BRATTLEBORO-The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) invites the public to a conversation with photographer Susan Mikula and curator Charlie Hunter about "Island," an exhibit featuring Mikula's images of the historically rich, 30-acre so-called island in Bellows Falls, Vermont.
On display at BMAC until Feb. 9, named for a giant shelf of bedrock forcing the Connecticut River to make an abrupt eastward hitch in Bellows Falls, "Island" features dream-like images. Mikula achieved her ghost-like images, which were created specifically for this exhibit, after years of experimentation in her craft using old Polaroid cameras and expired instant film.
Curator Hunter says, "Mikula has a painter's eye. With it, she captures the lovely mystery of a place. In her works for 'Island,' her vision is simultaneously rooted in and floating above the land. We see the island through Mikula's eyes."
In their BMAC talk, Mikula and Hunter will discuss the artistic exploration of a geographic spot that has been defined by humans for centuries. An important gathering place for the Abenaki and Iroquois people, what was once a peninsula became surrounded by water with the creation of the Bellows Falls Canal at the turn of the 19th century. The now-quiet island has been influenced by the comings and goings of agriculture, manufacturing, rail, and commerce.
In a statement accompanying the exhibit, Mikula writes, "I walked and slid over Island from November to June, in weather mostly drab but occasionally glorious, cajoling my old cameras to create what I already knew was there: the fine particularity of a place outside of time."
Mikula and Hunter will discuss the artmaking process in which Mikula used outdated film and old Polaroid models, including the SX-70 Land Camera Alpha 1 and the SX-70 Model 2 SE.
"I love these old mechanisms, and I adore their mischievous natures," Mikula said. "They are sensitive to cold, and I would often have to keep them swaddled in woolens, taking out one at a time, for two or three shots, before putting [them] back into the snug, dry warmth of the basket."
She added, "The shot film was sensitive too. On very cold days, I would slide the pictures next to my skin to keep them warm enough to develop."
Mikula lives and works in New York City and rural western Massachusetts. Her work has been shown in solo and group exhibits in New York, San Francisco, Miami, Los Angeles, and Northampton and Provincetown, Massachusetts. It is in private collections in the United States and Europe, as well as in the permanent collection of the U.S. Embassy, Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.
Hunter is a painter who lives in Bellows Falls. This is the second exhibit he has curated for BMAC. As a painter, Hunter says his goal is "to paint beautifully that which is not traditionally considered beautiful."
The talk will be held Thursday, Nov. 19, at 5:30 p.m. at BMAC, 10 Vernon St. Admission is free. Registration is optional, and walk-ins are welcome. To register, visit brattleboromuseum.org or call 802-257-0124, ext. 101.
This Arts item was submitted to The Commons.