The Modbo presents July’s First Friday: “In Your Face” with recent works by Carol Dass and Heather Oelklaus. The opening reception is from 5:00 pm until midnight on Friday, July 5th. The show runs through Friday, June 26th. In addition to the opening reception, the gallery is open on Friday evenings from 4-7 pm or by appointment. The Modbo is located in the Arts Alley in downtown Colorado Springs at 17C E. Bijou. Find the stretch of Bijou that is between Cascade and Tejon, and go south down the alley. Street parking is available, but The Modbo recommends the lot on Cascade just north of Bijou, which is only $1 after 3 pm. The Modbo can be reached at themodbo@gmail.com, themodbo.com, or 633-4240.
“In Your Face,” recent works by Carol Dass and Heather Oelklaus, asks the viewer to be engaged with their provocative exhibition. From looking upward towards Dass’ cyanotype underpants as if you were a child experiencing a surreal clothesline, to sporting a pair of red and blue anaglyph glasses to witness Oelklaus’ true 3D world, these two Colorado Springs artists invite you to question and experience the works on display. Historic photographic image making pushes forward the ideals of the past and challenges the viewer to consider what has changed in the last one hundred years. Dass’ dreamlike cyanotype installation alongside Oelklaus’ old school virtual reality is visually and conceptually rich.
Carol Dass has been looking at the world through a camera’s viewfinder for as long as she can remember. Recently retired from teaching darkroom based photography at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs for 14 years, Carol lives with her husband and two dogs. When not traveling with her 91 year old muse and mother, Carol collects and researches vernacular photography. Carol’s work is in the collections of The Denver Art Museum, The Colorado Springs Fine Arts Center, The Progressive Art Collection and various private collections.
Heather Oelklaus (b. 1972, USA) studied Sculpture at The Kansas City Art Institute (KCAI) in the early 1990s. She has exhibited work in solo and group shows in Colorado, New Orleans, Oregon, New York, Texas, and Arizona. Heather lives and works in Colorado Springs where she explores unconventional photography and art making. A variety of photographic techniques such as anaglyph, chemigram, photogram, lumen prints, wet plate collodion, pinhole photography, cyanotype, and light painting are influential in her art making. Photography as an object instead of the traditional reproduced image influences Heather’s art with themes of family, social and gender roles, and abstract art.