Points of View
It has been the great pleasure of Evansville Arts Coalition to host the exhibit Points of View: Work by Kathleen Richert and Stuart Klipper during the month of June, This renown photographer and prolific painter and textile artist have left an indelible mark in the art world that is relatable to each one who has the privilege to view their work.
An Eye for knowing Where to Stand
For decades Kathleen Richert and Stuart Klipper have wandered the countryside, separately and together, following tertiary routes and roads less traveled in search of subjects. Richert arms herself with watercolor paint, paper, and brushes; Klipper wields his trusty wide-field film camera (yes, film). Richert often quips, “Some trips we stop every thousand feet so Stuart can make a picture, but it only takes a sixtieth of a second. We may stop once or twice so that I can make a picture, and we are there for half an hour.”
Early on they discovered that they both prefer a rectangular landscape orientation. Both are drawn to subjects which are representative of a geographic area, but which include something specific and unique anchoring that image to a specific locale, even to its coordinates.
“Photography,” says Klipper, “is knowing where to stand.”
For both Richert and Klipper, images begin with deciding where to stand— or sit — to frame their specific points of view.
Kathleen Richert
Kathleen is a watercolorist, relentless State Fair blue ribbon winner and accomplished textile artist. If you've been to the weather exhibit at the Science Museum of Minnesota, you've seen her tornado.
Kathleen Richert
In her own words:
“My artistic output crosses disciplines from textile work to hand-made books to painting. I love the portability of watercolor— with just a cross-body bag and a collapsible water bottle I can take my watercolor kit anywhere. I prefer to paint en plein air — outside and on location, sitting in a field on a three-legged stool or perched atop my car on the side of a county road.
I approach watercolor painting the way I would learning another language. Conversations with places improves my fluency. I am learning to describe what I see with color, shape and shadow. Those are the tools I use to distill what I see into the essence of a place. I am focused on the things that make each place unique, yet recognizable. Each geographic location requires its own color palette and unique rhythm of brushstrokes.
This collection of work is drawn primarily from my explorations of the landscapes of my home state and the Upper Midwest. Each one is a snapshot, where color and form come together to store a memory of time spent looking at a particular place on a particular day.”
Stuart Klipper
Stuart is a multiple award-winning photographer and one of the relatively few people to have been to both Poles, the North and South. To view a PBS Minnesota Originals profile of Stuart, click here.
Stuart Klipper
In his own words:
“As a photographer, I have made many forays to look at remote places; truly, to the very ends of the Earth. What came naturally, when eventually reflected upon, boiled down to an understanding that wonder and awe can be found at every turn. This, I guess, is what has fueled and perpetuated my creative impulses. I go out into the world; I look around; I see what there is to see. What I see, and look at, can inherently always be seen anew, no matter how commonplace or ordinary. It is such “magic” that keeps the creativity alive.
On coming home, I need to drop anchor on home ground. I have long done this by exploring these United States. I have gone into, and wandered about, every state, basically to just see what’s there and what might be characteristics that define the nature of American places and regions. My photographs in this exhibition hail from such places.”
There is still time to view this wonderful exhibit through Saturday, June 28. Gallery Hours are 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. On Saturday, the artists will present an Artist Talk at 1:00 p.m. followed by a reception complete with light refreshments. Following the reception, Dan “Daddy Squeeze” Newton will perform on the Evansville Art Center Stage at 3:00 p.m. Dancing will certainly be allowed!