Update: John also participated in our “Digital Media and the Artist” panel discussion February 15, 2008 and offers a good overview of the discussion on his blog, Forked Paths. 

©2008 John Nagel

One of my first heroes in photography was Ansel Adams. Like many, my introduction to extraordinary landscape imagery was through the lens of Adams’ photography and his astonishingly interpretative silver prints. I did my best to learn the language of exposure and development through the Zone System, visited National Parks and backpacked in the Sierras. 

But until recently I lived in an urban environment and my photography became focused on different themes such as architecture or travel. Then I moved out of the city to a country residence. While the new location would not in any way suggest wilderness, living in a rural setting does allow an unexpected landscape benefit in the form of open skies. Stars are brighter at night, and there are often stunning displays in the firmament in the mornings, evenings and during changes in the weather. These images are part of a larger ongoing series of attempting to be aware and sensitive to the accessible landscape around us.

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don’t write on the walls? Here at the EAC, we have encouraged our guests, young and old, to do just that! During our opening night, the “ART WALL” room was packed with people making their mark on our walls. A special room was created with canvas lined walls, so that we could have a permanent reminder of our opening and the weeks that followed. 

Gallery visitors draw on the walls

EAC will keep the canvas walls up for just a few more days, before they turn the room into a new surprise, so if you haven’t been by to ‘make your mark’…..do so soon! Here are a few examples of what we have been honored with so far.

Kid drawing on gallery walls

Stay tuned…..we’ve got so much more to share with you!

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Before the the Edwardsville Arts Center space was open to the public, it went through quite a transformation! The building had 2 previous purposes that I know of: An office supply store, and then a coffee/sandwich shop. Our group of fearless board members had a vision of a space quite different. We didn’t really need to make many architectural changes, but the flooring was another story! When we signed our lease, there was a vinyl tile flooring intermixed with a lovely navy commercial carpet. Blek! Not quite gallery material!

SO- we went through many, many options, weighing costs, time constraints, maintenance, and again-costs!!!!!

We finally chose to have a crew come in and remove all the nasty carpet and tile adhesive, fill holes and imperfections, sand and epoxy coat the concrete- all for a nice, slightly industrial look that is more “gallery appropriate”, and would be easy to maintain. Here are a few photos of what you didn’t see…

The floor was the biggest challenge by far, but we also had our fair share of painting to do to make the space different and more “fun” than before. Take a look:

Here, the front panels go from a weird pinkish taupe to our signature RED-

The Facade

Then of course, the bathrooms needed an uplift…

And towards the end, Caroline Bottom Anderson paints her pedestals a lovely ochre color to show off her glass pieces-

Stay tuned…we’ve got so much more to share with you as we make this space our new home!

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Yes, the long awaited Edwardsville Arts Center finally opened it’s doors on Friday, September 21st! It was an incredible opening, with a Members Only preview at 5pm, and a general public opening at 7pm. The show was packed to the hilt, and probably the best place to be in Edwardsville on Friday night- at least we thought so!

EAC featured 3 longtime local artists to start:
Caroline Bottom Anderson with current sculptural glass and metal pieces- stunning, I must say.
Louis Badalamenti with a fantastic array of lively paintings, dating from 1969 to 2007…he has been a busy guy!
and Phillip Hampton, retired painting prof. from Southern Illinois University @ Edwardsville, with quite a strong set of paintings.

Visitors enjoy the artwork at the opening September 21, 2007

The show really complimented itself- strong lines and more subtle color from Hampton, soft lines and bright color from Badamenti, and a mix of colors from Anderson, with heavier, more architectural metal elements, curator and director Dan Anderson couldn’t have found a better mix to start off with.

If you haven’t been to the new facility yet- please make a point to stop by at 310 Hillsboro Ave., Edwardsville, IL 62025.

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