For this project I returned to the Coleman Center for the Arts in York, Alabama, to create a new work in collaboration with the community there. During the residency, six years after my first, I invited people to bring pictures of service members, veterans or those depicted in uniform, images of themselves or people whom they knew, to the center. I also collected stories from veterans and family members while they were dropping the images off. The photos depict individuals throughout history, from a Confederate veteran of the American Civil War to a current JROTC member enrolled at Sumter Central High School.
Every image I received was scanned and digitally restored, printed using archival ink and paper, and then sealed in a unique frame. The reproductions are embellished with an artist-designed seal that features the project name and harkens back to both military and government seals as well as gold leaf photo studio adornments. After the exhibition, original and new restored, framed photographs and digital files will be given to the owners. I will also publish a short record of the exchange along with photographs and selected stories, which will be preserved in the York Public Library.
The framed images were installed in a one-person exhibition at the Coleman Center, with The Americans, a reproduction of a military portrait studio, and Through A Glass Darkly, a 12 minute film representing only the landscape scenes from the top 100 Hollywood war films.
Nice work, Owen. I can see the people really appreciate the exhibit.
Joyce