Recently I had the pleasure of sitting with Jennifer Bisbing on a sunny afternoon at the Coalition Gallery in Chicago.  It’s such a refreshing experience to engage with like minded artists in the city! She just completed the 2009 season working on the Wicker Women project. In a nutshell, Jennifer describes the drive behind this project:

“During this recession, I wanted to offer women an affordable opportunity to express themselves through classic portraiture, and be a part of a project that celebrates the uniqueness of the women that live and work in Wicker Park.”

She has clearly accomplished her goal– stylistically, the portraits are strong compositions and remain significant and distinctive in the contemporary scene of everyday-Jane digital photo portraits.  Solid film photography is a rare and special occurrence, and Jennifer’s particular method has a stunning, unified product.  I love the meta portrait that emerges from the collective power of the individual compositions.  There is a sense of care and special attention at work in this series — and the results remain utterly beautiful.

Here’s a video, by Lauren Drell at Northwestern, describing the project.

Wicker Women Music: “Dandelion” by Charlotte Gainsbourg, as heard in the Wicker Women studio

*You can see Wicker Women portraits on display at the Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber of Commerce March 15 through April 15, 2010.

Wicker Women | http://www.wickerwomen.blogspot.com/
Jennifer Bisbing | http://generationjennifer.com/
Wicker Park Bucktown Chamber | http://www.wickerparkbucktown.com/
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