Sunday, July 21, 5-7pm
Bordello Galería, Órganos 19
Free

Iowa's Driftless Region, photos – opening

By Doug Hyslop

Casa de la Noche, home to Bordello Galería, Órganos 19, (tel. 152 0732) will be hosting a one evening exhibition featuring the photography of Todd Barnett. The reception will be held this Sunday July 21, from 5 to 7 pm. This pop-up exhibition will be for this one evening only. Todd is a Madison, Wisconsin based Architect and the collection focuses on the Driftless region's rural landscape, a unique area which escaped glaciation during the last ice age.

Todd has been visiting San Miguel de Allende annually since 2003 based on encouragement from his thesis professor while in graduate school for architecture. Since his first visit here, he has held exhibitions in Madison of his images of the people of San Miguel de Allende; this exhibit turns the tables and brings the mid-west south landscape south of the border. Although the states of Iowa and Guanajuato are very different places, both are home to landscapes which are and can be characterized as "central highlands", have strong agricultural history and display an honest regional character where the intersection of the natural environment and development are compelling.

The Driftless region of Iowa features century-old barns, rolling hills, gravel roads which run along the ridges and big skies. The collection is part of an effort to document the raw beauty of the landscape, human's influence and the forces of time, weather and how our image of the quintessential farmstead is changing.

Todd's approach to photography draws on his rich experience of sketching in Europe during a study-abroad year in Versailles, France where composition and light and shadow were a constant focus. In Madison, he runs his own architectural firm focusing on private residential and community-based projects. Todd takes pride that if you can't find him working and playing in Madison, there is a good chance he is either in San Miguel de Allende or on a backroad in Iowa kicking up gravel.

As part of this limited showing, Todd strongly encourages those who attend to bring and share their own images of the Guanajuato highlands as a counter to those of Iowa and creating an opportunity to find the similarities and differences between these two beautiful places.

The "Bordello Galeria" is so named because it is located in the main sala of Madam Turca's "Casa de la Noche,' where notorious "ladies of the evening" once made their living. Barbara Poole, owner of Casa de la Noche Bed and Breakfast and a painter herself, hopes to continue using her front room gallery space to promote lesser-known Mexican artists as well as emerging local San Miguelisians.

Please join this one evening event and ask Todd about the time the police were called on him for taking picture of an old house. Get the answer and be in a drawing to have your choice of one the pieces!

Barbara Edell Poole

myarthouse@yahoo.com

from USA 831 373 8888
from Mexico 415 152 0732

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