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 shadows…”
“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…”