YEAR of SILVER / Exhibition
The Mildred Complex(ity) presents
Susanna Crum and Rudy Salgado
On the Map
May 28 through July 4 / Reception / Saturday / May 28th / 1 pm through 5 pm
How and when does a town begin? In the US, the naming and establishment of a post office have inscribed the intention and identity of a town on maps and within communities. From the 1860s to the 1930s, itinerant tintype photographers traveled the country with mobile portrait studios. They summoned ghosts in the atmospheric backgrounds of their images or documented soldiers and the deceased for inclusion in the newly-popular family photo album. Tintypes were the first affordable means for Americans to share images with distant family and friends, as the photographs on metal could be reliably placed in the mail. Rudy Salgado and Susanna Crum traveled with a mobile darkroom around the state of Kentucky, investigating historical post office sites with this 170-year-old method. In their hours spent producing hand-poured plates on site, they met property owners and history keepers who shared stories of the post office as a crucial community-powered site for information and social exchange. On the Map includes photographs, drawings, and postcards from this research-led journey
_ The Artists / May 2022
Susanna Crum and Rudy Salgado live in Louisville, Kentucky, where they operate Calliope Arts, a shared workspace for artists working in print media. They received MFA degrees from the University of Iowa in 2012 and moved to Louisville to work as artists, collaborators, and educators. Together, they care for property and a house built in 1885 in downtown Louisville, including their residence, printmaking, wet plate collodion photography studios, a large kitchen garden, and a chicken coop. They have exhibited solo and collaborative projects across the US and abroad, and have received numerous grants and awards. They have recently attended artist residencies at Kunstarhuset Messen, Ålvik, Norway; Edinburgh Printmakers, Edinburgh, Scotland; Kala Art Institute, Berkeley, CA; and Mildred's Lane, Beach Lake, PA. Susanna and Rodolfo have made many ongoing contributions to Mildred's Lane Projects, including Mildred Archaeology.
Insta/ @susannacrum and @rivercitytintype
Image / Bryants Store, 2021 /Wet plate collodion tintype, 8x10
Year of Silver marks our 25th anniversary – hence Mildred's Lane is closed to refresh the site, the artist projects, and upgrade our organization. We are fundraising to expand our impact as a cultural site for the future throughout the year. To support these efforts in fundraising, in the landscape, supported internships, and general assistance, please send letters of interest with your skills and available working dates to mildredslane@gmail.com
Read the article /
ARTFORUM / April / ON SITE
GOOD HOUSEKEEPING
Ian Bourland on Mildred’s Lane
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