"Burn Season", Courtesy/Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison

There is perhaps no older struggle than the one between man and his surroundings.

The sepia-toned images created by artists Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison vividly capture that struggle, depicting an everyman who is frequently at odds with his environment.

The artists, who have received international acclaim for their work, are the jurors for PhotoSpiva 2005 at Spiva Center for the Arts and will present a lecture — “Art from Collaboration” — at 2 p.m. Sunday at Missouri Southern State University.

The couple, who live in western Massachusetts, will discuss their work and the collaborative process used in its creation during their Sunday lecture.

“We research a lot of things simultaneously,” said Shana ParkeHarrison in a recent phone interview. “We go into this deep area of research — of Native American religion, world religion, theater, ecology, politics and the environment — and begin to make images based on the premise of the disconnection of humans to the Earth.”

The couple has been working together on the images for 15 years. The works are featured in numerous collections, including New York’s Whitney Museum of American Art and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. Last year, they were featured in a documentary for the PBS series “Art Close Up.”

The process can often be a lengthy one. Only 10 to 12 images are created each year, she said.

As they research, they begin taking the ideas and translating them into sets that convey the theme they want to express.

“We build most of the sets as we’re still working on the content of the ideas,” ParkeHarrison said.

Still, she said, they allow themselves room to make changes as they go along.

Elaborate props and sculptures are used in the photos, for which Robert ParkeHarrison poses as a universal everyman.

“(The photos) are something that have involved over time,” Shana ParkeHarrison said. “The theme or intensity varies, but we tend to use similar visual methods in order to explore the themes.”

On Saturday, the ParkeHarrisons will jury the PhotoSpiva 2005 entries, which will be on exhibit April 15 through May 20 at Spiva,
222 W. Third St.

Admission to Sunday’s lecture at Missouri Southern is by voluntary contribution, but reservations are requested. Call Spiva Center at (417) 623-3480.

www.parkeharrison.com

Spiva Center for the Arts is located at Third and Wall in downtown Joplin. Galleries and gift shop are open Tuesday through Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., and Sunday, 1:00 to 5:00 p.m.

PhotoSpiva

For more information, please call 417-623-0183.

George A. Spiva Center for the Arts
222 W. 3rd Street
Joplin, Mo 64801
Tel: 417-623-0183
Fax: 417-623-3805
www.spivaarts.org