North Gallery
Shane Brown
Great Plains Schema:
Photographs of the Cultural Landscape
September 26 thru November 25, 2005
Shane Brown has captured the essence of simplistic landscape within
his exhibit Great Plains Schema: Photographs of
the Cultural Landscape.
Brown’s focus on the Oklahoma landscape came from the many hours
exploring the back roads of Sequoyah County with his grandfather one
summer.
Brown’s images evoke the lonesome solidarity of the Great Plains. He creates a design for unconventional escapism to a long lost era that struggles to survive among the concrete giants of civilized growth. While the images of rural Oklahoma are hauntingly beautiful, they speak to the audience either in an eerie whisper or boisterous rumble. It is the responsibility of the viewer to decipher the symbolism and respond to the barren beauty of the abandoned lands and the existential connotation of a forgotten rustic doorway.
Born in Tulsa, Shane Brown spent his childhood in rural areas throughout
Oklahoma. After graduating from Skiatook High School in 1993, Brown
joined the United States Air Force where his travels to Asia and the
western part of the United States played a role in the evolution of
his work. After his stint in the service, Brown received his Bachelors
degree in Creative Writing from Oklahoma State University. In the fall
of 2003 Brown received a Lew Wentz Undergraduate Research Grant to
facilitate his documentation of the cultural landscape of Oklahoma.
Great Plains Schema is a continuation of this project.
Brown has participated in numerous solo and group exhibitions throughout
Oklahoma, and was the 2004 September/October featured artist in Oklahoma
Today Magazine. He is represented by Joseph
Gierek Fine Art in Tulsa.
Brown is currently working towards his Masters of Fine Arts from the
University of Oklahoma.
Sponsored by the Oklahoma Arts Council. For more information contact Scott Cowan or Karen Sharp at 405.521.2931 or scott@arts.ok.gov.