All images copyright Ashleigh Burke Coleman or Ellen Rodgers
A photography exhibit featuring the work of Ashleigh Burke Coleman and Ellen Rodgers at Fischer Galleries in Jackson, Mississippi, this past week prompted thoughts on “virtual” friendships in the digital age of the Internet, World Wide Web and social media.
I was going to write about the difference in reading on a screen versus a page (and I still intend to), but the idea of pages as opposed to electronic screens led me to think of film versus digital photography (possibly the subject of another future post) and that in turn led me to think about the opening of Ashleigh’s and Ellen’s photography exhibit. Both Ashleigh and Ellen have taken up the challenge and the joy of film photography and I encourage you to see the results of their efforts if you’re in Jackson, or even make plans to visit Jackson for the express purpose of seeing their work. But the idea of physical film versus digital brought to mind the way that “virtual” friendships have developed in the age of social media.
An Opportunity I Didn't Want to Miss
I knew that the opening of the exhibit was going to be on January 19th and since I was going to be in town for a meeting I thought it would be great to go see it. The only problem was that the opening wasn't until 5 p.m. and my meeting was going to be over before 1 p.m. What to do?
I thought about hanging around until five then going to the opening before heading home. The older I get, however, the longer that drive from Tupelo to Jackson and back in one day seems to get. I'm up at 5 a.m., leave between six and seven and don't get back to Tupelo until around the same time, but in the p.m. I threw some clothes in my duffel bag "just in case" I did decide to stay for the opening, in which case I planned to get a room at a motel in Ridgeland or Madison rather than drive back to Tupelo at night in crummy weather.
Instead, when I got out of my meeting I decided to call the gallery and see if I could sneak a peak at the exhibit that afternoon and then head home before sunset (not that I'd see the sun given the stormy weather). I called the number listed on the gallery's website and Marcy Fischer Nessel assured me that it would be okay to come by early and see the exhibit and even stopped her preparations in order to move her car and make room for me to park in the alley beside the gallery. Though she never stopped moving while I visited, she was the epitome of hospitality to this stranger who just "popped in" during what had to be a perfect storm of last minute duties to tend to before five p.m. arrived.
A Contemporary Question in an Internet Age
When I called, Marcy asked a perfectly natural question of someone who was interested in seeing the work of the two artists who were going to be showing that night - "Do you know Ashleigh and Ellen?" Later on, I wondered if there was a split second of hesitation before I answered, "Yes".
Do I know Ashleigh and Ellen?
How would I have answered that question twenty-five years ago (leaving aside the issue of their being much younger than this sixty-plus year old blogger)?
I would have probably said "No", but that I had previously worked for a few years with Ashleigh's husband, Josiah, and that I had briefly met Ellen at the recent wedding of a friend's son that she was helping to photograph. I wouldn't have been that familiar with their work or their lives - indeed, I might not have even known about their show at Fischer Galleries.
The Changes Wrought by Social Media
Josiah and I practiced law together in Tupelo before he moved back to Oxford more than ten years ago. One way we stayed connected was via email, but another way was through Facebook.
I still wonder how people younger than thirty (or maybe now it would be forty?) feel about my generation bursting in on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instagram and Snapchat. When I was their age, people my age had to good grace to disappear from the contemporary scene (or at least that's how I remember it). Maybe we still do - seem to disappear that is - leaving the younger crowd to interact with their "own", while we follow - "lurking" in the shadows.
How Do We "Know" People Anyway?
Invisible or not, I was able to observe my friend, Josiah, as he met, wooed, then wed the love of his life, Ashleigh Burke Coleman. Think about how this generation sits apart from those that have gone before. I saw photographs of Josiah asking Ashleigh to marry him not long after his family probably did. I watched as Ashleigh joined in Josiah's project of rescuing an old house in rural Pontotoc County and turning it into a striking and beautiful home.
