The Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College will host two significant exhibitions that take their origins from the northern Michigan landscape. They will be on view from October 13 – January 5, 2014. The two exhibitions are:
Shine On: Photographs of Northwest Michigan by Gregory D. Seman
This exhibition features new work and selected works from the collection of the Dennos Museum Center by photographic artist Greg Seman, and is presented in association with the publication of his monograph, Shine On – Northwestern Michigan Region, A Portfolio of Photographs by Gregory D. Seman cataloging many of the works in this exhibition. Seman’s black and white photographs are at once beautifully rendered, intimate portraits and haunting documentaries of the Northwest Michigan landscape. Shine On will be available for purchase in the museum store.
Born and raised in Flint, Michigan in 1959, Traverse City became Greg Seman’s adopted hometown in 1990. Greg’s lifelong fascination of black and white photography began in junior high school, when he taught himself to develop film and contact print; a passion that has continued to this day. He now photographs with 4×5 and 8×10 inch film cameras, exposing and developing each sheet of film individually, and printing the black and white negative himself on silver gelatin paper in the darkroom. Living in the northern Michigan region has been essential to his body of work; observing the shoreline transition from season to season and photographing on his daily commute or lunch hour, witnessing moments of dramatic change. Evenings allow for a time of exploration and becoming intimate with areas on the coast of Lake Michigan.
Greg has studied photography at Rochester Institute of Technology and with photographers, Howard Bond and John Sexton. Greg’s work is represented by photography dealer, Tom Halsted, and has been exhibited and held in the permanent collections of the Dennos Museum Center, Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, University of Michigan Museum of Art, and the Toledo Institute of Arts.
Art of the Sleeping Bear Dunes: Transforming Nature into Art
Art of the Sleeping Bear Dunes: Transforming Nature into Art brings together over 100 local and regional artists presenting their interpretations of one of the most beautiful places in America. The exhibition coincides with the publication of the book Art of the Sleeping Bear Dunes: Transforming Nature into Art by Leelanau Press, cataloging the work shown in the exhibition. Edited by Linda Young, the book includes essays by Jerry Dennis and Kathleen Stocking and was designed by Angela Saxon.
The book is underwritten by Arts Tavern, Cherry Republic, and Cottage Book Shop. It will be available for purchase in the museum store.
The publication and exhibition celebrate the remarkable beauty of this unique northern Michigan gem. Drawn for decades to the majestic beauty and ever-changing landscape of the Sleeping Bear Dunes, artists have long been inspired to interpret the diversity and vastness of this region—towering dunes, clear waters, pristine forests, historic farmlands and meandering trails—all found within the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore’s boundaries. Artists were invited to share their interpretations of this special environment by submitting entries for inclusion in both the exhibit and the publication.
The works included in the exhibition and publication were selected by Mary McNichols, professor of Art History at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit and EW Ross, retired program director for Ox-Bow School of Art in Saugatuck and former Dean of Continuing Studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.
The Leelanau Press, a nonprofit publishing company, was established by Barbara and Frank Siepker and Suzanne Wilson. Run by a volunteer staff and working with local graphic designers and editors, its sole purpose is to publish books on Leelanau County subjects, writers and artists.
Reception and Program for Invited Artists and Guests, and Museum Members
There will be a preview reception for invited artists and guests, and museum members on Saturday October 12 at 7:00 PM at the Dennos Museum Center with a program at 8:00 PM in Milliken Auditorium. The program will include a reading of The Legend of Sleeping Bear by Mary Anne Rivers followed by a panel discussion, At the Intersection of Art & Nature, with photographer Greg Seman, Linda Young, former president of the Glen Arbor Art Association, and Tom Ulrich, Deputy Superintendent of Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.
A book signing for Art of the Sleeping Bear Dunes: Transforming Nature into Art and Shine On will follow the program.
Educational Programming
The Dennos Museum Center’s Education department will be presenting a series of educational programs in association with these two exhibitions. For more information contact Jason Dake at 231-995-1029 or Jdake@nmc.edu.
Exhibitions at the Dennos Museum Center are supported in part by grants from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs and the National Endowment for the Arts. Local support comes from the Robert T and Ruth Haidt Hughes Memorial Endowment Fund, TV 7&4 and WCMU Public Broadcasting.
The Dennos Museum Center is open Monday to Saturday 10 AM to 5 PM, Thursday until 8 PM and Sundays 1-5 PM with admission charged. For more information on the Museum and its programs, go to www.dennosmuseum.org or call 231-995-1055. The Dennos Museum Center is located at 1410 College Drive, Traverse City, MI 49686, at the entrance to the campus of Northwestern Michigan College.