Vintage America on Parade
Excerpts taken from the Pensacola News Journal Weekender February 10-16, 2006 by Mike Roberts and his “Eye on Art.” “Frank Brueske’s Vintage America on Parade is a collection of his black and white images that evoke the affected glory of the post war years and shortly after. His rural upbringing gave him an eye for the delicacies of the heartland. “The title piece for the exhibit is an interesting collage of everyday people waiting and watching earnestly for a parade to begin. Their frozen anticipation transfers to a unique instance of portraiture. “The candidness of his work is neither shocking, pretentious nor too interesting. He works with a gut of what looks appropriate in the light and goes from there. A sunset taking place between an avenue of high-rises is a quick pedestrian observation, but Brueske brings it home like a valentine.”
Barnscapes & Country Scenes
Barnscapes and Country Scenes The history of our country can be found in the barns that dot the landscape. Barns have been a part of America’s scene from the early days of this country’s existence. Perhaps no other architecture better exemplifies the spirit of the American Pioneers than their barns, homes, covered bridges and grist mills built with heavy timbers harvested from virgin forest and hewn to size by hand with the broadax. The photos in this gallery range from the back roads of Vermont, the prairies of Illinois and Indiana the mountains of Tennessee, the plains of Texas to the coastal areas of Georgia. The sad news is that these barns are disappearing from the landscape. Fifty years from now many of these barns will no longer be in existence. Barns, for more than 200 years, stood for hard work and a rural way of life, but today are becoming an endangered species. They are becoming victims of decay, urban sprawl and changes in farming. Soon they will only to be seen in books.
Waterscapes and Other Scenes
Seventy precent of the earth is water with 93 percent of that being salt water...so it only makes sense to have photographic gallery of waterscapes. "From sea to shining sea" might well describe this gallery which contains "waterscape" photographs from coast to coast, mountains streams, rivers and and more. The gallery will take you from the Atlantic Ocean in New England and its lighthouses to the mountains of the Oregon coast along the Pacific Ocean. And don’t forget the southeastern Gulf Coast with it’s palm trees and brilliant sunsets. Ocean Freighters fishing boats and shrimp boats also appear here. Also included arerivers, mountain streams and grist mills scenes along the midsection of the country. Take this journey with me that has spanned seven years and is not yet complete.
The River
I was born in a farm house about 20 miles from the Mississippi River. As a very young child I learned to fish on the backwaters of the river with my father and my older brother. Before I was old enough to drive a car, my parents would take my neighbor friend and myself down to the river in the morning. We would set out in a an old wooden row boat to fish all day by ourselves. At night my friend’s parents would come and get us. They were very trusting parents, now that I look back at it. I grew up along the river, went to college along the river and fell in love along the river. Out children were born along the river (in a hospital of course). Mark Twain immortalized the river with his tales of Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn. It is, one of the greatest river’s in the world. Starting as a small stream from edge of a lake in Northwestern Minnesota, (you can walk across it) it flows 2,340 miles to the gulf of Mexico. At times the river is three and fourmiles wide. It is the is the second longest river system in the United States. Only the Missouri River is longer. It is one of the great commercial waterways of the world. Towboats with barges ply the Mississippi from New Orleans to Minneapolis. A total of 29 locks and dams and hundreds of wing dams control the depth and flow of the river. Barges and towboats on the Mississippi River System carry sixty percent of the agricultural goods, industrial products, and raw materials transported on inland waterways. Ocean going vessels can travel 60 miles up the river to the port of New Orleans. While the Mississippi can be a beautiful river, there is another side of it with massive, devastating floods that destroys farmland and wipes out villages and communities that get caught in its path. This gallery is my journey along the river I know. This project is ongoing and will be completed in another year.
Color
This a small collection of color photographs from many areas that do not fit into the other galleries.
French Quarter Doorways
New Orleans is probably one of the most free spirit cities of the world. People from around the all over come here to share in the fun of Burbon Street, enjoy the fine food and shop....and listen to the music. While spending some time here working on my Mississippi River project I noticed all the old doorways in the French Quarter. They tell a story of their own. I attempted to focus on the doorways and what was happening around them. Enjoy the scenes. I would provide you with the music if I could.
