., Chestnut Hill, PA 19118.

through Jan. 6.Admission: $10; senior &

student discounts available. Hours: Tuesday - Thursday,& Sunday, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.;

Friday, 10 a.m. – 8:45 p.m.; &

Saturday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m. Info: 215-247-0476 or www.woodmereartmu-

seum.org.

State of theArt

One of Murray Dessner’s paintings, now on view at the Woodmere Art Museum in the exhibition “Murray Dessner: A Retrospective,” through Jan. 6.

Wednesday, January 30 – Sunday, February 3

11 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. (Sunday, Feb. 3 • 11 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.)

Feb. 1 • 5:00-8:00 p.m. | Friday Night SocialComplimentary wine and cheese reception

DEMONSTRATIONS MAKE GREAT GIFTS

Wed., Jan. 30 • 2:00 p.m.* | “Colorful and Contemporary,the Work of Lynnette Shelley” (Ambler)Mythology and folklore art influence. $20 fee with refreshments.

Thurs., Jan. 31 • 6:00 p.m.* | “Sculpting with Light”with Harold Ross (Lancaster County). Photography techniqueusing still life. $40 fee includes casual light supper.

Sat., Feb. 2 • 10:00 a.m.* | “Decorating with Artwork”Judi Larkin of Lark Interiors (Paoli). Solve the puzzle of placementand lighting. $15 includes breakfast treats.

*Advance reservation required for Artists’ Demonstrations,call 484-321-2544 or email [email protected].

For general information, call 484-321-2534.

Art show and sale featuring originalworks by 100 professional artists.

Painting • Photography • SculptureCeramics • Jewelry • Glass

A portion of the sales will benefitMalvern Retreat House.

No PA sales tax and 35% of all artwork sales are tax deductible.

Free admission. Open to the Public.

Eugene CogginsEllen Gavin Rev. Daniel McLaughlin Jack Hanson Suzanne KentAngela Colasanti

Art show and sale featuring originalworks by 100 professional artists.

g

Painting • Photography • SculptureCeramics • Jewelry • Glass

A portion of the sales will benefitMalvern Retreat House.

No PA sales tax and 35% of all artwork sales are tax deductible.

Free admission. Open to the Public.

Malvern Retreat HouseMcShain-HorstmannFamilyLifeCenter315 S. Warren Ave.Malvern, PA 19355www.MalvernRetreat.com


By Diane M. Fiske

In the spring of 2013, Benjamin Franklin’s image in Philadelphia

will no longer be relegated to a string of wood-framed Colonial shops in the 400 block of Market Street. The shops include Franklin’s 18th century post office, which has become a place to buy souvenirs and hear of the life of one of the Revo-lutionary era’s heroes.

Since the Bicentennial in 1976, the oft-quoted Colo-nial master of many trades from postmaster through diplomat was best-known by way of a courtyard and museum behind the shops. In this space, a 54-foot-high steel outline of Franklin’s long-demolished house designed by the well-known Philadelphia architects Rob-ert Venturi and Denise Scott Brown allowed visitors to imagine the life of the 18th century hero and his family. The outline invited guests to fill in the walls and furnish-ings of the long-demolished structure with more imagi-nation than they could do in yet another Society Hill preserved house facilitated by docents.

Beside the courtyard where the “ghost house” of Franklin’s home and garden stood, a museum displayed many of Franklin’s arti-facts. The museum exhibit included a reproduction of Franklin’s armonica, also called a glass harmonica, which consists of a set of graduated glass bowls on a rotating shaft that pro-duce tones when a finger is pressed to the moistened rims. Mozart wrote a piece just for Franklin’s new instrument. Other Franklin inventions include a Frank-lin stove and a swim fin, an

early water wing.In a large darkened room

in the museum, a series of touch-tone princess-style phones could be picked up, allowing visitors to hear tes-timonials of Franklin’s work and philosophies quoted by actors portraying historic figures from Thomas Jeffer-son through Lafayette and George Washington.

Well, the idea of bringing the words of 18th century American leaders to Phila-delphia was clever, but the princess phones became dat-ed and the museum began to look a little seedy.

For the past six years, the museum has been undergo-ing a modernization and a face-lift. The courtyard, with its outline of Franklin’s house, the “ghost house,” will remain much the same, but the garden and the seat-ing area are being refur-bished and the area has been largely closed to visitors.

Jane Cowley, public affairs officer for Indepen-dence National Historic Park, said the new museum and Franklin Court will open in the spring of next year with modern equip-ment that will ease con-temporary visitors into a knowledge of Franklin and his contemporaries.

