Picturing Middle Age

Patricia Cohen, in her March 8, 2009 New York Times article, Middle Age, Before It Came Out of a Bottle, writes

"By 50, the average person's hair is about half-gray...Advertisements did whatever they could to promote the notion that aging was unwelcome and gray hair its stigmata.

But take a look at the torrent of images from movies, television, magazines and advertisements that help to shape or create our expectations and views about how people should look. Aside from the Botox, Restylane, nips, tucks and suctioning that Hollywood stars and extras regularly endure, the absence of gray in nearly everyone under 65 reinforces the impression that midlife is supposed to be free of gray."

Read the full article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/08/weekinreview/08cohen.html?_r=1

Patricia Cohen is writing a book about the invention and marketing of middle age.

Valentine Greetings

To our many supporters and friends who made this show an incredibly rich and rewarding experience, we send our greetings.

McGuane Park Masters Swim Team

On January 23, we brought the Immortality Photobooth to McGuane Park in Bridgeport to photograph the Masters Swim Team. Thank you to all of our wonderful, strong, inspiring models. And thanks to Kate Strong for introducing us to this group of amazing competitive swimmers.

The swimmers after being immortalized. 

Lindsay in the Immortality Photobooth.

About the festival of Changing Women

A festival celebrating
CHANGING WOMEN

through an exhibition, workshops and readings

weekends beginning October 10, 2008 through January 17, 2009

Take a fresh look at concepts of feminine beauty, wisdom, truth and

aging through this exhibition and discussions.

Opening reception: Friday, October 10, 5:00-8:00pm

Bette Cerf Hill Gallery

1821 West Hubbard Street • Chicago, Illinois • 312-550-6483

free parking

Hours: Weekends beginning Oct 10, special events and by appointment

Cerfhill@aol.com

www.bettecerfhill.com

EVENTS

EXHIBITION, BOOK SIGNING & OPENING RECEPTION

Fine art photographers Barbara Ciurej and Lindsay Lochman

exhibit original prints from their new book All Things Are Always Changing, and

nationally syndicated feminist cartoonist and playwright Nicole

Hollander displays her original cartoons and signs her new book,

Tales of Graceful Aging From the Planet Denial.

Opening Reception: October 10, 5:00-8:00pm

Ciurej and Lochman are among the featured artists for the

13th annual Chicago Artists' Month

for more information visit www.chicagoartistsmonth.org

MEMOIR WORKSHOP with Nicole Hollander

Nicole Hollander will conduct memoir workshops…explorations of past lives…not the kind where you turn out to be the Queen of Sheba or Louis Sullivan, but the kind where you talk about memories elicited by photographs, clothing, favorite foods or bad meals and then write it down. Turning it into a book or screenplay later is up to you. She will also be signing her new book, Tales of Graceful Aging From the Planet Denial.

Hollander is the nationally syndicated creator of the Sylvia cartoons and author of several books.

For more information about Nicole Hollander visit www.nicolehollander.com

Saturday, October 11, 9:00am-12:00pm

and Sunday, October 12, 2:00-5:00pm

$30 per person. Limit 8 to a class. Men and women welcome.

Call the gallery at 312.550.6483 for a reservation.

IMMORTALITY PHOTO BOOTH with Ciurej & Lochman

Join the immortals! A 15 minute “mini portrait” sessions where we create a photographic portrait of you as though you are carved in marble. Take home a small print to insure your immortality.

View other images by the artists at www.ciurejlochmanphoto.com

Learn about their working methods and collaboration at

www.chicagoartistsresource.org/visual-arts

and www.ragdale.org

October 12, 2:00-5:00pm. $25

Call the gallery at 312.550.6483 for a reservation.

LECTURE: The "New Normal"

Why are young girls looking older? And older women looking younger?

Writer Anne K. Ream explores how marketing, media and the

15 billion dollar beauty industry

have created a "new normal" that has troubling implications.

A percentage of the proceeds from the series will benefit The Voices and Faces Project.

For more information please visit www.voicesandfaces.org

Saturday, October 11, 1:00pm

DISCUSSION: What does money have to do with it?

Civic leaders, Sunny Fischer, and former executive director of the

Chicago Foundation for Women, Isabel Stewart,

reveal how women's philanthropy has changed the landscape for women's issues

and how the power of using their money has changed women.

For more information visit www.cfw.org

Saturday, October 18, 1:00pm

DISCUSSION hosted by De Gray

Join activist De Gray as she hosts a discussion led by writer Anne K. Ream at the gallery.
Artists talk by Barbara Ciurej followed by an informal discussion.
Sunday, December 7, 3:00-5:00pm

DISCUSSION hosted by Sel Yackley with the International Women's Associates

Sel Yackley, author and activist, hosts a breakfast buffet and discussion.
Artist talk by Barbara Ciurej followed by an informal discussion.
Saturday, December 13, 10:00-12:00pm

Exhibit Catalog

All things are always changing and in the opinion of photographers Barbara Ciurej & Lindsay Lochman, its a good thing. In this book of photographs which is the catalog for the show, they debate the ideals of wisdom, beauty and aging and provide a wry 21st century alternative. You can purchase it or download a free pdf at Lulu Marketplace.

