Mpls Photo Coop "One By Eleven" Art-A-Whirl
16 May 2008 - 18 May 2008
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The Mpls Photo Coop is participating in this years Art-A-Whirl art fair in Northeast Minneapolis by putting on a members show called One By Eleven. A variety of work will be shown by eleven of the Coops members. I will be showing selected images from my series "Vapor" I hope you can make it.
Mpls Photo Coop
2400 North Second Street
Second Floor
Minneapolis MN
612-327-4146
Portraits of the Common
Vapor
There are common things in our communities that affect our lives on a daily basis. Visual elements that become so familiar that they are taken for granted: the pine tree across the street, the stop sign at the corner, the power plant down the road.
Engaged and forgotten.
Yet, in their passive way, they provide us with beauty, order and utility. They become part of our experience, an extension of our everyday reality. They are an integral part of what defines place and gives it identity. The values we assign to them vary with our personal perspectives.
The images in this work are from the project “Vapor”. They are examples from a multi-year effort to document and explore the visual impact of two such common items, the towering stack and the roiling vapors of the A.S. King Power Generation Plant on the shores of the St. Croix River in Bayport, Minnesota.
Its stack is fixed and monumental; ever present; a sentinel to the surrounding community.
Its vapors are ephemeral and constantly changing; gradually with temperature, and continuously as the wind shapes and the light illuminates.
While the ever changing beauty of its vapors can entrance, their presence stands as a constant reminder of a price paid for convenience. To some they are a symbol of success and vibrancy, to others an intrusion on beauty and well being.
This work chooses neither. It simply reminds us that the influence of the common may be more powerful than we realize.
Mpls Photo Coop - Three Gorges: A Year Before the Dam
18 Nov 2007 - 10 Feb 2008
Chuck Koosmann's portfolio "Three Gorges: A Year Before the Dam" will be on exhibit at the Mpls Photo Coop East Gallery from November 18, 2007 through February 10, 2008.
Opening Reception: Sunday, November 18, Noon - 5:00 pm
Mpls Photo Coop
2400 North Second Street
Second Floor
Minneapolis, MN 55411
Call for Appointment and Access: (612) 327-4146
www.mplsphotocoop.com
Gorge 0630
Three Gorges: A Year before the Dam
In June on the Yangtze, within the valleys and gorges of the river, the air is heavy with heat and humidity, just the way it has been for the thousands of years that people have lived on this river. Over the millennia they have built farms, villages, markets, temples and lives - ways of life - which have been nourished, and at times destroyed, by this river. But this June is different. It is the last June that much of what has been created over these many years will exist. In less than one year much of it will be under water…forever.
In April of 1992 the 5th meeting of the Seventh People’s Congress adopted a resolution authorizing the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. This resolution, an answer to a terrible civic dilemma, brought the promise of power to fuel China’s growing commercial needs and flood control to protect the millions of acres and lives down stream. But, with this promise came the destruction of 13 cities, 140 towns, 1,351 villages, 657 factories; the loss of 74,100 acres of cultivated land, critical habitat areas and unexcavated historic sites; and, perhaps most tragically, the dislocation of over 1.3 million people.
The photographs in this portfolio, taken in June 2002 on a cruise down the Yangtze River from Chongqing to Yichang, document the unsuspecting remnants of history, the preparation for retreat and the symbols of the new reality.
The air in June has never been so heavy.
One year after these photographs were taken the water level at the dam had risen roughly 50 meters to 135 meters above sea level. In 2009, when the project is complete, the water will reach 175 meters.
Minnesota Center for Photography - Three Gorges Exhibition
17 Nov 2007 - 10 Feb 2008
Four images from Chuck Koosmann's portfolio "Three Gorges: A Year Before the Dam" will be on exhibit at the Minnesota Center for Photography as part of their "Three Gorges" exhibition, which will run from November 17, 2007 through February 10, 2008.
