Gordon Art Galleries to Host Prize-winning photography in Broken Land | Still Lives Exhibition by Eliot Dudik

March 09, 2017

A landscape from the "Broken Land/Still Lives" photography exhibit Civil War reenactor Travis Earley, as depicted in the "Broken Land | Still Lives" photography exhibit by Eliot Dudik

Old Dominion University's Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries will present the photography exhibition "Broken Land | Still Lives: Eliot Dudik" March 11 through April 16. This two-part show chronicles important aspects of Civil War battle reenactments, landscapes and the humans who inhabit them in search of a communion with this period of national history.

Photographer Eliot Dudik has described the American South as "the most intriguing and spiritually uplifting region I have ever encountered."

A free reception with the artist will be held March 17, from 7-9 p.m. at the Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries, at 4509 Monarch Way.

Dudik seeks in "Broken Land" to create landscapes that come alive with the acts of war and spur contemplation on the nature of being American, to allow understanding, communication and cooperation with fellow citizens. These photographs are an attempt to preserve American history, not to relish it, but recognize its cyclical nature and to derail that seemingly inevitable tendency for repetition.

"Still Lives" features portraits of weekend actors who caravan a web of routes to re-perform the actions of the American Civil War on surrogate battlefields. These works provide a sense of the diversity of actors existing in this community, many of whom devote their lives to this performance, and strive to immortalize them in a fabricated state of tranquility as they hover above the ground they fight for.

Eliot Dudik is a photographic artist, educator and bookmaker exploring the connection between culture, memory, landscape, history and politics. His first monograph, "Road Ends in Water," was published in 2010. In 2012, Dudik was named one of PDN's 30 New and Emerging Photographers to Watch and one of Oxford American Magazine's 100 New Superstars of Southern Art. He was awarded the PhotoNOLA Review Prize in 2014 for his "Broken Land and Still Lives" portfolio, resulting in a book publication and solo exhibition. "Broken Land" was published as a feature in the July/August 2015 issue of Smithsonian Magazine. In 2015, he chose the series for publication and exhibition in Toronto and Boston.

Dudik's photographs have been installed in group and solo exhibitions across the United States and Canada. Dudik founded the photography program within the Department of Art and Art History at the College of William & Mary, where he currently teaches and directs the Andrews Gallery. "Broken Land | Still Lives: Eliot Dudik" will run from March 11 to April 16, 2017.

The Baron and Ellin Gordon Art Galleries exhibit works by nationally and internationally recognized self-taught artists, contemporary artists working in all media, and local and regional artists connected with Old Dominion University. Free and open to the public, with parking in the 45th Street garage. Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, contact Senior Curator Ramona Austin at (757) 683-6272 or raustin@odu.edu.