2008 Woodie Awards
Gallery portrays Maine women
Exhibit depicts rural women's connection to land, community
Jaz Gray
Issue date: 2/14/08 Section: News
The Harold Baldwin Photo Gallery at MTSU is hosting "Maine Women: Living on the Land," an art exhibit exploring the connection that rural women have with family, community and nature.
The exhibit, which is being featured until Feb. 28 in the Ned McWherter Learning Resource Center, is the culmination of 10 years of work for photographer Lauren Shaw, who started the project in 1995 and opened in 2005.
"I got a small grant to travel [to Maine] really not knowing what I was going to do except that I really wanted to understand what it meant to feel like part of a community," Shaw said.
Shaw interviewed a medicinal herbalist, a state representative, a Native American tribal chief and other women to create dialogue and critical thought about the lessons learned through leading a simple but fulfilling life.
The photography and video accompaniment tell a captivating story. A mélange of women, one with short, gray hair, another with chocolate brown dreadlocks, one surrounded by goats, all share a respect for their surroundings and a desire to leave a legacy.
Shaw's combination of a traditional collection of still images and video results from her professional evolution over the past 30 years.
It has allowed people to understand the women in their own words, she said.
"I wanted people to start asking the question that I was asking, which was 'What does it mean to live in a [certain community]?'" she said.
Shaw decided to focus on women from Maine because the people there had a culture and bond with one another that she had not seen anywhere else.
She admitted that she was not entirely sure if the exhibit would strike a chord with people who have no connection to Maine.
"[The exhibit] had an incredible response but whether it'll play in California and whether people will get it I don't know," Shaw said.
The gallery is on display until 4:30 p.m. weekday afternoons.
The exhibit, which is being featured until Feb. 28 in the Ned McWherter Learning Resource Center, is the culmination of 10 years of work for photographer Lauren Shaw, who started the project in 1995 and opened in 2005.
"I got a small grant to travel [to Maine] really not knowing what I was going to do except that I really wanted to understand what it meant to feel like part of a community," Shaw said.
Shaw interviewed a medicinal herbalist, a state representative, a Native American tribal chief and other women to create dialogue and critical thought about the lessons learned through leading a simple but fulfilling life.
The photography and video accompaniment tell a captivating story. A mélange of women, one with short, gray hair, another with chocolate brown dreadlocks, one surrounded by goats, all share a respect for their surroundings and a desire to leave a legacy.
Shaw's combination of a traditional collection of still images and video results from her professional evolution over the past 30 years.
It has allowed people to understand the women in their own words, she said.
"I wanted people to start asking the question that I was asking, which was 'What does it mean to live in a [certain community]?'" she said.
Shaw decided to focus on women from Maine because the people there had a culture and bond with one another that she had not seen anywhere else.
She admitted that she was not entirely sure if the exhibit would strike a chord with people who have no connection to Maine.
"[The exhibit] had an incredible response but whether it'll play in California and whether people will get it I don't know," Shaw said.
The gallery is on display until 4:30 p.m. weekday afternoons.
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