The Wake

Tucked away in a discrete corner of northeast Minneapolis is the Minnesota Center for Photography. On the outside, the center looks plain and drab, similar to the other shops around it. One step inside, however, transports you to art galleries, a bookstore and 8,000 square feet of an artistic atmosphere comparable to the Weisman. The entire place is a photographic paradise which is now focusing on its newest exhibition, ICY: Clear Views 01.

ICY 01 is a new exhibit which will feature a handful of contemporary artists. This year the exhibit contains works of art by Caroline Burghardt, Kelli Connelland Jean Laughton. According to Cole Saras, the Center Administrator, each of these artists was chosen by George Slade, the Artistic Director of the center, based on previous works he’d seen. Jean Laughton’s work was featured previously by the center during their annual juried exhibition, Photocentric, in 2005.

“All three of those bodies of work are about relationships and the way people interact with each other,” says Kaia Hemming, the center’s Development and Communications Coordinator. Each of the artists examines the relationships people have, and the perceptions behind these relationships. Many of the images produced by the artists seem intrusive, almost as if you were observing a confrontation.

Caroline Burghardt is an artist from New York, whose work centers around her family and the life they lead in their Cape Cod community. Many of her images involve her relatives, and sometimes herself, in leisure activities. From a tennis player to the elderly grandmother playing solitaire, everything looks serene and peaceful, as if time can’t catch up with these privileged New Englanders. Yet most of the focus in her photos is on the environments around the people in the picture, seemingly illustrating the relationships they have with nature.

Kelli Connell’s work is especially interesting. An artist from Ohio, her work is rooted in a relationship between two women. Several images depict the women having fun out and about, at a bar, or at the pool hall. Yet the most intriguing photos are of the women at home, or in some other closed space. It is apparent these women share an intimacy that at times makes the viewer feel uncomfortable, peering into the world these characters share together. Even more puzzling is the similarity between the women, raising questions of whether or not the two are sisters. The best aspect of Connell’s work isn’t the work itself but the story behind it. The two women were never in the same space together, Connell posed just one model for each of the women in every single photo, and digitally manipulated the photographs so it would seem there were two women present and interacting.

The Old West seems to be the major theme in Jean Laughton’s work. Indeed, the images shown in this exhibition are from the artist’s series entitled Go West. Each work of art comes from Laughton’s experiences at powwows and rodeos, and every person she photographs is a complete stranger to her. Each subjects is photographed against a painted backdrop. Much of her work deals with the relationships people have with their own ideas of the West. She often blends both the reality of the western lifestyle with romanticized ideas and popular myths surrounding her subjects. For example, one piece, Blur, Cowtown, is an image representing the quintessential cowboy with his thumbs on his belt, blurred and sepia-toned.

The Minnesota Center for Photography is a non-profit organization. “Our mission,” Hemming says, “is to support and promote the creation and appreciation of photographic art.” It is located at 165 13th Avenue NE in Minneapolis. The center is open Tuesday through Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., open until 8 p.m. on Thursdays. Almost all of the artwork featured in ICY: 01 is available for purchase, with the proceeds going directly to the artist and the center. For more information about the Minnesota Center for Photography go to or contact the center by phone at 612-824-5500.