“I held my breath as we do sometimes
to stop time when something wonderful
has touched us…”
Mary Oliver
By Elin Spring
Hushed and enchanted, venerable yet seen anew, the twenty indigo blue, arboreal cyanotypes in photographer Bill Franson’s solo exhibit “Landscape in Blue” are a mesmerizing homage to origins. Best known for his documentary street photography, Franson’s unanticipated project grew from revisiting youthful wanderings across the grounds of Appleton Farms in Ipswich, Massachusetts, one of the oldest continuously operating farms in the country. Inspired by its beauty and drawn by a sense of return – to nature, to place, to home – Franson has crafted a beguiling series of photographs that appease the eye and stir the soul. “Landscape in Blue” will be on view at the historic Ipswich Museum in Ipswich, MA through October 14th, 2019, with a free, public Opening Reception with the artist on Friday, August 23rd from 5:00 – 8:00pm.
“Briar Hill, Early Spring, 2018” by Bill Franson (courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston).
“Oak, The Great Pasture, 2018” by Bill Franson (courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston).
“Between Fields, 2018” by Bill Franson (courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston.
“Landscape in Blue” nurtures realignment with the natural world. Completely hand-crafted – from his wood Zone VI, 4”x 5” film view camera to the antiquated process of contact printing cyanotypes to the individual construction of elegant maple frames (all on view here) – Franson’s artwork is a mellifluous ode to the woods. Stephanie Gaskins, President and Dow Curator of the Ipswich Museum, has enhanced the exhibit’s historic scope with a cabinet display of original cyanotypes by Ipswich-born artist Arthur Wesley Dow (1857-1922), whose modernist paintings were a pivotal influence on Georgia O’Keeffe and others. Occupying the antique Heard House, Ipswich Museum owns the largest single collection of Dow’s work and is a fascinating gem.
“Maples at Waldingfield, 2018” by Bill Franson (courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston).
“Waldingfield, 2018” by Bill Franson (courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston).
“Last Bloom, 2018” by Bill Franson (courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston).
Franson’s challenge to himself to slow his customary documentary pace and trade his handheld camera for a clunky field camera likewise encourages us to inhabit scenes that are contemplative, breathtaking and personal. He has photographed looming, knotty old trees and vaporous open fields with an awe that brings a lightness of being. By tacitly offering the perspective of geologic time, trees silently recast the significance of a human lifespan. Like majestic sentries, Franson’s trees frame roads and fields or take center stage. Their limbs, whether skyward or twisted, leafy or barren, testify to their storied pasts. In rendering his grand scenes on an intimate, absorbing scale and allowing the cyanotype to cast its dreamlike sapphire spell, Franson has elevated his landscapes to something much more encompassing. “Landscape in Blue” mirrors our own frailties and resilience, returning us to the cadence of the natural world.
“March Storm, 2018” by Bill Franson (courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston).
“Above the Plains, Northside, 2018” by Bill Franson (courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston).
“Weeping Beech, 2018” by Bill Franson (courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston).
For hours, directions and more information about this exhibit, go to: https://ipswichmuseum.org/visit-us/
Feature Image: “Evening Fog, The Plains, 2018” by Bill Franson (courtesy of the artist and Gallery Kayafas, Boston).
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