I enjoy walking about art museums for the obvious reasons. Those in Siouxland and those that are located near the area. The chance to look at and ponder what lies before one’s eyes whether you agree with or even like what you see. But the creator of the piece saw something, and a museum displaying it saw worth in the acquisition to share with the public.
Walking about the museum’s various galleries and public areas can also test the visitor’s “seeing” and the architecture involved to pique an interest. And whether one sees the entire scene or just a detail helps shape perception on the part of the viewer and can in turn help develop one’s eye.
And whether one wants to record, or photograph, what one sees and how one sees something can also be an exercise to “practice seeing” and later look at again and determine if what was recorded is what was intended. Exercising one’s vision to help refine a way of seeing is not a bad thing. As an instructor once told me, painters have a blank canvas to add elements too to create what they envision. A photographer has a lot of stuff in their field of view and then must eliminate or distill down the image that is envisioned to share with others as well as what photographically speaks to that individual.
Walking through a museum there are so many ways to interpret what is there by the use of space or light or depth, shapes, lines and angles. Making a conscious effort to align these in what an individual might believe is a telling image.
Mother Nature decorated Siouxland and rural Nebraska recently with remnants of this year’s winter’s season, as some low lying fog areas created that winter wonderland look with hoarfrost decorating the surrounding countryside. This kind of frost never seems to last long. That short shelf life between freezing and sunshine allows the ethereal effect to disappear quickly. Letting one wonder if it was a dream or actually real. Something William Shakespeare make have written about in one of his plays that also took place in the countryside.
I always find it challenging in photographing in this type of environment. One needs enough contrast to bring out the delicate details of the frost, especially if one is attempting macro photography. Blue skies are ideal because of the contrast, but that means the frost will be disappearing soon as the temperatures begin to rise and the sunshine helps the frost “disappear”.
As I drove to this area to look about I that particular day I drove through some dense fog. But the temperature there was not cool enough to create the frost I found in rural Nebraska. And just miles apart. Sometimes one gets lucky and gets to witness Mother Nature in action. The hoarfrost being a kind of benign action as opposed to seeing storms and the destruction sometimes wrought after those have ended. This day though, I just wished I had brought a thermos of coffee with me as the sun rose higher in the sky and the landscape changed before the viewer’s eyes.
For some reason, this winter feels like it has lasted a long time in Siouxland. I know that probably isn’t true, but sometimes the slow march of time makes it feel that way. With unusually warmer days than normal, am guessing myself and others were spoiled a bit and the anticipation of warmer days lasting more than one or two and again some green scenery is palpable.
I look forward to returning to some favorite haunts and seeing how they have or have not changed. Lauritizen Gardens is one such place and the flowers in spring and early summer are a delight to behold.
I enjoy visiting places “off season” as it’s nice to see a contrast from what one would normally expect, especially at the Gardens as it’s generally “dressed up” and looking nice. And it looks like some changes are also underway so I look forward to seeing what transpires and as I understand it a rearrangement of assets will make it a better environment for the patrons’ visiting experience. Progress is just that. Good, bad, indifferent, everyone has their own take. Change is constant, and beauty is in the eye of the individual beholder.
Changes are underway at an art museum in Omaha, NE, The Joslyn Museum. The collection of artwork there is amazing to see as are the various traveling exhibits the museum brings to share with its visitors. Traveling throughout Siouxland one has an opportunity to enjoy world class art in a number of places, and sometimes those places need a refresh to adjust to a new era and planning for their own future.
Myself and some friends were not alone the particular day we visited. School groups, families and other small groups and individuals moved about the exhibit rooms enjoying the art and sculpted pieces on display. A nice to see scenes depicted centuries ago by famous, and maybe not so famous artists but all worth the time to view, maybe sit and contemplate what the is there. In a museum time becomes somewhat irrelevant and for good reason. There is no need to hurry, but better to linger and savor and enjoy the beauty before one’s eyes.
The museum will be closing this May for a couple of years according to information on its website. And I wanted one last change to wander and browse the fine art and architectural sights within the building. A little selfishly, I enjoy visiting the museum on hot summer days. When it’s unbearable to be outdoors, the dim lighting and wonderful works to view was always a respite from the day’s oppressive nature. A sanctuary to just sit and enjoy beauty and all that is offered.
Change and the future sometimes requires one to learn patience and to anticipate what new experiences the Joslyn Museum will offer its patrons and visits in the years to come.
Some actions, whether animal or people, speak for themselves. When it comes to primates and other species as well, it’s easy to identify with creatures and some habits they exhibit. All God’s children in Siouxland, and some days reflect that fact.
Recently visiting the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha, NE I visited a primate section and spent some time observing and enjoying behavior that anyone might exhibit. Some days are just made to lounge after breakfast and it was late morning when I arrived. A warmer than usual day and the sun was trying to peek out from behind the morning clouds.
There has been a see saw of weather extremes in Siouxland as of late. Temperatures in the 50’s, then dropping down to single digits with overnight lows in the minus 0 range. Those are days I personally like not to venture outside and have reached a stage in life where that is possible. Sometimes it’s nice to be able to pick and choose one’s moments. Not often, but once in a while it works out.
Personally I am looking forward to those spring days so time spent outside only requires a sweater or a fleece pullover and a hat. Longer daylight so drive time and the beginning of plants and fauna greening up again. It also allows a little longer visit to the zoo and maybe another museum or park in the Omaha area, as well as a lunch break. Some days are meant to be slow and meandering and spent in thought and gazes.
