Artists & Exhibits

Main Gallery
March - April 2020
Don McLeer
Art Reception:  March 6th, 6-8pm

Don's Artist Statement

I have always been fascinated by the interconnectivity of Time and Space.

Both time and space are temporary. Every moment of every day we are each a temporary inhabitant of the space we occupy. Every time we move, we temporarily fill a new unique physical space, and give up the old space to someone else. Even when we move through a seemingly identical daily routine, we never occupy the exact same space twice.

I love History and the concept of Time Travel. When I visit an historical site, I imagine the people who have previously inhabited the same space where I stand. Photography, History, and Time Travel have always seemed interconnected to me. When I look at a historical photograph, I imagine transporting back in time to experience what was captured in the photograph. History happens on a continuum. Every moment that passes creates a new historical record. 1 second from now is History in preparation. The perpetual momentum of the historical timeline feeds itself.

I have been enamored with photography as long as I can remember, first using my mother’s Kodak Instamatic 100. I still have that camera, and some of the photos I took with it when I was 7 or 8 years old. I think my love of History is due in part to my early introduction to photography.

I created these photomontage pieces as study and an expression. Thinking about the interconnectivity of Time and Space, I thought it would be interesting to see how a series of singular frozen moments in time can reveal a hidden world of overlapping occupants of a given space. I chose a grid layout to reflect our deep-seated desire to control the pace of time passing, desperately trying to contain every second of our lives. Even in popular public areas of our community, I don’t think we often stop and think about how we each individually share the same sections of space over the course of time as we move about our lives.

 Don McLeer, Sioux Falls, SD

Faithe Gallery
March - April 2020
Chelsie Bauer

Chelsie's Artist Statement

     Photography came into my life unexpectedly during college. My major, communication arts, required me to take a black and white photography class, which at first resulted in frustration, anxiety, and fear. New challenges and experiences are often frightening, and exactly what we need to grow. At the age of 19 I had little to no appreciation for black and white photography and was not looking forward to working in a dark room. After the first week of class I was hooked and have been in love with all things photography ever since. 

     Among my favorite things to photograph, nature is definitely at the top of the list. I find great inspiration in the beauty of the outdoors and am so grateful to live in the Black Hills where subject matter is abundant. I enjoy using various tools and techniques in my work to highlight vibrant colors and textures.

     The images before you on canvas are double exposures, two images photoshopped together. This technique has been one of my favorites to explore over the past few years. The rest of the images have a reduced opacity HDR (High Dynamic Range) layer over a regular photograph. I like the end result to this method, it creates an extra pop to the image and gives it a slightly surreal effect. The two images with orbs are photos of my lensball, a fun little glass ball made specifically for photographers. 

     Thank you for taking the time to peruse my photography, may it inspire light and creativity within you. 

View past artist's images that were exhibited in the Museum of Visual Materials in our virtual gallery.

Main Gallery 
March- April 2020: Don McLeer

Faithe Gallery
March - April 2020: Chelsie Bauer

Museum of Visual Materials is no longer accepting Main Gallery applicants for 2020.

The Faithe Gallery, which holds our craft area & classroom space  thats open to the public M - W is available September 2020.

If you are interested in showing your work at the Museum of Visual Material’s Faithe gallery please email Anna.