Presented by Tiffin Universitys Diane Kidd Gallery of Art

October 5November 9, 2016

Rock n Roll in Ohio celebrates music in our state through

photography. These five artists investigate the moments that make
live performance a unique and vivid experience. These photographs
show us the power of music.
Ohio has long had an important role in contemporary music.
Many musicians come from the state, including Chrissie
Hynde of the Pretenders, Marilyn Manson, Dean Martin, and
Tracy Chapman. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in
Cleveland has had 10 million visitors since it opened in 1995.
This catalog presents portfolios of the five photographers and an
essay by Dr. James Rovira, Associate Professor of English Literature.
Lee Fearnside
Director of the Diane Kidd Gallery

Rock n Roll in Ohio

October 5November 9, 2016
Diane Kidd Gallery
Tiffin University
Tiffin, OH

Gallery Director: Lee Fearnside

Exhibit Co-Curators: Lee Fearnside
& James Rovira
Catalog Design: Nikka Geiermann

www.tiffin.edu/dianekiddgallery

CONTENT

Introduction

Anja Proudfoot

Taylor Fickes

Emma Sipes

Ray Ford Jr.

Nik Vechery

Anja Proudfoot, Audiences Turn, 2015

INTRODUCTION

and European literature and art taking place over the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries at somewhat different times in different
placesand argues that these intersections arent coincidental.
William Blake is perhaps the greatest Romantic poet for the Rock
and Roll generation, with musicians such as Dylan, the Fugs, and
the Doors making reference to his poetry in the 1960s, Daniel
Amos in the 1980s, Patti Smith in the 1990s, and the Martha
Redbone Roots Project as recently as 2012. Perhaps this
musical interest in Blake is unsurprising as Blake first sang his
poems at dinner parties, drawing the attention of musical
scholars of his day who notated his original tunes. But
Wordsworth and Coleridge make their appearances as well,
Coleridge most famously in Iron Maidens 1980s adaptation of
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Its not enough to demonstrate
the influence of Romantic literature on Rock and Roll, however,
which is obvious and everywhere, but to demonstrate that Rock
and Roll is the form that Romanticism has taken in the late
twentieth century. When the Doors quote Blake, theyre not
quoting a distant influence but a fellow traveler.

by James Rovira

So what is Romanticism, and what does it mean to call Rock and

Roll a modern expression of Romanticism? The term Romantic
as a classification system of European literature and art began in
the eighteenth century, but attempts to coherently define the word
failed repeatedly, culminating in Lovejoys famous PMLA essay
On the Discrimination of Romanticisms (1924). Lovejoy
eventually arrived at the famous conclusion that the word
romantic has come to mean so many things that, by itself, it
means nothing. It has ceased to perform the function of a verbal
sign. As we approach the one-hundredth anniversary of the
publication of Lovejoys essay, it remains the most compelling
and definitive statement of the problem.

Taylor Fickes, Saosin, 2015

Early in 2014 my daughter had an application deadline coming up for

enrollment in the Art program at the University of Central Florida.
She needed a DSLR camera to take photographs for a portfolio.
I was living in Columbus, Ohio at the time, so I thought the
fastest way to get her a camera was to purchase one at a local
Best Buy for pickup at a store near her in Florida. When I got
there, Taylor Fickes and her friend spent an hour talking to me
about cameras and on the phone with Best Buy in Florida
making sure everything was in stock and ready for her to pick up
the next day. In the end, I was just as impressed with their
knowledge of the field of photography as I was with their
customer service. Not long after, I checked out Taylors rock
photography and was impressed by her work as well. Her
photographs integrate subject and setting in a way that captures
the intense emotional energy of the best rock concerts,
presenting living subjects in a way that places the viewer in the
scene. Her subjects may be frozen in time, but her photography
is living in it effects. I thought she should be shooting for Rolling
Stone.
My next reaction was annoyance at Taylors significant talent
going unrecognized mixed with a desire I had to produce
something dedicated to the state of Ohio, the place where Id

