WILSON, N.C. — March 1, 2022 — Photography will be the focus of “Homesweet, Homeland,” an exciting exhibition of works opening in March in the Barton Art Galleries on the campus of Barton College. “Homesweet, Homeland” will feature the photography of Keith Dannemiller, artist-in-residence on campus this spring semester. The exhibition will be on view from Monday, March 14, until Saturday, April 16.
On Thursday, March 17, the Barton Art Galleries and the Barton College Friends of Visual Arts will host an opening reception at 5 p.m. for “Homesweet, Homeland.” An artist lecture, featuring Dannemiller, will follow at 6 p.m. These two events will be open to the public at no charge, and the community is invited to attend. Reservations will be required for the opening reception and lecture, and space will be limited. Social distancing and face masks also will be required when visiting this exhibition. To make reservations for this event or to visit the Barton Art Galleries on a future date, please contact Maureen O’Neill, director of exhibitions and educational programming, at moneill@barton.edu or 252-399-6476.
“After more than 30 years living outside the U.S., I returned in 2017 to photograph for a month in Wilson, N.C., as [an artist-in-residence] in the Eyes on Main Street Photography Festival,” Dannemiller shared. “Subsequent visits during the next four years gave me the opportunity to immerse myself in the spirit of the city and to visually investigate and document my impressions of the life of all manner of Wilsonians—long-standing residents and recent arrivals. By doing so, I want to fashion for myself from the particular, an idea of where exactly America, my homeland, after all these years, is, during these tumultuous days.
“Comprised of 50 color prints and 16 tintype portraits with accompanying interviews, “Homesweet, Homeland” is a personal journey of rediscovery of America and its essential diversity, in a region burdened by the baggage of tradition, the vestiges of slavery, and the concentration of power in the hands of a few, but with the hope and potential to forge a new, more inclusive community out of the manifold Souths of today,” Dannemiller added.
About the artist —
Keith Dannemiller was born in Akron, Ohio, on May 27, 1949, and educated in Catholic elementary and high schools. In 1971, he graduated from Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., with a B.A. degree in Organic Chemistry and Mathematics. While working as a research assistant in Biochemistry, he studied Photography at San Francisco State University between 1973 and 1975. He published his first photographs in the San Francisco Chronicle in 1976.
That same year, Dannemiller moved to Austin, Texas, where he began photographing for local and state-wide media. There, he began the first of many photographic trips to the north of México, in the area around Espinazo, Nuevo Leon, where he documented the festival of the Niño Fidencio, a folk saint renowned in México during the 1920s. In 1987, he decided to live and work in México. A relationship that began with the Mexican photo agency Imagenlatina in May 1987, resulted in two trips to the Middle East (1988 and 1989) to cover the Palestinian Intifada.
His most recent book, “Callegrafía,” is a portrait of the intimate strangers who walk the streets of the Historic Center of Mexico City every day. His work is included in various public and private collections, including: The Wittliff Collection of Southwestern and Mexican Photography at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas; the Latin Americana Collection of the Bancroft Library at the University of California at Berkeley; the Cushing Memorial Library of Texas A&M University in College Station, Texas, and the Center for Southwest Research and Special Collections of the University of New Mexico Libraries, Albuquerque, New Mexico. He has exhibited his work in galleries throughout Mexico and internationally.
The Barton Art Galleries, located inside Case Art Building on the campus of Barton College, is open Monday-Thursday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., and Friday 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., or by appointment. For additional information or to reserve a time to visit, please contact Maureen O’Neill, director of exhibitions and educational programming, at artgalleries@barton.edu 252-399-6476. Barton Art Galleries requests visitors to make a reservation in advance of their planned visit. Individual and small group tours may be scheduled by reservation, and evening and weekend times may also be scheduled by request.
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