Local Color: A series of work about Kankakee - C. Shoup
“It was 2004. I had just started tiling photographs; my early work consisted of corn and creeks. I was building my first frames (they were pine and spray-painted black). My head was full of ambition. “In the summer I had the opportunity to show work at my first public event—a “garden walk vendor’s fair” on the grounds of Kankakee’s Governor Small Park. “A month prior to the event, I had a conversation with local artesian Bonnie Rudolf. She looked at my work and suggested I include definable images of Kankakee—because, she said, ‘There is an audience and market for all things Kankakee.’ “People from the area and the Kankakee Public Library have since purchased the originals from this portfolio. Throughout the last several years I have had continued success selling prints and cards from this series at local markets.”
“This marks my first tiling with a building—the ‘starting’ photograph originates from the name on the downtown Kankakee Railroad Depot.”
“Another shot of the downtown depot—along with a shot of the restored train car that’s stationed to the north of the depot.” “I have always been happy with the way the silver train compliments the terracotta bricks on the building.”
“The Washington Avenue dam; my great Uncle Marvin ran a print shop two blocks north of this location, which was later bequeathed to my Uncle John. “I’ve never fully understood this composition’s draw, but it has been the most sought piece after from this portfolio.”
“The “modern” architectural building in this piece houses offices and the Kankakee Public Library. This piece is part of the library’s permanent art collection.”
“The interior stacks at the Kankakee Public Library; this piece hangs outside the library’s Martin Luther King Jr. reading room.”
“The Shapiro Clock tower; when I got to this local monument, the sun was blazing directly at it, and there were no shadows. I knew I would get only a sandstone monotone color, so I waited on the grass for two hours, watching the shadows appear and begin to stretch, before getting the photograph used in this tiling. All black lines in this piece are simply the shadows‌â€?
“The Shapiro Clock tower again, at a different angle and exposure.�
“I’ve made good use of this local resource; it has a great bike trail, water resources, mature trees, and places where a person can still find excellent solitude.”
“From a series of postcards I started as a commission, but through my own haphazard sense of organization never finished. Maybe this will some day come back around.�
“Another postcard example…”