Tuscaloosa. -- The month of May was one exciting experience after another for UA photography students. They signed on to Associate Professor Chris Jordan's Black Belt Artist Project (BBAP) during Interim at UA, and spent the week in and around Wilcox County, interviewing and photographing artists. The first week of Interim, the students practiced their photo skills in Tuscaloosa. The second week they traveled to Camden, Ala., where they lived while making day trips around the region to interview and photograph artists. The BBAP team's first official day with artists was a trip to Gee's Bend, Ala. They met and photographed five quilters who are part of the Gee's Bend Quilt Collective, and recorded their stories. Psychology major and studio art minor Kasandra Boor sent back a report on what it was like meeting the artists: "Our first quilter was the amazing Mary Margaret Pettway who has been quilting since she was about 5 years old. She loves to work with traditional patterns and neutral color palettes. Next, we had a quick portrait session with Mary Lee Bendolph, who just retired from quilting a week ago. The third artist was Doris Pettway Mosely who has also been quilting since she was young. Her passion is sewing and she loves bright colors like red and yellow, as well as smaller projects like quilted potholders. Fourth was also a quick portrait session with Mary Ann Pettway, who was about to leave for a trip to showcase her quilts. Finally, we talked to Betty Kennedy who started quilting later in life. She loves working with traditional fabric and quilt patterns, but she also likes to come up with her own designs." That evening, Boor reported, the students shared their experiences about getting to know the quilters. "While it was a long day, it was very rewarding and an honor to meet all of these amazing artists," she said. Their second day turned out to be a busy one for the BBAP team with three separate locations to visit three artists who show their work at Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center in Camden. Black Belt Treasures, along with Canon Solutions America, are collaborators in the Black Belt Artist Project. In Selma, the team got to meet the renowned Charlie Lucas, also known as “Tin Man,” who is internationally recognized for his sculpture and paintings. The students all expressed how honored they felt to be welcomed into his studio. Also in Selma, the students' second subject was Betty Bain, a basket weaver with over thirty years of experience, who BFA major in photography Sam MacDonald interviewed on Ms. Bain's porch, while studio art major Aleiah Briggs took photos. MacDonald reported that Bain told her, "She loves what she does and loves to spread her knowledge through education, going as far as Canada to teach basket weaving!" The BBAP team's last stop was at Spencer Farms in Marion Junction to talk with sustainable farmer Laura Spencer. Boor said, "It was amazing to interview her because there is so much she is involved with, like her soap and candle making, farming, and education. She is very passionate about everything she does, but she especially enjoys being around her goats and being a part of World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms (WWOOF)." The Black Belt Artist Project is a collaborative initiative between the UA department of art and art history, the non-profit Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center and Canon Solutions America. A book, exhibition and archive of the materials will be produced from the oral histories recorded and portraits created by the students. To read more about the project, go to https://art.ua.edu/tag/black-belt/. For more information about the Black Belt Artist Project, contact Associate Professor Chris Jordan at (205) 348-1217 or Rachel Dobson, communications specialist, at (205) 348-1893. For information about the UA Department of Art and Art History and its programs, visit our website: https://art.ua.edu/academics/or contact the department at (205) 348-5967.