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 17, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Minnesota Center for Photography
165 13th Avenue NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413
www.mncp.org
Moon-Viewing Window 0205
Three Gorges
This exhibition documents the construction of the world's largest hydroelectric dam and its impact on the surrounding land and people. Begun in 1993 and scheduled for completion in 2009, the Three Gorges dam is an astounding feat of engineering that has been controversial since its inception for the environmental and sociological impact it has had on the river landscape and those who have lived on its bank for generations. The exhibit, curated by MCP Artistic Director George Slade, explores the diverse implications of the project in 80 photographs by 22 North American, European, and Chinese photographers. In conjunction with the exhibit MCP is presenting related programs including public lectures, panel discussions, and film screenings to engage the public and extend the discussion about this enormous project and its impact across the community.
Artists in the exhibition:
Jeffrey A. Austin (Minnesota)
Steven Benson (Michigan)
Ed Burtynsky (Canada)
Linda Butler (Ohio)
James Whitlow Delano (Japan)
Clark Everett (Illinois)
He Chuan (China)
Chuck Koosmann (Minnesota)
Sze Tsung Leong (China)
Lou Wen Da (China)
Pei Xue Hong (China
Qin Wen (China)
She Dalke (China)
Ian Teh (United Kingdom)
Phyllis Uitti-Maslin (Washington)
Xiao Xuan An (China)
Yan Chang Jiang (China)
Zhang De Li (China)
Zhang Jin (China)
Zhang San You (China)
Zhang Xiao Wen (China)
Bill Zorn (Georgia)
The Phipps Center for the Arts - Galleries Show - "Vapor"
21 Sep 2007 - 03 Nov 2007
Chuck Koosmann's series "Vapor" from his ongoing project "Portraits of the Common" will be included in the fall "Galleries" exhibit at the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, Wisconsin. This juried show will run from September 21, 2007 through November 4, 2007.
Opening Reception: Friday, October 5, 6:30 - 8:30 pm
The Phipps Center for the Arts
109 Locust Street
Hudson, Wisconsin 54016
Vapor_0122
Portraits of the Common
Vapor
There are common things in our communities that affect our lives on a daily basis. Visual elements that become so familiar that they are taken for granted: the pine tree across the street, the stop sign at the corner, the power plant down the road.
Engaged and forgotten.
Yet, in their passive way, they provide us with beauty, order and utility. They become part of our experience, an extension of our everyday reality. They are an integral part of what defines place and gives it identity. The values we assign to them vary with our personal perspectives.
The images in this work are from the project “Vapor”. They are examples from a multi-year effort to document and explore the visual impact of two such common items, the towering stack and the roiling vapors of the A.S. King Power Generation Plant on the shores of the St. Croix River in Bayport, Minnesota.
Its stack is fixed and monumental; ever present; a sentinel to the surrounding community.
Its vapors are ephemeral and constantly changing; gradually with temperature, and continuously as the wind shapes and the light illuminates.
While the ever changing beauty of its vapors can entrance, their presence stands as a constant reminder of a price paid for convenience. To some they are a symbol of success and vibrancy, to others an intrusion on beauty and well being.
This work chooses neither. It simply reminds us that the influence of the common may be more powerful than we realize.
Exposure Gallery - New Haven, Connecticut "Three Gorges: A Year Before the Dam"
20 Sep 2007 - 13 Oct 2007
Chuck Koosmann's portfolio "Three Gorges: A Year Before the Dam" will be on exhibit at the Exposure Gallery in New Haven , Connecticut from September 21 through October 13.
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 20, 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Exposure Gallery
One Whitney Avenue
New Haven, CT 06510
contact@xgphotography.com
Gorge 0630
Three Gorges: A Year before the Dam
In June on the Yangtze, within the valleys and gorges of the river, the air is heavy with heat and humidity, just the way it has been for the thousands of years that people have lived on this river. Over the millennia they have built farms, villages, markets, temples and lives - ways of life - which have been nourished, and at times destroyed, by this river. But this June is different. It is the last June that much of what has been created over these many years will exist. In less than one year much of it will be under water…forever.
In April of 1992 the 5th meeting of the Seventh People’s Congress adopted a resolution authorizing the construction of the Three Gorges Dam. This resolution, an answer to a terrible civic dilemma, brought the promise of power to fuel China’s growing commercial needs and flood control to protect the millions of acres and lives down stream. But, with this promise came the destruction of 13 cities, 140 towns, 1,351 villages, 657 factories; the loss of 74,100 acres of cultivated land, critical habitat areas and unexcavated historic sites; and, perhaps most tragically, the dislocation of over 1.3 million people.
