The Northlight Gallery presents Wandering

Who
The ASU School of Art in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts presents the photographic exhibition, Wandering.

What
The Wandering exhibition is on display Feb. 1–26, 2011, and is hosted by the Northlight Gallery on the ASU Tempe campus. The photographs by Guggenheim Fellow and ASU School of Art alumnus Michael P. Berman continues an exchange of ideas and intimations by artists who call the region of the American Southwest and Mexico their home. A public reception featuring Berman is scheduled Feb. 1 from 6–8:30 p.m.

Berman’s images are made to speak to concerns encompassing ecological diversity, sustainability, and the soulful path of the human spirit in a 21st century world. His photographs record his solo experience of wandering the desert and grasslands of Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas and Mexico.

“I like to say my real vocation is wandering,” Berman says. “I started out with a degree in biology but found that photography was just as good an excuse to walk the desert and found art a better means to engage the complexity of things.”

Wandering is comprised of hundreds of black-and-white photographs mounted on small plates of aluminum that have been installed at varying heights throughout the gallery to give the viewer a sense of a wandering through the desert. At first sight, the images seem to simply describe the landscape: the gentle gesture of the sand dune, the dangerous coil of a rattlesnake, and the jagged horizon of distant mountains. The images may seem familiar to viewers raised on Ansel Adams and Arizona Highways. Berman’s photographs, however, were created to embody a place that is both internal and external. Berman feels that the images describe an experience that only occurs beyond the reach of technology, and reminds the viewer of the need for time and a place to simply wander. Berman earned his MFA in photography from ASU in 1985; he now lives and works in San Lorenzo, N.M.

Where
The Northlight Gallery is located in room 101 in Matthews Hall on the southeast corner of Tyler and Forest Malls on the ASU Tempe campus.

Northlight Gallery hours: Tuesday: 12:30–8:30 p.m.; Wednesday – Saturday: 12:30–4:30 p.m.; Closed: Sundays, Mondays, major holidays and summer session. 

When
Exhibition: Feb. 1–26, 2011
Reception: Feb. 1, 2011; 6–8:30 p.m. 

Cost
All activities are free and open to the public.

Public Contact
Liz Allen
ASU School of Art
Northlight Gallery director
480.965.6517
lizallen@asu.edu 

The School of Art is a division of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts at Arizona State University. Its printmaking, photography and art education programs are nationally ranked in the top 10, and its Master of Fine Arts program is ranked eighth among public institutions by U.S.News & World Report. The school includes four student galleries for solo and group shows by graduate and undergraduate art and photography students: Gallery 100, Harry Wood, Northlight and Step. To learn more about the School of Art, visit art.asu.edu.

Media Contact:
Liz Allen
ASU School of Art
Northlight Gallery director
480.965.6517
lizallen@asu.edu