Banner artwork: Polly Norman, Red Screamers, hand-colored sliver gelatin print, 18" x 18", 2006. Norman is an abstract painter/photographer who has combined the two mediums using an unusual process of her own invention. A collection of her abstract hand-painted photographs has been exhibited throughout the nation and internationally, and her new solo exhibition, Chiaroscuro Incarnations, is premiering this month at the Amsterdam Whitney Gallery in New York City. (On view from September 2-September 30, 2008). (Image cropped and reprinted in access+ENGAGE with the artist's permission.)
You can read more about Polly Norman's sideways journey to making art in this issue's ZOOM IN artist profile, and then browse through an extensive collection of her artwork on mnartists.org.
About her work, the artist writes: "My life is about motion and emotion and so is my work. I am inspired by professional dancers who use the miracle of their strong, perfectly trained human bodies to create art by interpreting music. Like their movement and the music that moves them, I like to use repeated patterns and flowing lines. My experiences as a dance photographer and dance student greatly influence my work. Rough shapes of dancers and the invisible lines of their movement trails appear; my pieces have an edgeless look, like they could go on and on. I also use symbols and rudimentary shapes. I believe primitive forms stimulate the subconscious and that no boundaries allow imagining beyond. Because of this, viewers often have an emotional, primal response and personal interpretation when they see my work. It's fascinating to hear all of the different responses. Many times people show me objects and scenarios they find there I had not seen!"
About the artist: Polly Norman was born in South Minneapolis, and her family moved to Edina when she was 12 years old. She is a graduate of Edina High School and Abbott-Northwestern School of Nursing. She worked in nursing (Neonatal Intensive Care) for four years at Children's Hospital. She married, had two sons and stayed home to raise them. Norman began her photography career by volunteering to do public relations photography/writing for Our Lady of Grace School in Edina, where her sons were students. When the OLG community saw her photography, individuals began asking if she did portraits. She began taking pictures for private clients and attending photography seminars. Since then, Norman has run a residential studio for over twenty years. Her career expanded into many areas including legal/evidence photography, photo illustration for newspaper and magazine articles and commercial/advertising photography. Her work has been exhibited in Minnesota, around the country and all over the world, and she's won a number of both regional and national photography competitions. A collection of her pieces are on view at Flanders Contemporary Art Gallery, and inquiries about individual works may be directed to the gallery or artist. Visit Polly Norman's website or her individual mnartists.org pages for further information.