UA Artists Help Create Alabama Bicentennial Celebration
“As the Bicentennial approaches it has been obvious that our state’s artists have, throughout the years, been some of our best and most prolific story tellers. Clearly the arts and artists of Alabama will take a high profile position in celebrations statewide.” -- Alabama State Council on the Arts Annual Report 2018 UA art and art history students, faculty, staff and alumni have been intensely involved in our state's 200th anniversary celebrations over the last two years. Here are some of the creative ways our UA art community is participating in commemorating Alabama's history and setting a path for its future: ALABAMA HISTORY IN HIGH RELIEF Professor Craig Wedderspoon is designing part of Montgomery’s Bicentennial park and sculpture project planned for the west side of the Capitol building to be unveiled in December of 2019, with help from Assistant Professor Jonathan Cumberland. Tuscaloosa artist Caleb O’Connor is creating sixteen bronze relief panels with Wedderspoon, who is designing and installing the panels’ bases and supervising the casting process. Cumberland recently joined the team to work on graphics for the project. Wedderspoon is also working with O’Connor on a Tuscaloosa Bicentennial sculpture to be installed at Manderson Landing on the Black Warrior River. ALABAMA ARTISTS FEATURED IN PUBLICATION Fifteen current and past faculty and alumni of the department are included in a special Bicentennial publication honoring notable Alabama artists. Alabama Creates: 200 Years of Art and Artists, published by the Alabama State Council on the Arts (ASCA) and the University of Alabama Press, includes current Professor Craig Wedderspoon; distinguished art alumni William Christenberry, Frank Fleming, Darius Hill, Dale Kennington, James Emmette Neel, Scott Stephens; past faculty Gay Burke, Chip Cooper, Frank Engle, Al Sella, Richard Zoellner; and former UA art students John Kelly Fitzpatrick, Spider Martin, Carlos Alpha “Shiney” Moon and Nall Hollis. The coffee-table book will be coming out in July of 2019. Dr. Elliot Knight, ASCA’s new director, and a UA alumnus, was the chief editor and project director for Alabama Creates. COMMEMORATING ALABAMA'S MEDICAL HISTORY Alumnus April Terra Livingston recently completed three sculptures for the Mobile Medical Museum. Motherwork, which celebrates midwifery, is installed in the Mobile Medical Museum’s Robert Thrower Medicinal Garden, along with Livingston’s Portrait of Bessie McGhee, a Poarch Creek midwife and herbalist. The Portrait of Dr. James A. Franklin, Sr., one of Mobile’s earliest African American physicians, is now on view in the Mary Elizabeth and Charles Bernard Rodning Gallery as part of the museum’s special exhibit Dreaming at Dawn: African Americans and Health Care, 1865-1945). Livingston's sculptures were made possible by grants from the Alabama State Council on the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts and have been designated a Bicentennial project by the Alabama Bicentennial Commission. Read more about Livingston's new sculptures here: https://art.ua.edu/loupe/alumna-casts-sculptures-for-bicentennial-project/ APT FEATURES PROFESSOR EMERITUS AND ALUMNUS Associate Professor Emeritus Robert O. Mellown was interviewed for Alabama Public Television's Discovering Alabama special on our state capitals for the Bicentennial. His area of expertise is Tuscaloosa and University of Alabama historical architecture. The episode aired in October 2018. COMMUNITY BICENTENNIAL CELEBRATIONS Solo exhibitions by instructor and alumnus Tom Wegrzynowski, instructor Charlotte Wegrzynowski and alumna Kerry Kennedy at the Kentuck Gallery and the Teer Gallery at the Kentuck Arts Center in Northport were the inaugural exhibitions for Kentuck's "Year of Alabama Artists," designated an official Bicentennial event. One of eight outdoor sculptures at the Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Craig Wedderspoon’s welded aluminum sculpture, Oval, is installed in the new John and Joyce Caddell Sculpture Garden at the museum. Oval is part of Art in the Garden: The Inaugural Sculpture Garden Installation that celebrates Alabama’s Bicentennial and demonstrates the depth of creativity found in the state. The sculptures will be on display through spring 2020. COINCIDING WITH ALABAMA'S BICENTENNIAL CASTING ALABAMA'S LITERARY HISTORY Cast bronze sculptures by students of Professor Craig Wedderspoon were unveiled in downtown Monroeville, Ala., in April, as part of the Literary Capital Sculpture Trail. Monroeville, the birthplace of author Harper Lee, and the home of the Alabama Writers Symposium for the past two decades, has been designated the Literary Capital of Alabama. The sculpture trail, made up of 14 cast bronze works, celebrates ten writers who have put Monroeville on the literary map, including Harper Lee, Truman Capote, journalist Cynthia Tucker, and novelist Mark Childress. Although not an official Bicentennial event, the sculpture trail and its unveiling was planned to coincide with the 200th anniversary celebrations. The artists were studio art major Hunter Abdo, senior anthropology major Alysa Boyd, sophomore studio art major Zane Boyd, senior BFA major in sculpture and anthropology major Amber Daum, graduate student in creative writing and geography Josh Dugat, Jenn Gault (BFA 2018), special student Jim Harrison III, senior art history major and studio art minor Morgan Harrison, Pat Hoban (MFA 2019), senior studio art major Jonathan Lanier, senior studio art major Hannah Lincoln, BFA major in sculpture Ringo Lisko and senior studio art major Alyson Smith. For a slideshow of all the sculptures, click on this page: http://monroevillemainstreet.com/Literary-Capital-Bronze-Sculpture-Trail For more information about the UA Department of Art and Art History and its programs, visit our website: https://art.ua.edu/academics/or contact the department at (205) 348-5967.
