The beauty of the Mount Lebanon landscape and the historic Shaker buildings that grace it have long provided inspiration for photographers. In June and July, Darrow School will be the site of the exclusive exhibit “Visions of Mount Lebanon,” a fund-raiser honoring the Shaker Museum and Library’s sixtieth anniversary. The exhibit, located in the School’s extraordinary Joline Arts Center, is open to the public daily between June 27 and July 3, from 12 to 5 pm. Admission is free.
“Visions of Mount Lebanon” was inspired by both tradition and new perspectives. “For more than two centuries, the Shaker Village has been a fascination to artists of all types – choreographers, composers, writers and painters, from Nathaniel Hawthorne to Aaron Copland,” explained David Stocks, President of Shaker Museum and Library. “We want to continue that creativity and encourage everyone to participate in making their own contemporary vision of the site through photography.”
The exhibit features photographs by invited artists and the public, as well as historic images from Shaker Museum and Library’s collection and the National Park Service’s just completed Historic American Landscapes Survey. The show will be installed by noted exhibition designer Jeff Daly. Jeff L. Rosenheim, Photography Curator for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, will provide the commentary and will select the photographs to be auctioned during the Museum’s anniversary celebration on July 10. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Museum’s relocation to Mount Lebanon’s North Family.
In partnership with Tannery Pond Concerts, Darrow invites concertgoers to view the exhibit prior to attending the performance on June 19 and July 3.
Tannery Pond Concerts Director Christian Steiner, a distinguished music photographer, will participate in the photography show.
Local photographers whose work will be featured in “Visions of Mount Lebanon” include renowned photojournalist and human rights activist Jane Feldman (a distinguished Darrow alumna from the Class of 1974) of New Lebanon, documentary photographer Jason Houston of Great Barrington, MA, who also serves as photo editor of the award winning Orion magazine, fine art and editorial photographer Scott Barrow of Lenox, MA, and editorial and art photographer Kevin Sprague, founder of the design and branding firm Studio Two of Lenox, MA. Also among the many celebrated participants are innovative art photographer and Darrow alumnus Michael Flomen ’71, editorial and fashion photographer Uli Rose, editorial photographer and portraitist Michel Arnaud and fine arts and fashion photographer Paul Lange.
Photos by Darrow School students, as well as students from neighboring Mountain Road School, New Lebanon Junior-Senior High School and Berkshire Farm will also be included in the show.
Darrow School is located at the historic Mt. Lebanon Shaker Village on Route 20 on the New York–Massachusetts state line.To learn more about Darrow School, visit www.darrowschool.org.