NELSON W. ARMOUR ~ THE ART OF VIEWING…ART

When viewing and thinking about art, people react both emotionally and intellectually. Nelson Armour's series underscores these responses by taking you from a specific reality to an abstracted setting. The viewer moves from the everyday details of life and is transported to a new place – the world of the heart or mind. The Art of Viewing…Art explores both the way people interact with art and the way art is created.

In this series, Armour considers ways to portray people's interaction with art. Fascinated by observing and photographing people in art galleries and museums, his approach separates the immediate environment from the people and the art itself. Visitors seem to float in space while viewing the art, talking with each other, taking selfies and photographing their museum or gallery visit. At times the interactions are private and contemplative while at other moments the dynamics are open and public.

Nelson Armour's photography includes landscapes, environmental portraits, social documentary and constructed works. His work has been shown locally, nationally and internationally; and has appeared in numerous publications. Armour helped form Artists for Action Chicago, a group of area artists who stand for progressive values.
 

Delray © Jessica Prugh

JESSICA PRUGH ~ HIGHWAY HYPNOSIS

Jessica Prugh's work explores themes of nostalgia and wanderlust. Highway Hypnosis is a quiet road trip crisscrossing through the Midwest and South made over the last 3 years. It is an ongoing body of work that explores the vast, diverse American landscape by car.

Due to the booming post-war economy and driven in part by the automobile industry, the U.S. road trip became a popular summer vacation activity after World War II. Much of what Prugh has documented in her photography reflects the many ups and downs in the economy as reflected by the ever-changing roadside. Fruit and firework stands, “world’s largest” tourist attractions, vintage motels, hand-painted signs and other assorted Americana feature prominently in her work.

Growing up in Metro Detroit, Jessica was inspired by car culture from a young age and at different times in her life she has lived near some of America’s most iconic highways, including U.S. 1, Route 66, Interstate 10 and Woodward Avenue. This background has served as the motivation and inspiration for most of her photographic work.

Prugh has published two zines of her work: A View of the Lincoln Highway through Illinois, and Highway Hypnosis. Her work has been shown at Filter Photo Gallery, Chicago. She has an upcoming show at South x Southeast Photo Gallery in Molena, Georgia.