Black Belt Artist Project Daily Photos
Here are photos taken by Chris Jordan's photo students who have been photographing the artists and interviewing them during their Interim course in the Black Belt of Alabama, the Black Belt Artist Project. We'll be adding to them each day of their trip. Follow them on Instagram @ua_blackbeltproject or #blackbeltartistsproject. DAY ONE Students practice portrait photos on Dr. Lucy Curzon in her Garland Hall office. Students practice portrait photos on Associate Professor Bill Dooley in his Woods Hall studio. Associate Professor Chris Jordan and students load photographic equipment into the car before their trip to their home base in Wilcox County, Ala. Black Belt Artist Project members are ready to roll. From left to right is: Gordon MacNeil, Maddy O’Connor, Sam MacDonald, Aleiah Briggs, Kasandra Boor, and Chris Jordan. Not pictured, Sarah Cheshire. DAY TWO After settling into their home away from home in Possum Bend, photography students Sam MacDonald, Aleiah Briggs, Maddy O’Connor, Kasandra Boor and Gordon MacNeil along with Professor Chris Jordan go straight to work. With the help of artist Daniel Warren, they were able to learn how to conduct interviews from in front of and behind the camera before they begin official work for the Black Belt Project tomorrow. Black Belt Artist Project members practice interviewing Daniel Warren in Camden, Ala. (left-right) Sam MacDonald, Aleiah Briggs, Maddy O’Connor, Kasandra Boor, and Chris Jordan. Photo by: Gordon MacNeil. Black Belt Artist Project member Sam MacDonald (left) practices interviewing Daniel Warren in Camden, Ala. Aleiah Briggs (right) is on camera. Photo by: Kasandra Boor, @kasandra_b Black Belt Artist Project member Sam MacDonald (left) and her practice interviewee, Daniel Warren, in Camden, Ala. Photo by: Kasandra Boor, @kasandra_b DAY THREE The real work begins, with interviews in Gee's Bend, Alabama. The first official day of the Black Belt Artist Project took the team to Gee's Bend to photograph five amazing quilters and record their stories. The students photographed and interviewed Mary Margaret Pettway, Mary Lee Bendolph, Doris Pettway, Mary Ann Pettway, and Betty Kennedy. Shown here are Aleiah Briggs, Maddy O’Connor, Gordon MacNeil, and Sam MacDonald photographing one of the artists. Photo by Kasandra Boor. DAY FOUR Thursday, the Black Belt Artist Project members traveled to three different locations to photograph and interview artists. Day two of photographing took Black Belt Artist Project members first to visit Charlie “Tin Man” Lucas in his studio in Selma, Ala. Pictured: Kasandra Boor, Charlie Lucas, Sarah Cheshire, Aleiah Briggs, Sam MacDonald, Chris Jordan, and Maddy O’Connor. Photo by Gordon MacNeil. On day two of photographing, Black Belt Artist Project members visited Betty Bain, a basket weaver in Selma who has been working for thirty years. Pictured l.-r.: Betty Bain, Sam MacDonald, and Aleiah Briggs. Photo by: Chris Jordan. BBAP members' last stop on day two was to the Spencer Farms in Marion Junction, to talk with co-owner Laura Spencer, a sustainable farmer who also makes soap and candles. L.-r.: Chris Jordan, Sam MacDonald, Laura Spencer, Gordon MacNeil, Aleiah Briggs, and Sarah Cheshire. Photo by: Kasandra Boor. For more information about the UA Department of Art and Art History and its programs, visit our website: https://art.ua.edu/academics/or contact the department at (205) 348-5967.
