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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 14, 2006

PRESS CONTACT:   
Andrea Potochniak
607 254-4563
arp37@cornell.edu

The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art Presents
The Architect's Brother
Photographs by Shana and Robert ParkeHarrison

Artists to speak on Thursday, March 30 and participate in
photography symposium on April 1 at Museum

Ithaca, NY—The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University presents The Architect’s Brother, on view from March 25 to June 11, 2006.

Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison work together on an innovative approach to picture making that draws upon the use of the paper negative and collage to construct stories of healing and restoration amid landscapes scarred by technology and overuse. At the center of each of the pictorial tales is a lone individual—Robert as “Everyman”—the “Architect’s” brother. This suit-clad figure patches holes in the sky, creates rain machines, chases storms to create electricity, and communicates with the land to learn of its needs. The titles of the five sections of the exhibition reflect this: “Exhausted Globe,” “Industrial Landscapes,” “Promisedland,” “Earth Elegies,” and “Kingdom.”

“The ParkeHarrisons’ innovative approach addresses environmental concerns in a haunting format, raising important questions about our stewardship of our greatest resource, the earth,” said Nancy E. Green, senior curator of prints, drawings, and photographs at the Johnson. “There is both hope and despair in these images, offering concrete choices for our future.”

The ParkeHarrisons received a Guggenheim Fellow in 1999 and an Artist Grant in Photography from the Massachusetts Cultural Council in 2001 and 1996, among other awards. The Architect’s Brother has been published as a monograph by Twin Palms Press and accompanies the exhibition. The exhibition has been organized by George Eastman House International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester, New York.

Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison will give a free talk at the Museum on Thursday, March 30 at 5:15 p.m. The artists will also participate in a daylong symposium at the Museum on Saturday, April 1. Shared Visions: Collaboration and Process in Contemporary Photography will examine issues involved in the cooperative process of contemporary photography and celebrate the various ways that artists are working today.

Additional symposium speakers are scheduled to include: Elizabeth Dadi, artist; Iftikhar Dadi, artist and assistant professor, Department of the History of Art, Cornell; Merry Foresta, director, Smithsonian Photography Initiative; Andy Grundberg, photography critic, curator, and administrative chair of photography at Corcoran College of Art and Design, Washington, DC; and Brian Wallis, chief curator and director of exhibitions at the International Center of Photography, New York.

The Johnson Museum has a permanent collection of over 30,000 works of art from Africa, Asia, Europe, and North and South America. The museum building was designed by I. M. Pei. Funds for the building were donated by Cornell alumnus Herbert F. Johnson, late president and chairman of S C Johnson. The building opened in 1973.

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The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, located on the campus of Cornell University, is open Tuesdays to Sundays from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free. The Museum is completely accessible for mobility-impaired visitors, and a wheelchair is available in the lobby. Metered parking is available in the lot next to the Museum. For more information, please call 607 255-6464. Visit the Museum’s website at  www.museum.cornell.edu. The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art is a proud member of Ithaca’s Discovery Trail: www.DiscoveryTrail.com.

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