The photographs in this portfolio, taken in June 2002 on a cruise down the Yangtze River from Chongqing to Yichang, document the unsuspecting remnants of history, the preparation for retreat and the symbols of the new reality.
The air in June has never been so heavy.
One year after these photographs were taken the water level at the dam had risen roughly 50 meters to 135 meters above sea level. In 2009, when the project is complete, the water will reach 175 meters.
Exposure Gallery - Anniversary Invitational Exhibition
16 Aug 2007 - 15 Sep 2007
The Exposure Gallery in New Haven, Connecticut has invited Chuck Koosmann to participate in their "Anniversary Invitational Exhibition", which will run from August 16 through September 15. Selections fronm his series "Fork" will be on view.
Opening Reception: Thursday, August 19, 6:00 - 9:00 pm
Exposure Gallery
One Whitney Avenue
New Haven, CT 06510
contact@xgphotography.com
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Anniversary Invitational Exhibition
The Exposure Gallery of Photography presents the photographic art of emerging and established local, national and international photographers who embrace diverse cultures and geographic locations. Presented at this exhibition is an opportunity applaud the vision of these photographers that the gallery has had the pleasure of exposing over the past year, the newly discovered artists and to collect original works of art from the worlds most stimulating up and coming photographers!
Minnesota Center for Photography - Photocentric 2007
31 Mar 2007 - 27 May 2007
An image from Chuck Koosmann's series "Vapor" has been selected for inclusion in the Minnesota Center for Photography's juried exhibit Photocentric 2007.
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Photocentric 2007 is the second iteration of MCP's juried exhibition of work by MCP members who live within 525 miles + a long day's drive + of our northeast Minneapolis location. The results demonstrate the range and vitality of contemporary photographic art within our region and introduce new artists to the Center's viewing audiences. Photocentric 2007 helps us develop a better picture of the circle we're the center of, a circle that offers a new view of what constitutes the "Midwest."
Juror
Lisa Hostetler, the juror for Photocentric 2007, is the Assistant Curator of Photography at the Milwaukee Art Museum. She received her PhD in the History of Art from Princeton University, where her dissertation topic was the work of Louis Faurer. She has been at the Milwaukee Art Museum since 2005, prior to which she was in New York City, working as a research associate in the department of photographs at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, a registrar at the Howard Greenberg Gallery and the Marlborough Gallery, and an adjunct professor at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.
Focus Magazine - February 2007 Issue
01 Feb 2007 - 31 Jan 2008
Selected images from Chuck Koosmann's "Fork" series have been featured in the "Focus Gallery" section Focus Magazine's February 2007 issue. The work is a close-up study of a simple fork pulled from the kitchen drawer.
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Focus Article
There are common things around us, like the tree across the street, the pencil on the desk and the stop sign at the corner that we see and interact with on a regular basis, but because of their familiarity become blurred and almost invisible. Yet, in their passive way they can provide us with beauty, utility and order. They become part of our experience, an extension of our everyday reality that adds to our lives.
Each of these objects, one of millions just like it, has a unique visual story. A story of shared shape and form that becomes unique by reflecting the effects of time and utility that sets this object apart from the others.
The “Fork” project is just such a story. It takes a simple, mass produced stainless steel fork, one that has been in use for more than fifteen years, and examines it. By using simple lighting and a very shallow depth of field, Koosmann is able to accentuate the rise and fall of the fork’s curved handle, shaft and tines, blur its gentle curves and, at the point of focus, display the history of nicks, scratches and repeated scrubbings. An object that has been used and handled on a daily basis for many years is now seen in a new way. The beauty of its design and the scars of its service are revealed.
Other similar projects that Koosmann is working on include; “Vapor”, a multi-year effort to document and explore the visual impact of a nearby power plant’s towering stack, and its vapors, on the surrounding community. Another “Bark”, looks at the familiar in an effort to pay attention to the texture, pattern and beauty that surrounds us. In this case it is the bark of the trees. These projects and a selection of his other work can be viewed on his website www.chuckkoosmann.com.
Chuck Koosmann is a life-long Midwesterner and currently lives in Afton, Minnesota. His background as an architect and his love for photography inform his photographic vision. His images explore the form and pattern that lies within. He has traveled extensively and has photographed around the world, from the familiar sights of Europe and Asia to remote locations in Mongolia, Patagonia and the Pacific.
