John Pfahl: Arcadia Revisited at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center
John Pfahls Arcadia Revisited will be on view at the Burchfield-Penney Art Center at Buffalo State College from October 11, 2003 through January 4, 2004 (members preview: October 10, 2003 from 5:30 to 7:30 pm). The exhibition is being held in conjunction with Impressions of Niagara: Selections from the Charles Rand Penney Collection which will also be on display at the museum.
In the mid-1980s, the internationally renowned photographer John Pfahl re-explored Niagara Falls and a thirty-six mile stretch of the Niagara River for a project commissioned by the Amos W. Sangster Niagara River Centennial Committee to celebrate Sangsters landmark folios of 153 etchings, Niagara River and Falls from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, published 1886-88. Pfahl revisited many of same sites that Sangster depicted in order to produce awe-inspiring twentieth-century images that also reflect nineteenth-century concepts of the picturesque.
The artist stated, Everywhere physical evidence of the human activities of past centuries remains, so that the whole area can be seen as a geographic palimpsest covered and recovered with historical tracings. Pfahls exquisite photographs evoke surprising emotions, proving that he, of all artists, was able to transcend the overdone clich? of Niagara Falls to produce work that is truly moving.
The University of New Mexico Press with the then-named Buscaglia-Castellani Art Gallery of Niagara University published John Pfahls photographic homage as Arcadia Revisited: Niagara River and Falls from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario in 1988. The book contains essays by Estelle Jussim and Anthony Bannon about the traditions of nineteenth-century pictorial photography and how Pfahls contemporary work relates.
The Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University purchased the entire Arcadia Revisited series as part of the artists fee paid by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts and the Institute for Museum Services in 1985. They are generously lending selections for this exhibition.
About the Burchfield-Penney Art Center
The Burchfield-Penney Art Center is a museum dedicated to the art and vision of Charles E. Burchfield and distinguished artists of Buffalo Niagara and Western New York State. Through its affiliation with Buffalo State College, the museum encourages learning and celebrates our richly creative and diverse community. For more information, call (716) 878-6011 or visit www.burchfield-penney.org.
The Burchfield-Penney Art Center is supported in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and County of Erie. Additional operating support is provided by the Elizabeth Elser Doolittle Trust, the Mary A. H. Rumsey Foundation and the Burchfield-Penneys members.
In the mid-1980s, the internationally renowned photographer John Pfahl re-explored Niagara Falls and a thirty-six mile stretch of the Niagara River for a project commissioned by the Amos W. Sangster Niagara River Centennial Committee to celebrate Sangsters landmark folios of 153 etchings, Niagara River and Falls from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, published 1886-88. Pfahl revisited many of same sites that Sangster depicted in order to produce awe-inspiring twentieth-century images that also reflect nineteenth-century concepts of the picturesque.
The artist stated, Everywhere physical evidence of the human activities of past centuries remains, so that the whole area can be seen as a geographic palimpsest covered and recovered with historical tracings. Pfahls exquisite photographs evoke surprising emotions, proving that he, of all artists, was able to transcend the overdone clich? of Niagara Falls to produce work that is truly moving.
The University of New Mexico Press with the then-named Buscaglia-Castellani Art Gallery of Niagara University published John Pfahls photographic homage as Arcadia Revisited: Niagara River and Falls from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario in 1988. The book contains essays by Estelle Jussim and Anthony Bannon about the traditions of nineteenth-century pictorial photography and how Pfahls contemporary work relates.
The Castellani Art Museum of Niagara University purchased the entire Arcadia Revisited series as part of the artists fee paid by a grant from the New York State Council on the Arts and the Institute for Museum Services in 1985. They are generously lending selections for this exhibition.
About the Burchfield-Penney Art Center
The Burchfield-Penney Art Center is a museum dedicated to the art and vision of Charles E. Burchfield and distinguished artists of Buffalo Niagara and Western New York State. Through its affiliation with Buffalo State College, the museum encourages learning and celebrates our richly creative and diverse community. For more information, call (716) 878-6011 or visit www.burchfield-penney.org.
The Burchfield-Penney Art Center is supported in part with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts and County of Erie. Additional operating support is provided by the Elizabeth Elser Doolittle Trust, the Mary A. H. Rumsey Foundation and the Burchfield-Penneys members.
Media Contact:
Kathleen Heyworth, Public Relations, Burchfield-Penney Art Center | 7168784529 | heyworkm@buffalostate.edu