Immortalized: Lens and Light

Center for the Arts Evergreen

31880 Rocky Village Drive, Evergreen, CO 80439

February 23-April 1

Admission: Free

Review by Shana Cruz-Thompson

Immortalized: Lens and Light at the Center for the Arts Evergreen celebrates glass and light as mediums for self-expression. Curator Sara Miller first approached the theme literally, selecting stained glass and mosaic pieces by Evergreen artists Trudy Chiddix, Maria Sheets, and Susan Wechsler. [1] Expanding on the idea of glass by looking at the form of a lens, Miller added photographic works by Thomas Carr, Ron Johnson, Raj Manickam, Stephen Podrasky, Ward Russell, John Shelton, and Michael Trupiano—all members of the Colorado-based collective Photo Pensato.

An installation view of the exhibition *Immortalized: Lens and Light* at the Center for the Arts Evergreen. Image by *DARIA*.

The result of this mixture is an exhibit that explores how glass and light contribute to the innate beauty of each medium. Glass can bend, reflect, amplify, and manipulate light in countless ways to convey or inspire a range of emotions. When honed into a lens, glass and light combine to create photographic images that tell our stories and immortalize our histories. These themes come across in Immortalized: Lens and Light through 27 black and white photos that line the walls, punctuated by colorful stained glass and mosaic works dispersed throughout.

Maria Sheets, *Sword of Daniel (Portrait of the artist’s nephew)*, kiln-fired, stained glass painting, 26 x 52 inches. Image courtesy of the Center for the Arts Evergreen.

The stained glass works of Maria Sheets catch the viewer’s eye with their radiant, backlit color and poignant, socio-political themes. A distinguished art conservator and master painter working in traditional kiln-fired, stained glass processes, Sheets’ artworks possess exquisite detail. [2] In the piece Sword of Daniel (Portraits of the artist’s nephew), Sheets portrays her nephew presenting a sword while illuminated by a halo and surrounded by imagery related to Civil Rights events.

A detail view of the historic and contemporary African American activists and leaders and Civil Rights events depicted in Maria Sheets’ *Sword of Daniel (Portrait of the artist’s nephew)*. Image by *DARIA*.

Sheets’ works are at once delicate and bold, created with the same historical processes used for centuries to illuminate churches and sacred spaces. Combining contemporary themes with traditional methods elevates the imagery and hints at the divine. This work must be seen in person to truly appreciate it.

Susan Wechsler, *Living in Color,* glass and ceramic mosaic, 36 x 48 inches. Image courtesy of the Center for the Arts Evergreen.

The mosaic work of Susan Wechsler also begs a closer look at its details. In these works, she incorporates found glass, ceramic, and other objects from her travels. The oval pieces in Living in Color are reminiscent of antique cabochons. These, and the textures and colors she employs, are a nod to her background in costume design. [3]

A detail view of Susan Wechsler’s *Living in Color*. Image by Shana-Cruz Thompson.

Since its advent, glass has been central to enhancing how we see and know the world. For centuries, stained and painted glass windows and church mosaics told religious stories for those who could not read. Lenses in microscopes and telescopes made the invisible visible. When the lens was used to make photographs, it introduced a new visual language that has shaped our culture since the mid-1800s.

An installation view of *Immortalized: Lens and Light* with Susan Wechsler’s *Living in Color* in the center left surrounded by black and white photographs. Image by *DARIA*.

Regarding this visual language, the photo historian John Szarkowski theorized that every photograph can be categorized as either a mirror or a window. When a photograph is a mirror, it is a “romantic expression of the photographer’s sensibility as it projects itself onto the things and sights of this world,” and when it is a window, the work provides a space “through which the exterior world is explored in all its presences and reality.” [4] Within this metaphor, I found the most meaningful connection of the photographs in this exhibition to the theme of lens and light.

Thomas Carr, *Shards of Uncertainty,* archival inkjet print from 35mm negative, 14 x 18 inches. Image courtesy of the artist.

Thomas Carr, *Transforming Uncertainty*, archival inkjet print from 35mm negative, 14 x 18 inches. Image courtesy of the artist.

Thomas Carr is a Denver-based photographer whose Shards of Uncertainty leans towards the “mirror” side of Szarkowski’s dichotomy. In it, a woman curls up to shield herself from a stream of broken shards of reflective glass. “A broken mirror serves as a metaphor for reflection, then ultimately leads to a new self when we pick up the pieces of something that may have been broken and we rebuild from that,” Carr asserts. [5] This sentiment is also present in the image Transforming Uncertainty, which portrays a woman crouched in a lush forest closely examining a fallen leaf. Both photographs are from his series Solitude, Darkness, Light, made up of stills created by Carr for a collaborative film project with the same title.

Ward Russell, *Viewing the Past*, black and white print on archival paper with museum glass, 20 x 16 inches. Image courtesy of the Center for the Arts Evergreen.

Ward Russell, *Passing Through*, black and white print on archival paper with museum glass, 20 x 16 inches. Image courtesy of the Center for the Arts Evergreen.

Viewing the Past and Passing Through by Ward Russell stand out for their mirror-like qualities. These works by the award-winning cinematographer and photographer speak directly to the reflective nature of glass. In Viewing the Past, an older building is reflected in the glass of a modern skyscraper, juxtaposing the past with the present. Passing Through depicts a man traveling on a train as his reflection is mirrored in the window next to him, through which the viewer can see the passing landscape. Russell’s imagery lands in Szarkowski’s “window” side of the metaphor, giving us a realistic—though cleverly rendered—view of the world through his lens.

For centuries, glass has been a mechanism for us to pursue an understanding of ourselves and the world. Although curator Sarah Miller intended glass, lenses, and light to be secondary curatorial themes in Immortalized: Lens and Light, as a photographer, I felt right at home.

Shana Cruz-Thompson is an experimental photographer and mixed media artist based in Aurora, Colorado. She holds a BFA in Photography from the University of Colorado Denver. Shana is the founder of Project Photo Op, creator and curator of Vigilante Darkroom Zine, is an Arts in Public Places Commissioner for the City of Aurora, and a board member of Denver Digerati.

[1] From the exhibition catalog for Immortalized: Lens and Light, Center for the Arts Evergreen, February 23-April 1, 2023.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] John Szarkowski, Mirrors and Windows: American Photography since 1960 (New York: Museum of Modern Art, 1978).

[5] From my interview with Thomas Carr, conducted on March 6, 2023.