Jennifer Hudson | modus operandi

Jennifer Hudson, Borrowed Time from the series Medic

Through her series Medic, Jennifer Hudson created a narrative about human relationships during illness and recovery.  Each of the ten images in the series tells a slightly different story.  Although the room stays as the constant, everything around the room and within the room change.  Actually, look again.  Doors that were in one image disappear in the next.  That's right, the room is the only thing that is physically there.  Everything else that you see, all of the objects, knobs, doors, clocks, tubes, machines, etc etc were all created in Photoshop.  A visitor to the gallery said recently, "It's like Hudson has a big folder of endless clip art that she can pick and choose from to create her imagery."

Jennifer Hudson, Flora #1

These intricately built images help to define Hudson's modus operandi.  They began in earlier projects such as her series Flora.  The five woman depicted in her series Flora all were thought up during a visit and long walk through one of the most infamous prisons in the United States, Alcatraz.  As Hudson states, "Flora is an illustration of perception, perfectionism and confinement, coupled with an earnest celebration of the woman, her nature, and her continued strength."

Both of these series are on display currently in our exhibition Processes and Dreams through Feb. 28th.  To see more of these images, click on the link to visit our website: www.panopticongallery.com

Follow Friday | Peabody Essex Museum

Dear Boston Photo Community,

I'm writing to you today to let you know that there is a wonderful museum on the North Shore that some of you have yet to experience and I don't want you to miss out.

It's called the Peabody Essex Museum and it's my Follow Friday suggestion of the day. 
On Twitter they are:  @peabodyessex

Jerry Uelsmann, Untitled (Philistine's Eye), 1961

I recently went to the Peabody Essex Museum for a reception for one of my heroes in photography Jerry Uelsmann.  The exhibition called, The Mind's Eye: 50 Years of Photography by Jerry Uelsmann officially opens tomorrow.  During the reception, it was brought to our attention that P.E.M. has designated 2012 as their 'Year of Photography'.  It will kick off with the Uelsmann exhibition, then continue with an exhibition of work by local photographer Barbara Bosworth and be capped off with the exhibition Ansel Adams: At the Water's Edge, which they have stated as being a show like you have never seen before.

Their photography collection consists of nearly a million prints, more than any other museum in all of New England.  One of its prized possessions is a Daguerreotype of Pont Neuf in Paris made in 1839 (the year of photography's invention).

Curator of Photography Phillip Prodger, who has been there for the past three years has been leading the charge.  A few of the past exhibitions include the recent Man Ray | Lee Miller: Partners in Surrealism, The Kennedy's: Portrait of a Family by Richard Avedon, Valerie Belin: Made Up, and Surfland: by Joni Sternbach.

The Uelsmann exhibition is fantastic!  They have many of his classic images on display, and vintage prints that have never been seen before.  Have you ever seen his pillows, or flip books, or his portrait on a rock? 

The Peabody Essex Museum is located in Salem, MA.

Tami Bone | Mythos

Let us think for a moment on how stories are told.  Some stories are read in books while others are passed down from generation to generation.  Some are of truths, secrets and that of folklore.

Tami Bone, Girl in the Moon, 2010

Tami Bone's photographic series Mythos, delves into her upbringing as a young girl in Texas.  She states that the photographs touch upon her "yearnings, hopes and dreams" and those stories "pulled from early memories and imaginings."

Tami Bone, Fish Story, 2010

You can see photographs from this series in the exhibition Processes and Dreams on display at Panopticon Gallery from January 12 - February 28, 2012.