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Nature sings at Hall of
Frames
By
BETSEY BRUNER
Arts, Culture & Community
Editor
Sunday,
August 27, 2006 1:20 PM CDT
Flagstaff resident Debbie Leavitt's
photographic career has been as full of movement
and change of direction as her water images of
the Colorado River. The diversity of her
expression is in full display in "Things of that
Nature," a comprehensive fine-arts exhibit of
her work in black and white and color in the
Hall of Frames at the historic Riordan Building
onWest Riordan Road.
Leavitt, 52, who
hails from Chicago, has been photographing the
Southwest for more than 20 years. She and her
husband, George Castleberry, have lived in
Flagstaff for eight years.
"My career has
shifted several times," said Leavitt, "When I
first graduated from Brooks Institute of
Photography, my interest was strictly rock and
roll, so I moved to Hollywood and followed
celebrities and rock stars around with my
camera. It was a riotous time, and I got up
close and personal with the likes of James
Brown, the Clash and U2."
SKY, STONE,
WATER
Over the years, her emphasis
redirected to nature.
"I used to
photograph rock stars, and now I photograph
rocks," she quipped. "But my rock musician
portraits are still published, only now they're
vintage."
Leavitt calls her "Things of
that Nature" show "My Nature's Greatest Hits
exhibition," focusing on the Grand Canyon and
the Colorado River.
"Some of the images
in this show lean toward the abstract, which is
the direction my work is currently taking," she
added. "My challenge as a photographer is to
squeeze huge and beautiful nature into a flat
rectangle for everyone to see."
Leavitt
said the exhibit is a 30-year perspective of her
work. The 26 photographs in the show were taken
between 1976 and 2006, with the oldest being the
intricate black-and-white photo, "Truck Door
(Rez fence)," a sheep fence she shot near
Kayenta.
Many of the photographs in the
show are abstracts, including "Black and Blue
II," a barn window at Moqui Ranch near Blue
Ridge reservoir.
"I love all of them, but that one is very
symbolic of my new direction, which is very
abstract," she said. "I'm getting to the point
where people say, 'I really like that image,
Debbie, but what is it?' I love that
reaction."
BORN A CITY
GIRL
Leavitt pays homage to her Chicago
city roots in "Blues Room," a large color
photograph prominently displayed in the large
hall in the Riordan Building.
"It has
turned out to be a favorite image of many," she
said. "Captured years ago on the south side of
Chicago, this photo features the New Lexington
Hotel, former headquarters of gangster Al
Capone. It's the same building where Geraldo
Rivera, on live TV, failed to find anything in
the vault. Like many historic buildings, this
place is now gone, replaced by a parking
lot."
"Blues Room" is one of the
favorites of Ernie Butterfield, one of the four
owners of the building. He operates Butterfield
Insurance & Financial Services from an
elegant and historically preserved downstairs
office in the building.
"I like that one
a lot," he said. "Debbie said it was torn
down."
Butterfield also likes "The Canyon
Beckons," a color landscape Leavitt placed
across from his door, so he can view it from his
desk.
HALL OF FRAMES
Butterfield
came up with the idea for the Hall of Frames
shows about five years ago. he thought the
lovely building, built in 1900, would be a good
venue for local artists. listed on the National
Historical Registry, it was the former Arizona
Timber Co., headquarters for the Riordan lumber
mill.
"I do this as a community service,"
Butterfield said. "I'm into art, and I like to
give artists a place to show. I'm kind of
selfish too, because I get to look at all the
art. We've had everything in
here."
Previous shows included the work
of local artists such as Shonto Begay, Roberta
Rogers, Gary McAllister, Dee Brewer, Sharon
McGinnis, Linda Sherman and Frank
Shively.
The permanent collection in the
Hall of Frames includes some of the work of
these artists, including a watercolor of the
exterior of the building by Linda
Sherman.
The high ceilings and large
rooms flooded with window light make the inside
walls of the building a museum-quality surface
for the display of art.
Exhibiting
artists get an opening reception, a two-month
run of their show and the chance to pick which
charity will benefit from some of the proceeds
from their sales.
Butterfield said he
charges a very small commission for work sold
and is not in competition with
galleries.
"I've always been fond of
art," he said. "Plus, it really feels good
handing those checks over to
charities."
A LITTLE
CONTEST
Leavitt is fully trained in all
aspects of darkroom work. She is also a loyal
user of Nikon equipment, including her new
digital camera.
A member of the Artists'
Coalition of Flagstaff, Leavitt works full time
as a fine-arts photographer and sells greeting
cards and some work at West of the Moon gallery
downtown and the Sedona Art Center
Prints
in the show sell from $200 to $725, framed. They
are also available unframed and in a variety of
sizes.
A portion of her sales will go to
Whale Foundation, a nonprofit serving the
emotional well being of Grand Canyon river
sunners.
Only two of the photographs in
the show are digital.
"I'm doing a little
contest," she said. "Twenty-four of the images
are old-school film, negative or slide. I'm
inviting the public to guess which are digital.
They will get a photo prize selected by
me."
People can e-mail their guesses in
to Leavitt.
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