She said of the phone exhibit that allowed guests to dial a quote about Franklin, “The old phones were installed in the days of rotary phones and we found that today’s kids had no idea how to use a rotary phone,” she said. “We changed to push buttons, but that was also hard to deal with.”

Cowley said the exhibit is being redeveloped so there would be open rooms, with each showing Franklin’s dif-ferent skills, including those as a printer, diplomat, sci-

entist, businessman and so forth. A library would also display different examples of Franklin’s work.

In the museum reno-vation, designed by the Washington, D.C., firm of Quinn Evans, there will also be a theater showing visitors movies about Franklin’s work and his imaginative courage in exploring scien-tific developments such as electricity and astronomy.

The approximately $22 million project is being partially funded by Pew Charitable Trusts and the Lenfest Foundation .

“The project started with planning in 2006,” Cowley

said. “We will see many changes and upgrades in the museum, the “ghost house” will remain largely unchanged.”

— This is a monthly column about architecture, city planning and landscape design. Feedback from read-

ers will be welcomed. Diane Fiske can be contacted at [email protected].

Franklin Museum gets a well-needed face-lift

An artist’s conception of the new Franklin Museum.

Franklin Court — Benjamin Franklin’s “ghost house.”

Franklin Court — Benjamin Franklin’s “ghost house.”

Friday, December 28, 2012 www.montgomerynews.com

Your resource for finding artists, soliciting entries, renting art studious and for promoting your service.For more information call 215-628-9300, ext. 226

CALL FORARTISTS!

GoggleWorks Center for theArts 2013 Juried Exhibition

Home: Interpreting theFamiliar

Grand Prize: solo show in the CohenGallery at GoggleWorks Center for

the Arts, the country’s largest, mostcomprehensive interactive arts center.Cash prizes for first, second & thirdplace. Open to all media. Each artistmay submit up to 3 works for $35.Juror: Genevieve Coutroubis, awardwinning photographer and Director,

The Center for Emerging Visual Artists,Philadelphia, PA.

Deadline: January 30, 2013.Exhibition: May 11 – June 23, 2013Prospectus: www.goggleworks.org/

Exhibitions/Call-for-Artists/.201 Washington St., Reading, PA, 19601,

610.374.4600

Your Claim To Frameannounces the first exhibit in the ELEMENTS series.

Artists are invited to submit works in anymedium that are either created by fire or use

fire or it’s effects as a subject matter.

Call (610) 404-4640 oremail [email protected] for a prospectus.

Deadline for entry is January 19, 2013.

January 25-February 16

JurorsGarth Herrick and Jennifer Frudakis

$2,000 in Prize Awards

Artists may submit up to 3 images ofcompanion animal works in drawing,

painting, pastel, mixed media, ceramics,��

Online application only.January 1 - March 1, 2013

www.reigningcatsanddogs.com

Exhibition will open April 5thand remain on display until May 4, 2013

Wayne Art CenterCALL FOR ENTRIES

413 Maplewood AveWayne, PA 19087��610-688-3553

Jurors

wayne art center

25th Annual LansdaleFestival of the Arts

Saturday, August 24, 2013Memorial Park, Lansdale, PA

A juried exhibit & sale of fine art,handmade crafts, performing arts,

cash awards, & more.

Jury will be held Saturday,April 27th. For prospectus &

jury Information 215-361-8353,[email protected] orvisit www.lansdale.org

Sponsored by LansdaleDepartment of

Parks and Recreation

ARTISTS & CRAFTERSWANTED

85TH ANNUAL JURIEDEXHIBITION ARTASSOCIATION OF

HARRISBURG21 N. Front St., Harrisburg, PA 17101

May 17 - June 20, 2013Two entries per artist, $15.00 per entry.

Entries must be submitted as digitalJPEGs, high-resolution images on

CD BY FEBRUARY 28, 2013. Includeself-addressed, stamped envelope

with CD and entry form for notificationof acceptance/ rejection. Juror: N. LeeStevens, Retired Senior Curator Art

Collections, The State of Pennsylvania.Call 717-236-1432 for entry form or

visit www.artassocofhbg.com

wayne art center

Wayne Art Center7th AnnualPlein Air FestivalCall for Entries:

Wayne Art Center is pleased to announce aCALL FOR ENTRIES beginning

January 1, 2013 for the 7th Annual WayneArt Center Plein Air Festival open to artists

working in the plein air method. Thirtyartists will be chosen by this year’s juror, Jim

Wodark to compete in the festival fromMay 6 - 10, 2013 in Wayne, Pennsylvania andits historic and pastoral surroundings. Workscompleted during the festival week will be

judged for prizes amounting to up to $6000.

The exhibition will open at a Preview Partyand Artist’s Reception on May 10th. Paintingswill remain on display, open to the public and

for sale through June 28th.

