It takes a team of experienced professionals to produce every museum exhibit.
One such professional is guest curator Keith F. Davis, a retired art historian and curator of photography who lives in Sheridan. Keith is highly regarded in the museum field for his knowledge of the history of photography. He is responsible for showcasing the work of accomplished American landscape photographer Dan Powell at The Brinton.
Recently retired from a successful teaching career at the University of Oregon, Powell has worked in several styles over the years. As Davis observes, “Dan’s landscape work is central to his artistic practice. These images reflect his love for the semi-arid West, and his meditation on time and the human presence there. In 2021, Mr. Powell generously donated 84 of these landscape photographs to the Brinton Museum. Made mainly between 1983 and 1991, these black and white works are either gelatin silver prints or inkjet prints. Davis selected 54 for the exhibition The Geography of a Life: Dan Powell’s Photographs in the American West and presented the sequence for the exhibition.
Master printmaker and artist Jim Jereb of Laramie, a longtime friend and supporter of the museum, is responsible for matting and framing the artwork in the Brinton Museum’s collections. Jim spent several days at the museum in March wallpapering and framing prints for Powell’s upcoming exhibit. In addition to his artistic preparatory skills, Jereb is an invaluable resource to The Brinton as a technical consultant for the extensive collections of intaglio prints by Hans Kleiber, Edward Borein and many others.
It takes a whole village to make exhibition presentations possible and the Brinton Museum is fortunate to have excellent curatorial staff and dedicated volunteers who continually step in and make it all possible. The exhibit brochure, with an essay by Davis and an introduction by Curatorial Director Ken Schuster, was designed by Curatorial Assistant Tyshon Bird. Registrar Kim Taylor captured data from the original gift of Powell’s prints and organized the chosen exhibition prints for the matting and framing process. Current Brinton Museum intern Leonela Hernandez Rosales, who is from Georgia, helped Jim Jereb frame and produced the gallery labels. Brinton volunteer Don Johnson will be at the Brinton in April to hang the works for display. Barbara McNab, curator of exhibits, was the interdepartmental coordinator.
Much like theater productions, exhibition presentations are the culmination of many forms of expertise and many hours of hard work.
“The Geography of a Lifetime: Dan Powell’s Photographs of the American West” opens in the SK Johnston, Jr. Family Gallery at the Brinton Museum on April 29 and runs through June 18. Curator Keith Davis will give a talk on May 5. program is free and open to the public. Places are limited, online reservations are required.
General admission to the Brinton Museum in 2023 is offered free thanks to a generous grant. Museum hours are currently Thursday through Monday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.; and open daily, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Memorial Day through Labor Day.
Barbara McNab is Curator of Exhibitions and Museum Education at the Brinton Museum.
