Snake River Show

Opening Reception on Friday, March 16^th, 5:30 to 8:30 pm

Ann Ponce Studio, 1819 W. Wilson, Chicago, Illinois

Show runs from March 16^th through 25^th (hours by appointment)

SNEAK PREVIEW - A special viewing of the show will be held on Wednesday, March 14th, at 4:00 pm

February 7, 2012, Chicago.  A famous Ansel Adams photograph has inspired members of the Wilson Artists’ Group to create their own painted versions of it.  “The Tetons and the Snake River” is a classic of Adams’ art.   Taken in 1942 for the Federal Government as part of a commission for the Department of the Interior, the image is in the public domain and free to be reproduced.   The photo was selected to be one of 115 images of Earth that were recorded on a golden disk and sent into space on the exploration module “Voyager.”

“The Tetons and the Snake River,” Grand Teton National Park, Wyoming, 1942.  Ansel Adams for the DOI.

About the Exhibit:

A studio discussion among the Wilson Artists’ Group one day led to the idea that if everyone painted from the same source photo, the results were bound to be very different, reflecting each artist’s unique viewpoint, process and style. Member-spouse Harvey Dytch was enlisted to select a good landscape subject, and he chose the iconic Adams view of the Grand Teton Mountains with the Snake River in the foreground.

The belief was that this photo not only wonderfully captures nature’s grandeur but is also an example of a classically perfect composition.  The winding river in the foreground leads the eye into the scene toward the distant mountains.  It calls to mind Ansel Adams’ favorite Gaelic prayer, “I know that I am one with beauty and that my comrades are one. Let our souls be mountains, Let our spirits be stars, Let our hearts be worlds." 

Given this photographic icon of American natural beauty, the artists faced the challenge of re-interpreting it in a meaningful and personal way.  They could change the black and white to color; they could add texure, alter sizes, manipulate tonal values, reduce forms to lines or shapes…the possibilities were limitless.

Participating artists are: Ann Ponce, Bonnie Zak, Fran Mazur, Kate Tully, Laurie Davidson, Margaret Tully Nicosia, Mary Barnes Gingrich, Meredith Dytch, and Patricia Larkin Green.