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Michael Johnson Photographs
June 18 - August 8, 1999
For the last thirty years the Northwest Illinois landscape has been
the principal focus of the work of Mt. Carroll photographer Michael Johnson.
He has driven virtually every road in Stephenson, Jo Daviess and Carroll
counties recording the dramatic skies, pastoral farms and traditional rural
farmsteads of the region. During the last ten years Mr. Johnson has also
made the deserts and mountains of the American Southwest the subject of
his work, with special emphasis on the Gila Wilderness area of Southwest
New Mexico. Now visitors to the Freeport Arts Center will be able to see
the most recent work of this nationally recognized artist. (left: Michael Johnson, Granary)
Johnson has said, "I am excited by the intricate connections between light, atmosphere and space: the filtering effect of dusty light shafts in old barns and granaries, or the piercing clarity of highlights reflected from distant farm buildings. The possibilities seem endless. The reward, discovering fresh beauty in the natural world, is more than ample."
Michael Johnson has photographed barns continuously during the thirty years he has lived in Northwestern Illinois and he will show a collection of these prints along with his new work in the upcoming exhibition. These photographs reveal the singular character of many of the barns, a feature of the landscape which is quickly disappearing. Several of these photographs were recently shown at the Galena Historical Society along with an exhibition of photographs of barns from the Smithsonian collection in Washington D.C.
Read more about the Freeport Arts Center in the Resource Library
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