My artwork examines the effects of advertising – particularly that aimed at women in the 1950s – on visual imaging. I’ve focused my attention on advertising photography because, after 40 years of working with pictures, I’m still fascinated by how photographs make meaning. Advertising imagery seems prime for exploration because, as philosopher Roland Barthes reminds us, “ In advertising, the signification of the image is undoubtedly intentional.”

I use every form of capture from pinhole to large format and digital, and although I love darkroom work, I’m also intrigued by the possibilities of image manipulation that digital printing allows.

My work is in the permanent collections of the Grand Rapids Art Museum, Lake Shore Bank, Chicago, and the Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts. During my recent sabbatical, I was awarded artist’s residencies at the Virginia Center for Creative Arts and the Hambidge Center for Art in Georgia. The Rankin Gallery at FSU in Big Rapids and Aquinas College in Grand Rapids sponsored solo exhibitions of that work entitled “Food for Thought” in 2012. I received my Master’s Degree from Columbia College, Chicago and currently chair the Photography Program.

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