Aloha … from BethC Gifford raises money for March of DimesRutland photographer Richard Brown coming to Gifford art gallery
RANDOLPH, April 12, 2010 – Rutland photographer Richard L. Brown, an experienced art historian and writer, will exhibit his first solo show in Vermont in the Gifford Medical Center Gallery from April 14 to June 2.
“I first handled a ‘serious’ 35mm camera in early 1976 when I was leaving for a research trip to the Soviet Union,” Brown says. “A friend lent me her camera because she thought I should have one with me. The photographs that I took on that trip were little better than mediocre, but the experience infected me with an abiding interest in recording the world via photography.”
Brown says he had two reasons for taking pictures.
“The first was to get shots of works of art and architecture to use in the art history courses I was teaching. The second was to record my experiences and travels to share with friends and family.”
But soon Brown was doing more than recording his travels.
“Over time,” he says, “I developed a sizeable library of images, and became aware that my work was transforming from a matter of recording the world to an attempt to interpret it in an artistic way. In a sense, this was hardly surprising, as my career as an art historian and art writer brought me into daily contact with art and artists.”
As he alludes, Brown has an extensive background in art.
He has a bachelor’s degree in English from Wabash College in Indiana, a master’s in humanities from Wayne State University in Detroit and a Ph.D. in comparative arts from Ohio University.
He’s gone on to work at the Rutland Herald as a librarian and then archivist, overseeing the newspaper’s collection of about 30,000 negatives exposed by its long-time photographer Aldo Merusi. Brown even organized an expedition of 130 of Merusi’s best works.
He also served as chairman and gallery director at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Wa., in the Department of Art; was a guest curator at the Tacoma Art Museum; is a freelance art writer; was a consultant for the Indianapolis Museum of Art and the Culver Education Foundation in Indiana; and has been a professor of art history at Castleton State College, the College of St. Joseph the Provider, Nasson College, Oklahoma State University and the Pacific Lutheran University.
But it wasn’t until the 1990s that he even began thinking of showing his own work.
He was held back, he says, “by a curious sense of being not worthy.
“In retrospect, I believe that having been one who sat on the sidelines of creation, commenting on art and teaching about it, made me hesitant about trying to join the ranks of actual artists: people for whom I had – and have – a very high regard. I suppose the situation was somewhat akin to being an ‘armchair quarterback.’”
Now off the bench, Brown has shown his work in small galleries and in group shows. His first solo show at Gifford includes primarily images he’s taken manually with film. “I value the latitude of exposure that film allows,” he notes.
His show at Gifford is comprised mostly of works he’s taken in extreme lighting situations, such as at night, under moonlight or directly into the noontime sun.
To see Brown’s works, visit the Gifford Gallery. The Gifford Gallery is just inside the main entrance of the Randolph hospital at 44 S. Main St. Call Gifford at (802) 728-7000 or Volunteer Coordinator Julie Fischer at (802) 728-2324 for more information.
Brown’s works are also online at www.richardbrownphotos.com.