been living for the last six years. What struck me the most about
Ohio was the number of bands that came through the state, not
to mention the presence of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and
Museum in Cleveland. Ohio has become the capital of Rock in a
way comparable to Nashville being the capital of Country. So I
met Lee, told her about Taylors work, and asked her if she would
be interested in having an exhibit at Tiffin Universitys Diane Kidd
Art Gallery dedicated to Ohio Rock and Roll. She loved the idea,
and Taylor did too when I spoke to her about it, so we started
moving forward.
From there the idea snowballed. I solicited ideas for an honors
class about the intersections of Rock and Romanticism to an
English Romanticism listserv and received such enthusiastic
responses that I solicited essays for an edited anthology, Rock
and Romanticism, one volume of which is now under contract
with Lexington Books. This anthology explores the intersections
between Rock and Roll and literary Romanticisma movement
within British, American, and European literature taking place

art forms. How does Rock photography resemble the work of

different artists since the Renaissance? Not only how, but
why? Taylors color photographs are reminiscent to me at
times of the art of Blakes mythological works, such as the
photograph in which stage lighting becomes a celestial starry
field against which (or to whom?) the musician performs.
Similarly, the way Emma Sipes isolates her subjects against a
black background similarly reminds me of the work of
Rembrandt. Anja Proudfoots photographs emphasize the
intimate details of performance, and by doing so, like
Romantic poetry, emphasizes the individual. Nik Vechery
captures the subject in motion in a way that stresses moments
of intense feeling and emotion, while Ray Fords black and
white hip-hop photographs capture similar effects in a more
documentary style.
All of these photographers move in varying degrees beyond
documentary photography into the realm of imaginative art, where the
transformation of the subject through photography might mirror the
transformation of the listener through music. Are these similarities
coincidental, or do they reflect a renewal of the view of the subjecta
way of perceiving people creating and performing within the worldthat
is evolving again in response to societal pressures that have existed
before? However we choose to answer this question, we can still
appreciate the ongoing cycle of creative responses to creative works
that inspire: literature inspiring art and music, music inspiring
photography, and exhibits that celebrate this cycle.

Most recently, Robert Sayre and Michael Lwy in Figures of

Romantic Anti-Capitalism (1984), later revised and expanded to
book length in Romanticism Against the Tide of Modernity (2001),
take as their starting point definitions of Romanticism that
understand it as opposition to capitalism in the name of precapitalist values, such as the values inherent in Medieval
romance. They proceed to further define Romanticism as an
essential component of modern culture that is a collective
mental structure inextricably bound up with the Enlightenment,
one characterized by a sense of loss and a longing for unity.
Sayres and Lwys argument allows Romanticism to continue
into the present in ways that might take on a specific, musical
transformation in the period following World War II.
Unsurprisingly, the conditions surrounding European
Romanticisms development in the late eighteenth century are
eerily similar to the conditions of the late twentieth century:
widespread global trade fostered by European colonial
enterprises earlier in the eighteenth century led to increasing
conflicts around the world and in Europe, culminating in political
revolution in the Americas and then in France that were followed
by pan-European warfare from 1792 to 1815. Similarly, the
twentieth century saw two world wars followed by the rise of
global capitalism and its partner, global communism, and then the
rise of the United States and the Soviet Union as world
superpowers, so that by the onset of the 1950s, Europe and the
United States were both poised for an emotionally intense form of
Romantic anticapitalism: Rock and Roll.
The exhibit Rock n Roll in Ohio represents a starting point
for the extension of these questions past literature and music
to rock photography and its relationship to previoius art

Anja Proudfoot, Collective Soul, 2016

TAYLOR FICKES

City Lights, 2015

Suicide Silence, 2015

I was raised in a musically-inclined

family and have loved photography
since I was young.
My dad introduced me to both
worlds, and I decided to combine
them. I love capturing a moment
that otherwise would be lost in
time. Concerts give a lot of comfort
to people in the scene that I work
in. Its important to remind them of
that comfort throughout the
everyday tasks, and thats what I
hope to do by taking these photos.