The Wayne Art Center 2013Plein Air Festival

prospectus can be downloaded atwww.waynepleinairentry.com

as of January 1, 2013.

Deadline for entries is March 1, 2013.

Friday, December 28, 2012 Friday, December 28, 2012 Page 7www.montgomerynews.com www.montgomerynews.com

Most of the photographs we see everyday are readily recognizable representa-tions of people, places and things normally encountered in the surrounding world. Generally, they

are made with the use of a camera and a negative image, processed from light sensi-tive film.

By contrast, the photo-montages put together by Jerry Uelsmann are composed in the dark room from pictorial sources present on several separate negatives. They are structured by employing several enlarg-ers and very precisely executed light and

shadow maneuvers.As a rule, the images that emerge from

implementing these procedures come forth as strange composites of form, rich with a sense of dream-like fantasy. By and large, they remind spectators of what they find when they examine paintings conceived by

Salvador Dali and Max Ernst, artists who were associated with surrealism, a style that enjoyed considerable creative notoriety back in the first half of the 20th century.

Currently, a fascinating solo retrospective of 90 selections by Uelsmann are on view in the James A. Michener Art Museum, on Pine Street, next to the Bucks County Public Library, in Doylestown. The installation is titled “The Mind’s Eye.” It is scheduled to remain on display in the museum from Jan. 19 to April 28, 2013.

The overall display presents examples drawn from Uelsmann’s personal archive of vintage accomplishments. Besides the actual photo montages, the exhibition also includes work prints that furnish visitors with helpful insights into the artist’s way of arriving at his finished results.

Visually, the show is an exciting gift for connoisseurs who value the exercise of exceptionally adroit craftsmanship joined with a distinctively daring aesthetic

imagination. Clearly, the total presentation projects an array of mysteriously combined images, each of which is extremely provoca-tive. Perhaps the most interesting aspect of these enigmatic visuals is the way they seem to contradict the oft-repeated notion that photo-graphs never lie. In spite of this, on a profoundly revealing level, they give poetically lyrical expression to ideas and feelings that success-fully illuminate truths about reality and life.

Besides being very much at home with the language of design,

Uelsmann also enjoys a reputa-tion for his humorous use of verbal expression. Typically, one of his quips maintains, “I think of my photographs as being obviously symbolic, but not symbolically obvious.”

Born in Detroit in 1934, Uels-mann earned a B.F.A. degree from the Rochester Institute of Technol-ogy and an M.F.A. from Indiana University.

For many years, he was a pro-fessor at the University of Florida in Gainesville, where he continues to live in retirement from teach-ing with his wife, Maggie Taylor. Along the way he has also offered many workshops and lectures throughout the world.

Uelsmann’s accomplishments have been honored with a variety of notable prizes. They include a Guggenheim Award in 1960 and a National Foundation for the Arts Fellowship in 1972. In addi-tion, many of his extraordinarily inventive montages are included in major art museum collections, both here in America, as well as abroad. And, as one might expect, he has also published a number of striking books in which his photo-graphs appear.

With the passage of time, his photographs have come to provide superb leaps of daring, demon-strating the making of offbeat approaches to photographic vision. Together, they reflect a capacity for activating a courageous ap-proach to the pursuit of sincerely significant, personal expression.

Darkroom magician on display at the Michener

If You Go

“The Mind’s Eye,”photography by Jerry

Ueslmann,will be on display at the

James A. MichenerArt Museum,

138 S. Pine St.,Doylestown, PA 18901,

Jan. 19 – April 28.Info: 215-340-9800 or

www.michenermuseum.org.Jerry Uelsmann (born 1934), “Magritte’s Touchstone” (first version), 1965 Gelatin silver print 13 5/8 x

8 3/4 in (34.7 x 22.2 cm) © Jerry Uelsmann.Jerry Uelsmann (born 1934), Untitled, 1976 Gelatin silver print 19 5/8 x 14 1/4 in (49.9 x 36.3 cm) © Jerry Uelsmann.

Jerry Uelsmann (born 1934), Untitled, 1977 Gelatin silver print 13

1/8 x 10 5/8 in (33.5 x 27.1 cm) © Jerry

Uelsmann.

Jerry Uelsmann (born 1934), “Apocalypse II,” 1967 Gelatin silver print 10 3/4 x 13 5/8 in (27.2 x 34.5 cm) © Jerry Uelsmann.

Friday, December 28, 2012 Page 9www.montgomerynews.com

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Friday, December 28, 2012 Page 11www.montgomerynews.com

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january art matters

Documents

ingrahams images

able works of fine art

endearing images of

fine art collections

artists receptions

ingrahams work

gallery director james

powerful images