GCSU Museum
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September 10 – November 28, 2009
Curated by Halsey Director, Mark Sloan, this exhibition juxtaposes the photographic works of two artists focused on different aspects of the War on Terror.' Christopher Sims' photographs capture simulated Iraqi and Afghani villages in the United States, where troops train prior to their overseas deployment, while Pearsall, a military photographer, shows American troops on the field in Iraq and Afghanistan. The photographs provide a glimpse into two worlds we have had very little access to since the war began. According to Sloan, "These photographers show us aspects of what life is like for the U.S. soldier from training to battlefield."
This exhibition joins contemporary political events with social issues such as healthcare, sexuality, equality, religion… into imagery that is not only thought-provoking but at times difficult to digest. Following its premiere in Charleston, the exhibit received a great amount of press coverage for not only its depth coverage of the subject but its timely release, which coincided with the inauguration of President Obama.
About the Artists
Christopher Sims
Sims' photographs are selected from his recent series, Home Fronts: The Pretend Villages of Talatha, Braggistan and Medina Wasl, taken on U.S. Army base training grounds in North Carolina, Louisiana, and California. Sims received his undergraduate degree in history from Duke University, his M.A. in visual communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and his M.F.A. in studio art from the Maryland Institute College of Art. He currently teaches photography and multimedia at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke. He received a national fellowship from the Houston Center for photography and was featured in the book American Photography 20, a collection edited by Kathy Ryan of The New York Times Magazine. Christopher Sims' photographs are courtesy of Ann Stewart Fine Art.
Stacy Pearsall
Now living in Charleston, Stacy Pearsall got her start as an Air Force photographer at the age of 17. She attended Syracuse University where she won the Associated Collegiate Press Award. Her work has been published in Time, Newsweek, The New York Times, on CNN, and the Oscar-nominated PBS program, Operation Home Coming. She is one of only two women to win the National Press Photographers Association's Military Photographer of the Year competition and the only woman to have won it twice. Pearsall is now retired from United States Air Force and works worldwide as a freelance photographer and serves as the acting Director of the Charleston Center for Photography.
Soldier Portraits photographs by Ellen Susan
September 10 – October 15, 2009
About the work, Susan says, "One of my aims in photographing contemporary soldiers this way has become to provide a counterpoint to anonymous representations seen on television and newspapers. The wet plate process is slow and deliberate, requiring a large view camera and a darkroom onsite. The combination of the long exposure time (some are as long as 60 seconds) and the peculiarities of its appearance make images with an intensity of gaze and minute detail unique to 19th century processes.
About the Artist
Ellen Susan lives and works in Savannah, GA. She holds an MFA in photography from the Rhode Island School of Design and a BFA from the Massachusetts College of Art. Her work is widely exhibited and publicized throughout the US and is featured in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR; Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans; and Rhode Island School of Design, Providence.