Contentions, 2015

Atreyu, 2015

10

11

Up for Grabs ,2013

Arrival, 2013

RAY FORD JR.

Before I take a picture, there is a voice in my head that always asks,why?
why?
why?
why?
This three letter word serves as the footing of reason in my picture taking process and it constantly urges me to negotiate
why?
why?
to what end closing the shutter on a particular moment may bring, socially, culturally, and politically. The why in me is
why?
why?
most satisfied when I shoot candidly, where I can feel and maneuver my way, however voyeuristically, through a setting,

The Stage, 2013

scene, event, or moment without compromising the subjects usual-ness. By adding composition to my urge to feel, I arrive
at my photoing purpose.

12

13

Show Time 4, 2013

Show Time 2, 2013

14

15

ANJA PROUDFOOT

I was trained in fine art photography instead of journalistic photography, so I tend to want to
focus on the small and abstract details of performances. I grew up listening to rock music
and was introduced to photography at a young age. It was almost inevitable for the artist in
me to want to capture the power of music in a photograph as I have experienced it for so
much of my life. After my first concert I was enamored with the amount of emotion,
intricacies, and work that went into live performances, which lead to my drive to capture it
all. I feel that the tiny moments in a performance are what build the entire show. The details
add so much to shows and can often go unnoticed. Im always looking for the split second
moments of the smile on the singers face as the crowd sings back, the snarl on the
bassists face when the bass line is just right, the fans singing the words like thats the only
thing they know, and when the guitarist cant help but jump along to the energy of the
crowd.

I take these photographs to capture the

brilliance, energy, and love of music.

Collective Soul, 2016

Dogleg, 2016

16

17

3OH!3, 2016

18

Sing it! , 2015

Sum 41, 2016

19

EMMA SIPES

Fable, 2015

Afroblue, 2015

When I was at Tiffin University, I had the opportunity to capture images of students
as they performed in different groups, as well as many guest artists. I enjoy capturing
peoples love for music and performance.

20

21

Jazzin, 2014

22

Laces, 2015

23

NIK VECHERY
Right page
from top to bottom:
TweensCincinnati, OH,2015

As a concert photographer, I strive to both

document a musician in their element and imbue
the essence of what is heard in their music,
transforming it into a still image.

Arlo McKinleyCincinnati, OH,2015

X__XCleveland, OH,2015
ObnoxCleveland, OH,2015

It is this exploration of mutating sound to vision that keeps me coming back to these
concert halls and small rock clubs to photograph bands that most likely will not survive
to record a single note. Their dedication to making music is why I photograph. I take on
the role of documentarian of these small scenes with a creative eye so that these bands
moment in time is not forgotten.

Ian HubbardDrums, 2015

24

25

Counter IntuitsCleveland, OH, 2015

Guided By VoicesDayton, OH,2015

TweensCincinnati, OH, 2015

26

27

Ray Ford Jr., Intermission, 2013

Emma Sipes, Mic Stand, 2014

Anja Proudfoot, Collective Soul, 2016

Nik Vechery, Jesse Rinebolt, 2015

28

Taylor Fickes, Fall Out Boy, 2016

29

30

31

About the Diane Kidd Gallery

Through the leadership of Diane Kidd, the original Tiffin University
Art Gallery opened in Franks Hall in 1994. From her initial vision,
the gallery has grown to become the spacious and light-filled Diane
Kidd Gallery of Art in the Hayes Center for the Arts. It is one of the
finest exhibition spaces in the area, a drawing card for art lovers in
northwest Ohio and beyond.

Above: Anja Proudfoot, Collective Soul, 2016

32

Cover: Taylor Fickes, Atreyu, 2015