As the weather trends, hopefully, toward spring and the coming warmer months I once again begin thinking about places I want to visit or revisit in Siouxland that I might have seen briefly but would like to spend more time looking about. I always find it’s never too early to plan, well most times.
There are places I have driven past on my way to somewhere, else, and always tell myself that I need to stop and explore. The coming months I will begin thinking about some of those places and plan to take the time to visit them, explore and try not to be too destination oriented. Get there, get home. But take the time to walk about and explore and see what I have been missing. Some of these include small towns I have driven through or passed that might be a mile of two off the main road.
And I keep learning that it never pays to be in a hurry, but to slow down, look, listen and enjoy. When I worked for various newspapers I rushed about a lot, getting to assignments then back to the office to get the photographs turned around for the next day’s publication. But now, I don’t have an editor asking me to be in two places at once or to work faster. Time is a curse and a blessing, depending on how one looks at it. But I’m still photographing and still enjoying it and hope to find more places as time permits.
History can be found in many ways as one drives about and visits places in and around Siouxland. A companion exhibit to one about Billie Holiday at the Durham Museum in Omaha, NE recounts through photographs early days of jazz in the Omaha area. Names of early musicians who led the way to a changing style of music.
A number of musicians then as now played in a variety of groups and different venues to make a living creating “sound” or music and pursuing their particular passion. Even now in the Old Market area of Omaha one will find street musicians playing, providing entertainment (depending on one’s taste) and during the warmer months can be found around the area.
Not a frequenter of the clubs in the Omaha area, I can only surmise that this tradition continues probably buoyed by the internet which would allow musicians to draw a wider audience to hear the music produced. But even with an online outlet, there is nothing quite like listening to music played live, in person which becomes part of the ambience and charm of the day or night when you encounter it.
Recently on a trip to Omaha I was able to view a traveling exhibit by the Smithsonian Institution about the singer Billie Holiday and photographer Jerry Dantzic who spent time following her about in the New York area documenting her life on and off the stage. This occurred in the late 1950’s and Dantzic’s documentation of Holiday was done with cameras and B&W film. The exhibit at the Durham Museum is there through early February. And it reminds me of my earlier days of photographing for newspapers when the film of choice, basically the only film, was black and white. Normally Kodak Tri-X, with an ASA (these days ISO) of 400.
Dantzic was a photojournalist and this particular project was something he had done at the time and it was published in magazines that used a lot of photographs, namely Life magazine and similar publications. These publications did photo spreads of several pages of subjects both topical and varied.
Dantzic was a “fly on the wall” as he recorded unguarded moments of his subject, Holiday, by then a renowned singer recognizable by people on the street and performing in upscale clubs. The B&W film made for a more gritty presence but also necessary as Dantzic photographed without flash using whatever available ambient light was present. In film days shooting in difficult low light situations photographers were always happy in capturing the content and telling a story, and sometimes the “graininess” of film came with the territory. Whereas today people might get chastised for not ridding an image of that grainy/pixelated look because of technology that makes it possible to make an image look perfect.
It is fun looking at the images Dantzic created and understanding the conditions in which he worked and being able to capture his subject in ways to tell the story he was pursuing.
History comes in many forms, mostly in books and the written word, sometimes in film through cinema and again in photographs. The photos encapsulate a particular time period and allows one as much time as needed to stand and view and contemplate what is seen. The exhibit also invokes a recording method that is now mostly extinct as far as the process used. Technology has made it easier to photograph in seemingly difficult conditions. And technology should make life “easier” through progress no matter the subject or medium.
But this exhibit harkens to another time period. The B&W invokes an era that has passed but was preserved so others who did not see the work published could still enjoy it for what it is a generation or two later.
When visiting various communities in and around Siouxland it’s not often that I find changes occurring in smaller communities. Sometimes, but most often they happen in the larger metro areas.
Omaha, NE is still a growing metro area in the Midwest and new construction there as well as adaptation of older buildings into lofts and other, more current kinds of usages is ongoing.
There is a blending of older and newer types of architectural structures seen in Omaha. Older buildings become dwarfed by newer buildings. No judgement, but it’s not surprising how “tastes” change over the years, decades, etc. And in some cases the cost to replicate or build some structures that were done one to two centuries ago would most likely be prohibitive.
And yet progress continues, as life, changes come, and sometimes go. Moving forward and hopefully not backward.
Sometimes when I am out and about and carrying a camera I will revisit a place I have previously photographed. Sometimes I can find images that are better, most times I look for images that are different. The Pioneer Courage Park is part of the “campus” of the First National Bank of Omaha. On a overcast day it takes on a different look different from the previous visit. Finding the raindrops on the faces of the statues gave them a different feel and made me think that possibly on their journey west those days it might have rained may have been a blessing depending on the territory the group was passing through. The Mormon Trail passed through some high desert country and rain storms may have been scarce certain times of the year.
And it’s a challenge to revisit someplace and look for a different image. Of course time of day, weather, time of year, all that plays into how a place might look and feel. And then one’s imagination takes over.
I live in the Siouxland area that encompasses a wide swatch of land in northwest Iowa, northeastern Nebraska and southeastern South Dakota. The people that inhabit this area are generous folk and your basic honest, Midwestern people you like to have as neighbors. I explore the area and share observations, mostly photographic, sometimes through video, and and short text. All images and video are copyrighted material of the author.
Jerry Mennenga, Sioux City, Iowa
jerrylmennenga@yahoo.com
lostinsiouxland 