New Exhibition at Manitowoc City Hall:

"Drinking My Way to Europe Since Bush's Election" Digital photo of original sculpture consisting of 3,800 European wine corks that stands 5 feet by 3.5 feet. Photos by Laurie Elizabeth Talbot Hall February 3 through May 3rd, 2009 As part of Rahr West Art Museum's Community Outreach programming, community artists are selected from the Manitowoc Area Artists exhibition to show more of their work on the first floor of City Hall in Manitowoc, rotating on a 3 month basis. Laurie has nurtured interests in art and psychology throughout her life. She holds both a Doctoral Degree in psychology and a Master of Fine Arts Degree in Photography. She used photography in a directorial mode to explore internal psychic events and the intersection of the individual with perceived reality. The photographs on display are created in the studio using a large format technical field camera and printed in traditional photographic process. The photographs on display are primarily from two series. The black and white photographs deal with inner mental life, intrapsychic life. They attempt to describe some of the simultaneity of thought and image, the way interior space acts in dreams and reverie. The color photographs are more about our intersection with the social environment, the impact that navigating our daily lives can have on us. These sources of inspiration, inner and outer, are ever-present and beg to be reconciled. The mysteries that surround us are both ordinary and profound, both tragic and comic. Our lives at times seem so very complicated. And yet, when we stop and stand back, the bottom line reminds us that our situation is very simple, and can be seen as rather funny. One must never lose sight of the comic, for it is in our ability to remain joyful that the fullness of life is revealed. The short poem in the exhibit by little Ellen Suettinger of Two Rivers captures it nicely, I think. There are moments when we feel full of woe, when we take ourselves so seriously that we are large and heavy with our individual troubles. But there is the laughing moon over the lake, and our boots are full of feet, and once again it is one foot in front of the other, but ultimately for a very brief time.. Works in the exhibition are for sale through the Rahr West Art Museum. For further information, contact Rahr West Art Museum at 920-683-4501. If you need any further information about this exhibition or the series, please contact Rahr West Art Museum 683-4501 or email rahrwest@manitowoc.org.. City Hall is located at 900 E. Quay Street in Manitowoc and open weekdays, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Rahr-West Art Museum is a facility of the City of Manitowoc, located at 610 N. 8th Street. Museum hours are M-F: 10 to 4 p.m. Wed. 10 to 8 p.m. and weekends 11 to 4 p.m. For more information, please contact Rahr-West Art Museum 920-683-4501 or email: rahrwest@manitowoc.org