Koosmann’s work has been exhibited at Gallery One Whitney in New Haven, Connecticut and the Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, Wisconsin, in private galleries, and is in several private collections. Interested parties can contact the artist by phone at (651) 436-3550, or by e-mail at chuck@chuckkoosmann.com.
2006 St Paul Art Crawl
13 Oct 2006 - 15 Oct 2006
Photographer, Chuck Koosmann, will join glass artists, Jim and Renee Engebretson and Fred Kaemmer, and jewelry designer, Elke Koosmann, in this year's St Paul Art Crawl. Their work will be displayed at Fred's Glass Studio located at 134 East Ninth Street, on Ninth between Robert and Jackson, in St Paul.
HOURS
Friday, October 13, 5:00 to 10:00 PM
Saturday, October 14, Noon to 7:00 PM
Sunday, October 15, Noon to 5:00 PM
2006 Afton Art in the Park
23 Sep 2006 - 24 Sep 2006
Afton Art in the Park organized by the The Phipps Center for the Arts will be held again in Afton, Minnesota's downtown park. The fair which includes a variety of work from regional artists, will be held Saturday, September 23 and Sunday, September 24, 2006.
Chuck Koosmann's work will include a wide range of his color and black and white photography, along with calendars and stationary items.
Hudson Hospital - Healing Arts Exhibit
15 Sep 2006 - 11 Nov 2006
A broad selection of Chuck Koosmann's photography has been included in the most recent exhibition at the Hudson Hospital as part of their ongoing Healing Arts program. The show will run from August 16, 2006 to November 12, 2006.
Thirty-five of Koosmann's photographs are represented in this exhibit including a sampling of images from past travels and examples from the ongoing projects "Vapor" and "Bark".
Vapor
There are parts of our communities that affect our lives on a daily basis. They become so familiar that, despite their importance, beauty or utility, they are seen but often taken for granted: the stop sign at the corner, the pine tree across the street or the power plant down the road. "Vapor", represents the beginning of a multi-year effort to document and explore the visual impact of Bayport's Xcel Power Plant on St. Croix River Valley communities. This visual study focuses on the plant�s towering stack and the vapors it produces. While the stack is fixed and monumental, the vapors change constantly, gradually as temperatures rise and fall through the seasons, and continuously as wind shapes and light illuminates.
Bark
This project, like "Vapor", takes a look at the familiar in an effort to pay attention to the texture, pattern and beauty that surrounds us. In this case it is the bark of the trees. This protective layer, which can be as delicate as the thin skin of the young birch or as rugged as the mountainous crags of an ancient cottonwood, has endless variety. The surface tells a story of growth, change and the scares of life.
Also on exhibit are works by Richard Bonk, Rita Beyer Corrigan, Cecily Callahan-Spaulding, Julie Crabtree, Helen Fayerweather, Caprice Glaser, Tim Gorman, Paul Kivlin and Theresa Zenk.
Healing Arts Program
In 2001, The Phipps Center for the Arts and Hudson Hospital embarked on an innovative collaboration to exhibit, acquire, and commission original work by regional artists. While the health care field has begun to embrace the understanding that a well-designed environment that integrates the visual arts can have a positive impact both on a patient's healing process and on staff morale, the Healing Arts Program at Hudson Hospital is unique. It is the only one of its kind that involves a collaboration between two community-based organizations.
At any given time, work by several regional artists is on display in waiting areas, conference rooms, patient and staff corridors, procedure rooms, and patient rooms. Exhibits are rotated every three to four months, offering variety and interest for staff, as well as opportunities for many regional artists to participate.
Gallery One Whitney - Premier Exhibition
14 Sep 2006 - 10 Oct 2006
August 1, 2006 (New Haven, Connecticut) On August 10, 2006 Gallery Director of the on-line gallery
ExposureExhibitions.com and former New Haven register photographer and columnist, Jennifer Jane
joins with fellow photography enthusiasts Patrick Mansfield, proprietor of the Irish pub and restaurant
Anna Liffeys (Whitney Avenue) and Sean Yoon of FishNCat Photography to unveil Connecticuts
premier fine art photography gallery, Gallery One Whitney featuring Exposure Exhibitions at 1 Whitney
Avenue in the Audubon Arts District of New Haven.
