Photographer Susan Mikula and curator Charlie Hunter to discuss ISLAND exhibit at BMAC

BRATTLEBORO — The Brattleboro Museum & Art Center (BMAC) invites the public to a conversation with photographer Susan Mikula and curator Charlie Hunter about ISLAND, an exhibit featuring Mikula's haunting images of the historically-rich, 30-acre "island" in Bellows Falls.

The talk will be held Thursday, Nov. 19, at 5:30 p.m., at BMAC (10 Vernon St., Brattleboro). Admission is free. Registering in advance is optional, and walk-ins are welcome. To register, visit brattleboromuseum.org or call 802-257-0124, ext. 101.

ISLAND, on display at BMAC until Feb. 9, features dream-like images of the "island," a giant shelf of bedrock forcing the Connecticut River to make an abrupt eastward hitch in Bellows Falls, Vermont. Mikula achieved her ghost-like images, which were created specifically for this exhibit, after years of experimentation in her craft using old Polaroid cameras and expired instant film.

Hunter, the curator, said, "Mikula has a painter's eye. With it, she captures the lovely mystery of a place. In her works for ISLAND, her vision is simultaneously rooted in and floating above the land. We see the island through Mikula's eyes."

In their BMAC talk, Mikula and Hunter will discuss the artistic exploration of a geographic spot that has been defined by humans for centuries. An important gathering place for the Abenaki and Iroquois people, what was once a peninsula became surrounded by water with the creation of the Bellows Falls Canal at the turn of the 19th century. The now-quiet island has been influenced by the comings and goings of agriculture, manufacturing, rail, and commerce.

In a written statement accompanying the exhibit, Mikula said, "I walked and slid over ISLAND from November to June, in weather mostly drab but occasionally glorious, cajoling my old cameras to create what I already knew was there: the fine particularity of a place outside of time."

Mikula and Hunter will discuss the artmaking process in which Mikula used finicky out-dated film and old Polaroid models, including the SX-70 Land Camera Alpha 1 and the SX-70 Model 2, SE.

"I love these old mechanisms, and I adore their mischievous natures," Mikula said. "They are sensitive to cold, and I would often have to keep them swaddled in woolens, taking out one at a time, for two or three shots, before putting it back into the snug, dry warmth of the basket."

She added, "The shot film was sensitive too. On very cold days, I would slide the pictures next to my skin to keep them warm enough to develop."

Mikula lives and works in New York City and rural western Massachusetts. Her work has been shown in solo and group exhibits in New York, San Francisco, Miami, Los Angeles, and Northampton and Provincetown, Massachusetts. It is in private collections in the United States and Europe, as well as in the permanent collection of the U.S. Embassy, Nuevo Laredo, Mexico.

Hunter is a painter who lives in Bellows Falls. This is the second exhibit he has curated for BMAC. As a painter, Hunter says his goal is "to paint beautifully that which is not traditionally considered beautiful."

Founded in 1972, the Brattleboro Museum & Art Center presents rotating exhibits of contemporary art, complemented by lectures, artist talks, film screenings, and other public programs. The museum is open Wednesday through Sunday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission is on a "pay-as-you-wish" basis. The museum, in historic Union Station in downtown Brattleboro at the intersection of Main Street and routes 119 and 142, is wheelchair accessible. For more information, call 802-257-0124 or visit brattleboromuseum.org .

BMAC is supported in part by the Vermont Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts. Additional support is provided by Brattleboro Savings & Loan, C&S Wholesale Grocers, and Sam's Outdoor Outfitters.