Photographs have the ability to represent, even reanimate history. They serve as reminders of where one has been or what one has seen—artifacts through which historical events can be reconsidered, new associations made, and new meaning assigned to those events in ways that can bring the past to bear upon the present-day.
The digitization of images has begun to erode a sense of history from the photographic image. The immediate seduction and gratification of the digital on-screen image allows them to operate as portals to ahistorical fantasies. To memorialize an image through the act of printing is an increasingly rare act. Once a photograph becomes physical, the surface is pushed forward and the associative context thickens. Within a disposable image culture, Stephanie Bursese, Julianna Foster, and Kelsey Halliday Johnson are artists committed to working with the printed image and printed matter.
This exhibition evolved from a set of conversations between the three artists, each of whom works with the photographic image as their primary medium. Through the collection of photographs in books and the clustering of images on the wall, the work encourages viewers to read between images and draw connections within their constellation.
Stephanie Bursese is an artist who earned her B.F.A from the University of Florida and her M.F.A. from Syracuse University. She was selected for a residency at the Fabric Workshop and Museum and was awarded a project grant from the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission. Her work has been shown in numerous galleries, museums, and publications. Currently, she is on the editorial staff of the Nicola Midnight St. Claire, a publication devoted to contemporary art and criticism. She has just self-published her first book of photographs Razor Thin Rock Hard and is a new member of Vox Populi. Bursese currently teaches at Tyler School of Art and lives in Philadelphia.
Kelsey Halliday Johnson is an interdisciplinary artist and writer who received her MFA and a certificate in Landscape Studies from the University of Pennsylvania and a BA from Princeton University. She was recently awarded a residency through the Lugo Land Project, a five-month residency at Interlochen Center for the Arts, and is part of the international exchange Due North that will debut in January of 2014. She currently works at Locks Gallery and is a new member of Vox Populi. Her work explores human perception of the world and its mediation through images and technology. www.softpyramids.info
Julianna Foster lives in Philadelphia and teaches at The University of the Arts, Photography Program and MFA Book Arts and Printmaking Department, where she received her MFA in 2006. Foster has been an artist member of Vox Populi Gallery in Philadelphia since 2006, where she has had four solo exhibitions, including From Morning On, Kirkwood, and most recently Swell in 2012. In addition to her individual ventures, over the years she has collaborated with various artists on projects that include creating artist multiples, artist books and series of photographs.
Recent Solo exhibitions include Swell in 2012 at Vox Populi, Philadelphia, 2013 Fleisher Art Memorial Wind Challenge, Philadelphia, and Gravy Studio and Gallery, Philadelphia. Group exhibitions in 2013 include Photo/Synthesis at the Pennsylvania College of Art and Design and selected works at Front Gallery, New Orleans, LA. Other projects: recent work in Conveyor Magazine, Dark Matter Issue December 2012 and Proof Magazine Photo Essay and article Spring 2013. Other exhibitions: Philadelphia Art Alliance and Painted Bride Art Center in Philadelphia. Foster has also participated in international group exhibitions in London, England; Romania; Spain; and most recently Korea.