'The Architect's Brother' at The Johnson Museum

Written by Kenneth Beckner Friday, 18 February 2011 21:34

Ithaca, NY- The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University presents The Architect's Brother, on view from March 25 to June 11, 2006. Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison work together on an innovative approach to picture making that draws upon the use of the paper negative and collage to construct stories of healing and restoration amid landscapes scarred by technology and overuse.

At the center of each of the pictorial tales is a lone individual-Robert as "Everyman"-the "Architect's" brother. This suit-clad figure patches holes in the sky, creates rain machines, chases storms to create electricity, and communicates with the land to learn of its needs. The titles of the five sections of the exhibition reflect this: "Exhausted Globe," "Industrial Landscapes," "Promisedland," "Earth Elegies," and "Kingdom." "The ParkeHarrisons' innovative approach addresses environmental concerns in a haunting format, raising important questions about our stewardship of our greatest resource, the earth," said Nancy E. Green, senior curator of prints, drawings, and photographs at the Johnson. "There is both hope and despair in these images, offering concrete choices for our future."  The ParkeHarrisons received a Guggenheim Fellow in 1999 and an Artist Grant in Photography from the Massachusetts Cultural Council in 2001 and 1996, among other awards. The Architect's Brother has been published as a monograph by Twin Palms Press and accompanies the exhibition. The exhibition has been organized by George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester, New York. The Johnson Museum has a permanent collection of over 30,000 works of art from Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America.

---

Click on logo below to add this article to your favorite Social Website ~