UA Students Tune Photo Skills, Learn History, to Prepare for Black Belt Artist Trip
"Before we started, I knew next to nothing about the Black Belt region," admitted Kasandra Boor, a psych major and studio art minor. Boor, with five other students and associate professor of photography Chris Jordan, has been preparing this week for a research trip to Camden, Ala., where the group will photograph and interview artists who live in the Black Belt. The class has spent this week training and studying in preparation for work in the field next week, where they will take portrait photographs of artists, many of whom grew up in the region. The students will also interview and taking oral histories of the artists. Students have been reviewing photography basics and learning techniques of studio lighting and other skills they will put into practice next week. They have practiced by taking portrait photos of two art faculty members, learning to set up lighting equipment, build a photo and use artificial and natural light. They've also been learning more about the Black Belt region itself, reading about some of its history, as well as researching the artists they will be photographing and interviewing. "What I enjoyed most about this week is our discussions about how to respect cultural differences and agency. Basically, it is how to best tell accurate stories and respect how you are presenting information about others. I am very excited to keep learning throughout the next two weeks!” said Boor. This is the second group of students Jordan has brought to the area this year. These students range in experience from experienced photographers to novices, and not all are art majors. “I’m thrilled to be working with a group of students with a wide range of backgrounds,” Jordan said. The students are Kasandra Boor, psychology major, studio art minor; Aleiah Briggs, studio art major; Sarah Cheshire, MFA student in creative writing; Sam MacDonald, BFA major in photography and digital media; Gordon MacNeil, retired UA professor of social work; and Maddy O’Connor, studio art major. Maddy O'Connor, who lives in Florida, said she is looking forward to the adventure. "I have learned so much over this past week, and I feel prepared for the week to come. I have never visited the Black Belt region before, and I’ve always wanted to explore it. I feel like this will be such a positive learning experience for me, and I can’t wait to meet all of the local artists." Follow the Black Belt Artist Project on Instagram or Facebook and check out our growing photo page: https://art.ua.edu/news/black-belt-artist-project-daily-photos/ The Black Belt Artist Project is a collaborative initiative between the UA department of art and art history, the non-profit Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center and Canon Solutions America. A book, exhibition and archive of the materials will be produced from the oral histories recorded and portraits created by the students. Photo captions and credits: (top) Students practice portrait photos on Dr. Lucy Curzon in her Garland Hall office. [1-LUCY-CURZON.jpg] (middle) Students practice portrait photos on Associate Professor Bill Dooley in his Woods Hall studio. [2-BILL-DOOLEY.jpg] (bottom) Associate Professor Chris Jordan and students load photographic equipment into the car before their trip to Wilcox County, Ala. [4-1MonLOADING.jpeg] For more information about the Black Belt Artist Project, contact Associate Professor Chris Jordan at (205) 348-1217 or Rachel Dobson, communications specialist, at (205) 348-1893. For information about the UA Department of Art and Art History and its programs, visit our website: https://art.ua.edu/academics/or contact the department at (205) 348-5967.
UA Students Document Artists in the Black Belt of Alabama
If you’ve heard of the Gee’s Bend Quilters or Charlie "Tin Man" Lucas, then you know there are some uniquely creative artists in the Black Belt of Alabama. Associate Professor Chris Jordan’s photography students got to spend quality time this semester with some of them — artist and civil rights veteran Betty Anderson of Camden, potters Eric Miller and Allen Ham of Brent, painter Stephen R. James and potter Sam Williams of Monroe County, as well as quilters Tinnie and Minnie Pettway — photographing the artists and interviewing them. Working with a variety of Canon cameras, undergraduates Savanna Biggert, Arielle Gray, Jasmine James, Kayla Lawson, Holly Ray, Kassidy Stewart and graduate student Amber Quinn and recent graduate Candace VonHoffman took field trips to Camden in Wilcox County this spring, to practice their skills in portrait photography while documenting these culturally important artists. Junior studio art major Kassidy Stewart said “I have enjoyed the entire experience, from learning from my fellow photographers to hearing all the stories from the artists.” Stewart described a big turning point for her when the students used studio lighting outdoors. “That moment taught me that my passion is shooting with studio lighting and that I can shoot with lights inside and outside. That there is nothing limiting me when I create, I just have to learn to work with what I have to make some magic happen.” The Black Belt Artist Project is a collaborative initiative between the UA department of art and art history, the non-profit Black Belt Treasures Cultural Arts Center and Canon Solutions America. Jordan said that another student group will continue the project in May as part of an interim semester course. A book, exhibition and archive of the materials will be produced from the oral histories recorded and portraits created by the students. Photo captions and credits: top right: Graduate student Amber Quinn captures undergrads taking photos of artist Stephen R. James in Monroe County. Photo courtesy of Amber Quinn. above left: Gee’s Bend quilters Tinnie and Minnie Pettway sit for their portraits in their living room at home with Chris Jordan and his students. Photo courtesy of Kristin Law. For more information about the Black Belt Artist Project, contact Associate Professor Chris Jordan at (205) 348-1217 or Rachel Dobson, communications specialist, at (205) 348-1893. For information about the UA Department of Art and Art History and its programs, visit our website: https://art.ua.edu/academics/or contact the department at (205) 348-5967.
