FY23 IAF Recipient: Photographer Caroline Allison
From Krishna Adams, Director of Visual Arts, Craft, Media, and Design –
Photographer Caroline Allison of Nashville is a recipient of the FY23 Individual Artist Fellowship in media. Allison has been experimenting with landscape photography for 15 years. Her Individual Artist Fellowship application included images from the Behind the Moon series.
“Centered around our relationship to the present-day environment, the (Behind the Moon) series is comprised of large-scale color landscape photographs and cyanotype photograms. Drawing on a diverse range of influences from history, physics, and astronomy, the works explore an expanded sense of time and contemplation of humankind’s existence as but a point on the galactic time scale.” – Allison
The photographic images in the Behind the Moon series were shot on film using a large format camera and varied between multiple exposures (sometimes as many as 50 onto one sheet of film) and long exposures that could last as long as 3-4 hours. The cyanotype process (invented in 1842 by astronomer and scientist Sir John Herschel) is used to make photograms that capture ephemeral elements of the natural world, such as a wet spiderweb or a snowball.
Having an early introduction to photography through encouragement from her high school art teacher, Allison took advantage of accessing the school’s darkroom after hours, allowing her to experiment and grow in her interest in photography. Renowned photographers such as Walker Evans, Emmet Gowin, John McWilliams, and Joel Sternfeld were an important inspiration for Allison in the early stages of her education.
After high school, Allison went on to receive a B.A. from The University of the South in Sewanee and an M.F.A. from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago in Nashville. Upon graduation, she worked as an adjunct professor at Harold Washington College in Chicago, IL. Before returning to Tennessee, she taught in the Narrative Medicine program at Columbia University, and the College of Physicians & Surgeons, in Manhattan, NY. In 2005 she became an adjunct professor at Nashville State Community College. From there, she moved into the position of adjunct professor at Watkins College of Art & Design until 2013. Since teaching, Allison has been shooting commercially for architects, landscape architects, and designers.
“Especially in these last two years, as we all have called into question our relationship to the world around us, I have transitioned away from making images that were documentary of specific places and histories. This current work (Behind the Moon) is far more interpretive of landscape and speaks to prototypical questions about our relationship to Earth. What does it mean to be here?” – Allison
The Individual Artist Fellowship (IAF) in Photography recognizes and acknowledges an outstanding professional artist who by education, experience, or natural talent, engages in a particular art form or discipline and resides and works in Tennessee. Each year different out-of-state adjudicators who are professionals with expertise review all submitted applications. The IAF is a competitive grant, and the Commission encourages artists to apply again if they do not receive the grant. As a second-time IAF applicant, Allison advises photographers to, “Apply with work that you are confident in, proud of, and passionate about.”
She plans to use the IAF-awarded funds to improve her field equipment and studio. Additionally, Allison plans to travel to some dark sky areas to continue shooting the night sky and a little further afield to photograph the ocean. In response to receiving the IAF award, Allison stated,
“I’m so honored to receive this Fellowship. Not only does it allow me to take some bigger steps in developing a new body of work, but it is also an incredible vote of confidence. For that, I am incredibly grateful to the Tennessee Arts Commission.”
Allison’s work has been exhibited in cities including Nashville, TN; Florence, AL; Charlottesville, VA; Chicago, IL; Atlanta, GA; Fairfield, CT; Brooklyn, NY; and Kansas City, MO, among others. Her photographs are in the Nashville collections of Soho House, Music City Convention Center, the Noelle Hotel, and the 404 Hotel.
If you are interested in seeing her photography in person this summer, head to Nashville’s David Lusk Gallery. Allison is also beginning a new body of work. For over 10 years, Allison has been represented by Zeitgeist Gallery in Nashville. Find out more about Allison here.
