An Order of Things with Mike Belleme and Tristan Spinski
An Order of Things
Join us via Zoom Wednesday, July 20th, at 7 pm ET
Photographers Tristan Spinski and Mike Belleme will consider two bodies of work side by side that look for patterns and meaning in the landscape at vastly different scales. Spinski's "Sweet Land" work features aerial photography over the vast midwestern territory that sits atop the Ogallala aquifer. The work examines the consciousness and vulnerabilities of a human-altered landscape. Belleme's work, titled "Reciprocity of Presence," consists of macro images of plants through a process that aims to build relationships and allow for agency and collaboration with the natural world by allowing light and wind to inform the process and composition.
At both scales, the work creates abstraction as well as new and useful context. And both scales reveal unseen worlds and underlying systems hiding in plain sight. The processes and intentions behind the two bodies of work are vastly different. Still, undeniable visual similarities in patterns and textures give clues to potential overlaps that create a jumping-off point for this conversation.
How do the mythologies, human understanding, and use of the landscape relate to the stories the planet tells about itself? We invite you to join the conversation and find threads and connections of your own sparked by the work shared.
Tristan Spinski (b.1978) is a photographer, writer and filmmaker. He earned his master's degree in journalism from UC Berkeley, and much of his work examines the intersections of culture, economy and the landscape. He lives in Maine.Editorial clients include: AARP, Audubon, Barron's, Bloomberg Businessweek, Down East Magazine, GEO, Monocle, Mother Jones, Newsweek, NPR, Oxford American, POLITICO Magazine, ProPublica, Rolling Stone, The Guardian, The Nature Conservancy, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Yankee Magazine
Mike Belleme is a freelance photographer based in Asheville, North Carolina. His work ranges from long-form documentary, to assignment-based editorial, photojournalism, and portraiture. His practice involves photographing from a space of emotional availability and vulnerability and exploring themes involving connection and disconnection from that space. Belleme is a regular contributor to The New York Times and other clients.