When Josiah decided to run for a seat on the Mississippi Supreme Court, I observed through the lens of social media as he and Ashleigh worked hard to win that election. I enjoyed photos (without having to sit in their living room watching slides) they posted from trips to places as varied as South Carolina, Ireland and Maine. Places that became their favorites were added to my bucket list of places I'd like to visit.
I watched as their family grew from two, to three, to four and now (most recently) five, with the birth of their youngest daughter, Tallulah.
A Gifted Photographer's Journey Observed
And . . . I watched as Ashleigh's gift as a photographer blossomed online. So, when I saw Ellen at the rehearsal dinner of a friend's son and asked her about the camera harness she was using with two cameras, it was only natural as we talked about photography and cameras that she mentioned that she sometimes worked with a Hasselblad. And, it was only natural that I would tell her about Ashleigh Coleman, someone who also shot with that iconic medium format camera. Ellen's response, "Oh, you know Ashleigh? We have an Instagram account together - Girls With Hasselblads!" And that led to seeing yet another "portfolio" of stunning images online.
This isn't the first time that I've stopped and wondered about this strange world of virtual friendships that we've developed in the Internet Age. My first experience with it was in getting to know fellow tier-one software testers in a virtual "room" provided to us by Corel. That was more than twenty years ago and yet I've kept up with some of those folks without ever having met them in real life.
In addition to Josiah and Ashleigh, I've met others through Facebook or Flickr or Instagram - some of whom I've never met in person, but with whom I've rejoiced at successes and grieved with through losses - even to the loss of parents and spouses. Some of them I've come to know better than others - sharing anecdotes, thoughts about hobbies, politics, recipes and even philosophy.
And, like so many my age, I've reconnected, through Facebook, LinkedIn and other social media, with friends from former jobs, law school, college, high school and beyond.
The Difference in Living Now
Maybe it's not that strange - after all, Augustine carried on a virtual acquaintanceship through the medium of pen and ink with Jerome and with Paulinus of Nola and that was more than sixteen hundred years ago.
Maybe it's the Internet's accessibility to so vast an audience that sets this age apart from former times. Maybe it's the ubiquity of virtual devices: computers at work, computers at home, phones, tablets, now even watches. There's a difference and it's changing us in ways that we are only beginning to realize.
The irony of keeping up with someone's skill as a medium format film photographer on Instagram and Facebook is just one more paradox of living in this virtual digital world of ours. Until this past Thursday, the only way that I experienced either Ashleigh's or Ellen's art was seated at my computer, ranging around the landscape of Facebook, Instagram or maybe some online publication that carried Ashleigh's work.
The Difference in Being Present
Did seeing their work in person make a difference? Well, yes.
I told Marcy that I had previously seen many of the photographs on display at the show online, but it was just not the same as being physically present before the work. I have a nice sized monitor with exceptional resolution, but it's not the same seeing the rising waters in Rodney, Mississippi or the flat lines of a Delta field on a screen versus in person, with the work printed by the artist in the manner that she intends it to be seen.
That's the thing about real art. It's not just the skill of the artist in composing or capturing light and rendering it in some form of media (in the case of photographers) - it's the thought behind the presentation of the image that provides us with a deeper and often profound understanding of the artist herself. What moves her . . . and, what moves her to try to move us as well? You can certainly sense that online, just as Henri Nouwen was moved by the image of Rembrandt's Prodigal Son when he first encountered it on a mere poster. But Nouwen ultimately felt led to go to the Hermitage to see the painting itself before he wrote an entire book about the transformative nature of the impact the painting had upon his life.
An Opportunity Gratefully Realized
I'm glad I was able to stop by the gallery on my way out of Jackson. Seeing the physical images as carefully hung, arranged and lit by Marcy offered a qualitatively different experience than seeing the online versions, backlit by a computer monitor's light emitting diodes.
Do I know Ashleigh and Ellen?
Yes.
In a way I know them through mutual friends. In a way I know them through the virtual worlds of social media. And now, through their art on display at the Fischer Galleries, I've enjoyed getting to know them even more. I recommend that you take advantage of the opportunity to do so as well.