By Ian Beckett, Staff Photographer
Greg Shattenberg’s latest exhibit “Rewinding Romanticism” opened with a reception in the Glickman library last week. The collection will be on display on the fifth floor until May 24th.
Growing up in a military family from the west coast, Shattenberg felt pulled towards Maine and moved to the state in 1982. “Growing up on the west coast, it wasn’t really a home, but I landed … it’s a distant world, Maine is a wonderful place where I raised my boys” Shattenberg said.
“What drives us? Desire, desperation, myth and fantasy, personal motivation” he says of the themes and motifs that inspire him. All of these elements are clearly apparent in his work.
The gallery, on the fifth floor of Glickman Library is sparse yet majestic. Nestled between rows of bookshelves with an open area displaying the works of Shattenberg, the space feels like a transmitter of emotion and knowledge.
“Emotional experiences, you document, you make some assumptions, I make assumptions that if I feel something, particularly if I feel it rather strongly, I’m probably not alone in that,” he said.
With an easy smile and a friendly demeanor, Shattenberg is affable and approachable. “I believe in perceptions,” he said, “how life is and how we distinguish most of those things is how we perceive the world.”
When I ask him about Maine, he cracks a smile and says “this state’s wonderful, I like the abrasion of the winter.”
The multimedia cross section of techniques used in Shattenberg’s work, harkens back to a different era. When so much of media being produced today is in a digital form, it is interesting and refreshing to see someone use classic techniques that are both vintage and modern.
As we wrap up our interview he leaves me with some advice for young artists, “listen to your voices and follow them.”
Shattenberg’s works will be on display on the fifth floor of Glickman Library until May 24th.