The Fred Simon Gallery to exhibit Landscape, Seascape, Some Kind of Escape by Joe Addison. Exhibition opening on Thursday, March 16th from 5-7PM.

Landscape, Seascape, Some Kind of Escape, began accidentally during 2020. During quarantine, I spent a lot of time in my studio—while some days were hyper-productive, working on various photographic projects, other days I would stare out the window in complete dismay of what was happening in the world around me, glass of bourbon in hand. As a coping technique and time-filler, I began to cut images into ruby lithographic film that replicated landscape images that I had been casually doodling for years—simplified representations of idealized landscapes. As the time passed while working on these negatives, I considered how any kind of landscape imagery is idealized in one way or another. I remember seeing landscape pictures while underground in bustling subway stations in Tokyo, surely intentionally placed to provide a sense of calm amongst the seeming chaos. To me, that landscape was idealized because it acted as a reminder that a peaceful, calm does exist.

Honestly, I’ve never been a fan of landscape photography. I love being outside, experiencing nature and I also like the process of taking pictures while exploring new places. It is, however, frustrating to photograph nature because there is so much essence that cannot be captured—the smells of salt water while gazing at the ocean or the relief from the sun by the shade of a large oak tree in the humid summer prairie. While these things can be interpreted while looking at an image, it’s really just reminiscent of personal experience which obviously everyone will consider differently. With that in mind, I don’t believe that it’s the actual photograph that draws people’s attraction but rather, some idealized appreciation that exists within their psyche. Yeah, I realize that people have been painting the landscape for a long time, so this idea is really not that complicated or new. Being a camera-less photographer, I consider the idea of images while holding true to my respect for what the medium of photography has done to further progress other mediums of art (namely, the use of optical devices during the Renaissance and onwards). Because I’ve never been a fan of landscape photography, I felt the need to contribute to the style of photography. I also really needed a distraction from the actual world so making landscapes photographs with a knife made sense. —Joe Addison

The reception will start at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 16th at the Fred Simon Gallery. The gallery is located at the Nebraska Arts Council office in the lower level of the Burlington Capital building, located at 1004 Farnam St. in Omaha. Exhibition runs from March 17-May 10, 2023.

The event is free and open to the public with no reservation needed.