Dirk Spennemann, a professor in historic preservation and cultural heritage studies with the Institute of Land, Water and Society at Charles Sturt University Australia, has published several books on the CNMI.
Spennemann is also an accomplished photographic artist, who in his recent work aspires to interpret cultural elements through the visual arts.
He has had several solo exhibitions in Australia, one of which is currently touring.
Additional exhibitions are scheduled for 2010 in both Australia and Alaska.
The exhibition, entitled “Tantalizing and Troubling Visions,” features people and places in today’s CNMI.
All images were taken within a one-week time frame in September, representing a snapshot in time.
According to Spennemann, “Creative visions are meant to be selective, gently challenging the perceptions of the audience, collecting the familiar with the unfamiliar, and juxtaposing the expected with the unexpected.”
The acronym of the exhibition is also a word play on the photographic technique used by the artist: through-the-viewfinder, or TTV, photography.
Using a modern Nikon digital camera with a powerful macro lens, Spennemann photographs the image produced by the viewfinder of a vintage camera, a French Olbia Eikon made in 1946.
The bi-convex glass of the viewfinder allows for selective focus drop-off that cannot be emulated with standard cameras or by digital manipulation.
Digital darkroom techniques are then used to post-process the captured images.
The images have a gritty feel to them, transcending reality with their treatment.
On the one hand, creating a realism that is confronting, on the other hand creating an artistic, and comforting, distance to the reality as seen by most.
As the first decade of the 21st century soon draws to a close, the CNMI plays many roles: a bastion of Chamorro and Carolinian pride; a tourist destination for holidaymakers from Japan, China and Korea; a gateway between Asia and Micronesia; a heaven of aspirations of many seeking a stepping stone to the mainland U.S.; and America’s westernmost outpost in the Pacific.
Not surprisingly, 21st century CNMI is a complex community.
The land is firmly in the hands of the traditional owners of the islands.
Both Chamorros and Carolinians maintain a strong identity and cultural self-respect.
Yet the streetscapes, stores and public places reflect a multi-cultural community with Bangladeshi, Chinese, Chuukese, European, Korean, Palauan, Filipino and Russian elements intermingling.
The CNMI Museum is excited to hold “Tantalizing and Troubling Visions,” the first exhibition of this kind.
The public is invited and encouraged to visit the exhibit, which will be open from Wednesday, Oct. 6 through Dec. 18.
The public is invited to the opening on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
Spennemann will be on hand to talk about the exhibited work. Entrance to the museum will be free for the opening reception.
The museum is open Mondays thru Fridays, 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. Entrance is $1 for residents.
