For its 100th anniversary, the famed Sheldon Concert Hall in St. Louis and curator Olivia Lahs Gonzalez commissioned well-known photographers Ray Marklin, Odell Mitchell, Jr., Kathleen Sanker and Jennifer Silverberg to each create a body of work in and around the historic building during the 2011-2012 season. The year was packed with over 422 events, including concerts, art exhibits, openings and lectures, educational concerts, art workshops, weddings, recording sessions, community events and fundraisers, dance performances, and much more. In the resulting exhibition of 100 "moments" from the year's events, the four photographers show their keen storytelling abilities, and render a wonderful snapshot of what The Sheldon is, does, and means today. The exhibition and subsequent book pay tribute to The Sheldon's layered history, and underscore The Sheldon's position as a dynamic thriving contemporary space at the center of the St. Louis community.
For The Sheldon's centennial celebration, I employed an array of plastic toy cameras (Holga, Diana F+, etc.) to create images through continuous multiple exposures. This approach, which involves slightly advancing the film to overlap images on 120mm film, weaves together fragments of visual stories, emphasizing experiential narratives over linear logic. Such a method mirrors our everyday process of navigating and prioritizing the world around us—sifting through sensory input to etch lasting impressions on our memory. Often there are light leaks and over-exposures that help set the dreamy, ephemeral, tone of the photographs.
I am particularly attuned to light, texture, surfaces, and objects. My artistic lens—figuratively and literally—gravitates towards these interplays. Delving into The Sheldon's myriad spaces, both public and private, allowed me to forge connections between the tangible and imagined, breathing life into unique narratives born from these interactions. The resulting images act as visual metaphors, capturing the essence of The Sheldon’s rich tapestry of history and complexity. Among these layered vignettes, filled with magic and mystery, one might even glimpse a testament to its enduring presence and influence. They might also glimpse the elusive Sheldon ghost...
Due to the overall nature, size, and format of these images please turn your phone to the horizontal view or jump to a desktop device… phone interactions are not conducive to the full detail of continuous multi-exposure medium format experience :)
The Sheldon
Originally conceived by architect Louis Spiering for the Ethical Society of St. Louis and eventually becoming the birthplace of the St. Louis League of Women Voters, The Sheldon has served the community through many incarnations and purposes. Reimagined as a concert hall, event space, and art galleries, The Sheldon stands as a testament to resilience and creativity, a place where 'Arts Without Borders' thrive, symbolizing over a century of rich history and communal unity through art. For more on one of St Louis’ acoustical and architectural treasures visit The Sheldon at thesheldon.org