The photography of Lawrence University faculty members and creative partners John Shimon and Julie Lindemann is currently featured in a retrospective of their work at the Wisconsin Museum of Art (MOWA) in West Bend.
The exhibition, “There’s a Place: A Three Decade Survey of Photographs by J. Shimon and J. Lindemann,” will be presented through June 7.
The largest exhibition of their work to date and their first retrospective, it highlights the artistic duo’s long-standing interest in blending contemporary and historic photographic techniques to tell meaningful stories about ordinary people in their native Wisconsin.
Blending old and new photography techniques, Shimon and Lindemann have created a compelling, at times melancholy, body of work that stands as a record of their time. Although rooted in Wisconsin, Shimon’s and Lindemann’s images are neither regional nor documentary but deeply personal, reflecting slow, thoughtful meditations on relationships that reveal the human experience.
“A retrospective of Shimon and Lindemann’s work was an obvious choice for the Museum of Wisconsin Art,” said Laurie Winters, MOWA Executive Director and CEO. “Their work is original and thought provoking. Long before regionalism was hip or the word ‘place-making’ had become fashionable in the art world, Shimon and Lindemann had quietly been making photographs of the people and places they cared about in and around their hometown of Manitowoc.”
Associate Professors of Art, Shimon and Lindemann joined the Lawrence faculty in 2000. They were recognized with Lawrence’s faculty Excellence in Creative Activity Award 2012 and were named 2014 Wisconsin “Artists of the Year” by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Their photographs are featured in numerous museums including MOWA, The Art Institute of Chicago, the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art and the Milwaukee Art Museum.
About Lawrence University
Founded in 1847, Lawrence University uniquely integrates a college of liberal arts and sciences with a nationally recognized conservatory of music, both devoted exclusively to undergraduate education. It was selected for inclusion in the Fiske Guide to Colleges 2015 and the book “Colleges That Change Lives: 40 Schools That Will Change the Way You Think About College.” Engaged learning, the development of multiple interests and community outreach are central to the Lawrence experience. Lawrence draws its 1,500 students from nearly every state and more than 50 countries.