Photomontage Innovator to Exhibit on UA Campus
Tuscaloosa. — The Sarah Moody Gallery of Art is pleased to present Confluence by Jerry Uelsmann, March 21 through May 3, 2019. An opening reception will be held Thursday, March 21, 2019 in the gallery in Garland Hall. The exhibition by the acclaimed innovator of the technique of photomontage features 58 photographs from the artist’s work produced from 2014 to 2017. These black-and-white photographs are inspired by Uelsmann’s friendship with European art history scholar, Dr. Moa Petersen, who is writing his biography. Uelsmann’s photographic process has changed little in the years since his 1967 solo show at the Museum of Modern Art. By using multiple enlargers and masking and dodging techniques, he creates seamless composite negatives. “I try to create things that are authentically who I am. I’m inner-directed. I invent a reality that’s more meaningful to me — and hopefully to others — than the world we see with our eyes.” In 1967, Uelsmann said, “It is my conviction that the darkroom is capable of being, in the truest sense, a visual research lab; a place for discovery, observation and meditation.” Born in Detroit in 1934, Jerry Uelsmann received his BFA degree at the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1957 and his MS and MFA at Indiana University in 1960. He began teaching photography at the University of Florida in Gainesville in 1960 and became a graduate research professor of art at the university in 1974 until his retirement in 1997. He lives in Gainesville, Florida. Uelsmann received a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1967 and a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship in 1972. He is a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, a founding member of The Society of Photographic Education and a former trustee of the Friends of Photography. Uelsmann’s work has been exhibited in more than 100 solo shows in the United States and abroad. His photographs are in the permanent collections of many museums worldwide, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Chicago Art Institute, the International Museum of Photography at the George Eastman House, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Bibliotheque National in Paris, the National Museum of American Art in Washington, the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, the National Gallery of Canada, the National Gallery of Australia, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the National Galleries of Scotland, the Center for Creative Photography at the University of Arizona, the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography and the National Museum of Modern Art in Kyoto. This exhibition is organized by the University Gallery at the University of Florida, curated by Amy R. Vigilante and made possible by the Gary R. Libby Charitable Trust and Hector Puig. Image credit: Jerry Uelsmann, The Somnambulist's Dream, 2014, gelatin silver print, 30 x 24 inches. The Sarah Moody Gallery of Art is supported by The University of Alabama College of Arts and Sciences and the Department of Art and Art History. For further information, contact the gallery at 348-1891 or go to our website: https://art.ua.edu/gallery/smga/. Garland Hall is a five-minute walk from the Campus Drive Parking Deck and Bus Hub on Hackberry Lane. Information about visitor parking is available here: http://bamaparking.ua.edu/visitor-information/. For more information about The University of Alabama’s programs in studio art and art history, go here: https://art.ua.edu/academics/.
