Utopia: A Visual Storytelling of Our Home
A Photography exhibit at the Wood County Historical Center now through December 11th, 2020
Review by CARROLL McCUNE
“The Wood County Historical Center’s curator, Holly Hartlerode, didn’t want a typical survey of historic landmarks, old buildings or endless corn fields to commemorate the county’s bicentennial. Rather, she tasked the young photographer, Taylor Houpt Ayres to “travel the county and find me things that are interesting to you as a young person.” The resulting images in the exhibit are, consequently, more reflective of the photographer’s aesthetic interests and childhood experiences than commemorative of life in Wood County in 2020.
(Currently closed in compliance with Coronavirus regulations. Take a virtual tour at: http://www.woodcountyhistory.org/exhibitutopia.html.)
Although interesting, technically brilliant and exceptionally artistic, most of the images on display are not obviously specific to the county. Her pictures of sheep, balloons, tractors, fields, fisherman, fairground crowds, marsh grasses, old barns, and abandoned factories could have been taken anywhere in the Midwest.
Ayres asserts, however, that “each image in this exhibit is rooted in Wood County’s culture, tradition, and landscape exclusively. Each photo helps to tell the story of our home.”
Ayres eschewed a straight documentary style to interpret her visual experience of contemporary life in the county in favor of creative pictorialism. Some of her images were made using time-lapse photography or flashlight highlighting in nighttime in order to create eye-catching visual effects.
Hartlerode told the gifted photographer that she wanted the photographs “to be about the future,” a novel concept for an exhibit celebrating 200 years of local history. On the poster introducing the exhibit, Ayres explained how her images suggest the future while documenting the county’s familiar sights from a youthful perspective.
“I knew the overall purpose of the exhibit was not to view this anniversary milestone as an exercise in looking backwards. These photographs are a symbol of all the many possibilities waiting for those people just beginning their adult lives.”
Is seems, rather, that the commemorative occasion for this exhibit required that it should be dedicated to local history; that is, to images of the county’s unique landmarks, memorials, historical architecture and the like.
The two most evocative images in the exhibit are not, in fact, symbolic of youthful possibilities, but reflect meaningfully on the county’s history and are most appropriate for the venue and occasion.
“Christmas” is a beautifully composed picture of the Commodore Perry statue in Perrysburg. The subtle grays and whites of the snow covered monument and park are set against the Maumee River background and punctuated with a bright red Christmas bow adorning the statue. The image coalesces remembrance of the fearsome struggle to wrest northwest Ohio from the British with a cheerful scene from the present.
“Sunset on the Maumee” is a dramatic view of the river framed by the massive arches of the deteriorating old trolly bridge. History, landscape, and art converge in this image of the iconic bridge, a favorite subject of the area’s artists and photographs since trolleys ceased to whizz over it in 1937. Currently under threat of demolition, this expressive picture of the bridge prompts the viewer to contemplate the past, present, and future simultaneously.
In this body of work, Taylor Houpt Ayres transcended the curator’s objective of appealing to youth. “Utopia” is a visual feast that will reward both young and old.
Ayres took over 6,000 pictures during the three years she spent working on the project, which was a collaborative effort between the museum staff and herself. The professional fine art gallery presentation of the exhibit is remarkable considering its quaint setting within the old county home for the poor.
Taylor Haupt Ayres recently graduated from Bowling Green State University with a bachelor’s degree in visual communication technology and an associate degree in art. To purchase prints from this exhibit contact watchowlmedia@gmail.com. The show will remain on exhibit through December 11, 2020 at the Wood County Historical Center & Museum, 13660 County Home Road, Bowling Green, OH, 43402. The museum’s regular hours are Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and weekends from 1-4 p.m.
Images from Utopia: A Visual Storytelling of Our Home are available for purchase in a generous partnership between the artist and the Historical Society. All images will be printed by the artist, and 60% of the proceeds will be donated to the Wood County Historical Society to benefit future exhibits like this at the museum.
11×14: $100 | 16×20: $150 | Other sizes available upon request
TO ORDER PRINTS: E-mail Taylor Houpt Ayres at watchowlmedia@gmail.com
PAYMENT: Purchase Prints Online or call the museum at 419-352-0967 for additional options