Printed: 68 pages, 8.26" x 11.69", perfect binding, white interior paper (80# weight), full-color interior ink, white exterior paper (90# weight), full-color exterior ink. Free Download: 1 document, 83374 KB

Press & Interviews

The show at Bette Cerf Hill Gallery was reviewed by Abigail Foerestner for NorthShore Magazine, January 2009.

Barbara Ciurej & Lindsay Lochman were selected as featured artists for Chicago Artists Month, Artists + Issues That Matter, October 2008.

They were pictured in the centerfold of the publication which was distributed to 80,000 Chicagoans. The Festival of Changing Women exhibit and events were flagged as a "Don't Miss" event.

They participated in Pecha Kacha, presenting their work in a fast-paced 6 minute/20 slides presentation at Martyrs Pub as part of Chicago Artists Month.

See 2008 Featured Artist: Barbara Ciurej and Lindsay Lochman

Chicago Artists Month, the thirteenth annual celebration of Chicago’s vibrant visual art community was organized by the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and was made possible through the Presenting Sponsorship of 3Arts and the Lead Sponsorship of the Sara Lee Foundation.

They were interviewed for the Chicago Artists Resources: Artists Stories about Backstories and Collaboration. http://www.chicagoartistsresource.org/visual-arts/node/16847 or you can read the interview below:

Backstories

We have always constructed photographic narratives to reconcile our personal experiences, which we sometimes find at odds with society’s mythology. We imagine and tell another story ("backstories" is what we called them, but they are fictions as well). We try to tell a better story: of the life we want to aspire to, stories that ring true for us and in turn for others. We are optimists and attempt to present a noble way to look at our circumstances. In this way we work to resolve the mixed messages we get from the prevailing culture.

In our most recent body of work: All Things Are Always Changing (excerpts from this will be shown in October at Bette Cerf Hill Gallery for Chicago Artists Month), we confront the fact that middle age is invisible in our culture. At best, it is viewed as a battle to maintain youth. Growing old is considered a defect. As we change in midlife, we lose our "place" in the world and we must find or invent another one. Through our artwork we look for an option that isn't characterized by all that is sexualized and youthful. We know we can do better than “looking good for her age” because we have seen the power inherent in ourselves.

Wisdom, gained by years is venerated, but what does it look like? We address this mind/body disconnect by reworking influences from art history, photographic history, fairy tales, myths and popular culture to create a parallel history. As Iris Murdoch said, "...one surrenders power in one form, and grasps it in another." Our photographs create a new timeline--one where the power in the process is revealed.

We take this approach in all our work -- from depicting domesticity to traveling through the landscape. We are looking for the nobility in our daily lives. We invite you to our website to view our other “backstories.”

Collaboration

For us, collaborating is a conversation. Whether taking the form of argument, agreement, or cry of outrage, our projects always start with a lot of talking. These discussions began when we were students at the Institute of Design in 1978 and this process has informed our photographic narratives ever since.

Initially, we joined ranks to make images that challenged the world around us. Most recently, we have tapped into the spirit of collaborative community during our Ragdale Foundation residencies in Lake Forest, here we received support, shared inspiration and even offers to pose from the other residents. By appearing in many of our own photographs, we took advantage of the artist/model collaboration -- working together to realize a shared vision.

Early in our careers we joined Artemisia Gallery, a women's cooperative, where we came to appreciate the broadest parameters of communal artmaking. We came together with a shared aesthetic and an interest in photography's storytelling potential, but collaboration required that we learn to listen to each other, to take criticism, and sometimes, to let go of an individual vision. Our “work flow” is a negotiated team effort, always moving toward and subservient to “the truth” in the images which tell our stories.

Culture is really a communal storytelling process. It is fluid and mutable. Who is telling the stories? Why? Is a story true for any time and in any place in the world? Through the years we have expanded our view of collaboration as a conversation. We study history, art history and mythology, taking great pains to weave our own emotions and thoughts into a familiar vision shared with our audience. Not only do we converse with each other, we converse with the past and invite a dialogue with the future.

Barbara Ciurej and Lindsay Lochman both attended the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago, where Ciurej received a BS in Visual Design, and Lochman received an MS in Visual Design in 1978. Both had early affiliations with Artemisia Gallery in Chicago from 1979-84, where their work was included in many exhibitions. They have consistently shown their collaborative work at galleries and venues such as the the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Museum of Contemporary Photography, the Chicago Cultural Center and the Art Institute of Chicago,amonst others. Ciurej lives and works in Chicago and Lochman lives and works in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin. They recently published a monograph of their work "All Things Are Always Changing" available at lulu.com.

Previous press on this work can be found at Art Net: Prairie Smoke by Victor Cassidy

December 13 event hosted by Sel Yackley for International Women's Associates

Left to right, Doe Thomburg, founder of IWA; D. Clancy, IWA president;  Sel Yackley, host;  gallery owner, Bette Cerf Hill.

Inspirational messages on the breakfast buffet.

Chatting with Lara Bersano, at left, a visiting journalist from Argentina.

Beth Urich with one of Bette Cerf Hill's paintings gazing over her shoulder.

On Saturday, December 13, 2008, Sel Yackley hosted a breakfast meeting at the gallery of friends and members of the International Women's Associates. After a delicious breakfast buffet, we began with a presentation of the work on display by Barbara Ciurej followed by a lively discussion about art and feminism.