Teaching Legacy Passed to Next Generation
Two former students of the late Professor Gay Burke’s have extended her legacy of photography education to the next generation. Andy Meadows (MFA 1994) founded the Booker T. Washington Magnet School Photography program in 1995 at the then Carver Creative and Performing Arts School in Montgomery. Meadows now works as Arts Education Specialist for the Alabama State Department of Education where he distributes grants to schools and works to improve arts education in Alabama. Starting out with the unheard of budget of $20,000, Meadows outfitted a darkroom equal to many college-level darkrooms of the time. Since then, hundreds of students at “BTW” have learned the art and technology of film and digital photography, as well as what Meadows thought was just as important: how to run a photography business. Since 2009, Emily Thomas — first a student of Meadows at BTW and then a BFA major in photography (2004) under Gay Burke — has led BTW’s program. Over the years, photo students at BTW have won national, regional, state and local awards and recognition, including National Scholastic Art and Writing Gold Key Portfolio awards, National Scholastic Art Award’s American Visionary Awards and an Alabama State Council on the Arts Visual Arts Achievement Statewide Exhibition, among others. In August, a devastating fire at BTW destroyed most of their photo equipment. Thomas is now teaching photography from BTW’s temporary facility at Hayneville Road Elementary School. Meadows said that among the losses were $250,000 worth of, in some cases, irreplaceable darkroom equipment, cameras and photo supplies that he and Thomas collected over two decades. Fortunately, the students aren’t starting back to school with nothing. Most of their digital work was stored in “the cloud,” and some film photos had been digitized and backed-up. And, the students have a strong legacy of skilled art instruction as one of their top resources. When the students visited UA in October, en route to exhibiting their photos at the Kentuck Festival of the Arts, they were upbeat about the future. Thomas said that she wants to pass on what she learned from her photo professor — the courage to try out new approaches. Maybe that’s just the thing to help them get back on their feet: “Gay taught me that experimentation is part of making art. Sometimes it results in a success, sometimes it results in a complete failure, but you never know until you try.” [fall18] If you would like to contribute to Booker T. Washington Magnet High School’s fund, monetary donations can be made to the FAME Foundation with the designation, “BTW Photography Magnet”: https://www.btwfameboard.org. And, they have an Amazon Wish list of equipment they need: https://www.amazon.com/registry/wishlist/2ISQHK4RJ2QY4/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_awwl_s_qvygCbT8XR0NN
Gay Burke Memorial Fellowship in Photographic Arts
The Alabama State Council on the Arts announces the creation of the Gay Burke Memorial Fellowship in Photographic Arts for individual artists living in Alabama. Applications are open January 2 through March 1, 2019. Apply online at http://www.arts.alabama.gov/grants/howtoapply.aspx. Over four decades, photographer and professor of art Gay Burke developed a distinguished art photography program in The University of Alabama’s Department of Art and Art History, all the while creating her own artwork. Burke died May 1, 2017 after inspiring generations of photographers, artists and educators. Through a generous gift, the Gay Burke Memorial Fellowship in Photographic Arts was established in 2018 to provide Fellowships to Alabama photographers to advance their artistic careers. Applications will be accepted between January 2, 2019 - March 1, 2019. The selected artists will be announced in June 2019 with their fellowship period effective October 1, 2019 - September 30, 2020. $5,000 cash awards are made to individual artists in the photographic arts based on merit of work, career achievement, career potential and service to the state. This fellowship provides awards to recognize artistic excellence as well as professional commitment and maturity and contributes to the further development of the artist and the advancement of his or her professional career. Fellowships are competitive. Quality of work and professionalism as determined by samples of work and narrative are particularly important. Provide samples of the highest quality work completed within the last five years. Eligibility: All Fellowship applicants must be legal residents of Alabama for a minimum of two years prior to the application deadline, and are expected to maintain residency during the grant award year (Oct. 1 -Sept. 30). Artists who have previously been awarded any ASCA Fellowship are eligible to apply for a second Fellowship six years after their first Fellowship. After an artist has received two Fellowships, they are no longer eligible to apply. For more information about all the Fellowships offered by the Alabama State Council on the Arts, go to http://www.arts.alabama.gov/grants/howtoapply.aspx. To read more about Professor Gay Burke, go here: https://art.ua.edu/tag/gay-burke/ Download the flyer.
UA Faculty Finalist for National Photography Award
Associate Professor Christopher Jordan has been named one of ten finalists for the 2018 Clarence John Laughlin Award for photography. Jordan entered a portfolio of images, which included the photograph here, titled "Bad Dog." The Clarence John Laughlin Award was created to support the work of photographers who use the medium as a means of creative expression. It honors the life and work of Clarence John Laughlin (1905-1985), a New Orleans photographer best known for his surrealist images of the American South. The Award grants one $5000 prize annually to a photographer whose work exhibits sustained artistic excellence and creative vision. This year’s juror is Marcela Correa, Executive Director of the Arts District of New Orleans. Jordan explains his method of image-making: "I start by creating a 20”x30” tabletop diorama from photographs, cut paper and vellum. These dioramas are then lit in the studio and re-photographed. Through the play of light on vellum, I create the atmospheric effects. Through the interplay of physical materials, light and implied narrative, this work explores the ambiguity between photographic realism and pictorialism, and the ordinary versus the uncanny." For more information about UA’s Department of Art and Art History’s degree programs, go to this page: https://art.ua.edu/academics/