This partnership creates a venue for established professional and emerging photographic artists in the
ever growing art community in New Haven. The work presented at Exposure Exhibitions embraces
diverse cultures, geographical locations, and individual experiences.
With this in mind Gallery One Whitney presents a forum for the exchange of ideas, knowledge and
opportunity for the collection of photographic works of art within the artistic community and general public.
More than twenty international, national and local photographers will be represented when the doors
open this August. Highlights from the opening installation include images by Charles Anselmo, Jennifer
Jane, Chuck Koosmann, Jim Lazos, Eliot Lewis, and Daniel Murtagh. An artists reception and exhibition
opening with live entertainment that is open to the public is scheduled for September 14, 2006.
2006 Minnesota State Fair - Fine Arts Exhibition
24 Aug 2006 - 04 Sep 2006
Chuck Koosmann's image "Italian Graffiti" has been selected for inclusion in the 2006 Minnesota State Fair - 95th Annual Fine Arts Exhibition. The photograph is one of 116 photographs selected form over 800 submission. This is the second consecutive year that his work has been included in this show.
The Phipps Center for the Arts - 2006 Members Art Exhibition
28 Jul 2006 - 05 Sep 2006
Chuck Koosmann's image "Night Work" has been included in the 2006 Members Art Exhibition at the Phipps Center for the Arts. The show will run from July 28, 2006 through September 10, 2006. This is the second consecutive year that his work has been included in this show, which includes the work of 66 regional artists.
Focus Magazine - February 2006 Issue
31 Jan 2006
Chuck Koosmann's color photography has been featured in the "Focus Gallery" section Focus Magazine's February 2006 issue. The work included in the gallery represents a sampling of Koosmann's color photography.
About the Photographer
"Chuck Koosmann is an architect with over thirty years of experience. His photography has been informed by that experience, as well as by his extensive travels. These travels, from the familiar sights of Europe and Asia to remote locations in Mongolia, Patagonia and the Pacific, have provided the subject matter for much of his work. His images reveal the form and pattern that lies within nature and the built environment. Taken in available light, his images portray their subjects with a unique and realistic sensitivity. The results are images of simple beauty and enduring complexity.
The photographs on the following pages represent an overview of his color work. In "Figs #18", the warmth of Italian sunlight exposes fruit amid leafy shadows. �Prayers� captures intimate devotion in thin pine prayer cards hung on a temple in Narita. "Foam #15a" and "Water on Rocks" present the delicate complexity and abstract character of a river that rises from the tundra and washes over the granite surface of the Canadian Shield.
Koosmann is currently working on a series of black and white images that focus on places in China's Yangtze River valley prior to the flooding of the Three Gorges Dam. Many of these places now lie underwater.
His work has been exhibited in Wisconsin, at the Phipps Center for the Arts; in Minnesota, at the Minnesota State Fine Arts Exhibition and in private galleries; and is included in several private collections.
All images have been made from high quality scans of either 35mm or medium format film. Prints are made on wide format inkjet printers using either archival pigment or carbon inks. All printing papers and mounting materials are archival.
Interested collectors and galleries can contact him by phone at (651) 436-3550, or by e-mail at chuck@chuckkoosmann.com. A wider range of his images will be able for viewing at www.chuckkoosmann.com, in early 2006. Prints in sizes other than those indicated are available upon request."
2005 Minnesota State Fair - Fine Arts Exhibition
25 Aug 2005 - 05 Sep 2005
Chuck Koosmann's image "Christchurch Tree" has been selected for inclusion in the 2005 Minnesota State Fair - 94th Annual Fine Arts Exhibition. The photograph is one of 118 photographs selected form 616 submission. This is the first year that his work has been submitted to this show.
The Phipps Center for the Arts - 2005 Members Art Exhibition - Award of Excellence
22 Jul 2005 - 21 Aug 2005
Chuck Koosmann's image "Christchurch Tree" has has received an "Award of Excellence" in the 2005 Members Art Exhibition at the Phipps Center for the Arts. The show will run from July 22, 2005 through August 21, 2005. This is the first year that his work has been included in this show, which includes the work of 116 regional artists.
