This exhibit is FREE to the public and will be on display during library hours Monday--Friday 9 am-6 pm, starting Friday, May16, 2025, through Friday, June 06, 2025.
Gary Cawood's Field Notes
Artist Statement
My image-making process involves careful observation of specific details. This exploration is much like fieldwork in other disciplines, such as anthropology, geology, or botany. Notes gathered usually include photographs, and to emphasize the factual nature of their findings, a measuring scale is often included for reference. I’m also using a scale in the photographs. I’m experimenting with various ways this prop can be integrated into the scene, so the effect might be more ambiguous and mysterious than factual.
Many of the places depicted are sites I’ve photographed before and reflect recurring themes. I’m drawn to sites where the natural contours of the landscape have been disrupted, such as abandoned quarries and excavation for new construction. Building and then dismantling constantly transforms the topography. While humans alter the landscape, nature continually reasserts its force, oblivious to our intent. Shinny and new become rusted and worn. Unintended plant life proliferates. A scientific investigation would seek to quantify the change. My purpose is to celebrate this process visually, with the graduated scale as a perfect counterpoint to the random effects of nature.
Artist Bio
Gary Cawood received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Auburn University in 1970, and after service as a VISTA in the Pittsburgh Architect’s Workshop, began a serious study of photography in 1972. He received a Master of Fine Arts in Photography from East Tennessee State University in 1976. He has taught at the University of Delaware, Louisiana Tech University, and the Prague School for Photographic Studies. He is currently Professor Emeritus at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, where he was Head of the Photography Area.
Cawood’s photographs have been widely exhibited throughout the United States. Solos include: Kresge Gallery, Lyon College, Batesville, AR, 2024; Camerawork, Scranton, PA, 2018; Charno Gallery, Kansas City, MO, 2014; Viewpoint, Sacramento, CA, 2013; and Morris Graves Museum of Art, Eureka, CA, 2013. A work was also included in Something in the Way at the New Orleans Museum of Art in 2016 and a two-person exhibition at Curfman Gallery, Colorado State University, 2024. He has received Visual Artist Fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Mid-America Arts Alliance, and the Arkansas Arts Council. His work is included in numerous public collections, including the Smithsonian National Museum of American Art, the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Library of Congress, the Amon Carter Museum, and the New Orleans Museum of Art.
Although retired from his academic position, Cawood continues to photograph and exhibit on a regular basis, with an emphasis on new projects to explore. Gathering inspiration from a variety of sources, Cawood remains committed to his craft and vision.
To learn more about Cawood's work, check out his website at garycawood.com
This is the secondary branch of the William F. Laman Public Library located in the heart of the Argenta Arts District of North Little Rock.
