Presentation
Play + Collaboration: Using Photograms as
Children's Book Illustrations
Inspired by a decade of intro student photograms, Jennifer Ray and Irma Puškarević set out to illustrate a children’s book with photograms. As part of the “Artists to Authors” fellowship through the Wichita-based nonprofit Arts Partners, they collaborated with writer Jeremy Thomas to produce Crabbylegs and The Three Shells. Ray will discuss the collaborative and playful process of creating the story and images, which tell of a young hermit crab, living in a plastic lotion pump top on a polluted beach, who must journey through the ocean to find a real shell where she can thrive. The presentation will address inspirations for the book, historical precedents (Anna Atkins, Varvara Rodchenko, Tana Hoban), and interactive presentations and installations of the material.
Jennifer Ray
Jennifer Ray received her MFA in Photography from Columbia College Chicago and BA in Studio Art from Oberlin College. Her work has been exhibited around the world and is in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Ulrich Museum of Art, Museo del Barro, and Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender, and Reproduction. She’s been awarded residencies at Latitude Chicago, ACRE, and Unpack (Havana), and has received research grants from the Illinois Arts Council, Columbia College, the Chicago Office of Tourism and Culture, Oberlin College, the City of Wichita, and Wichita State University. Her long-term project, Shouting Fire, will be published by Push/Pull Editions in 2025. She is currently Associate Professor of Photo Media at Wichita State University and Associate Director of the School of Art, Design & Creative Industries.
Gallery
