Photo Show Opens a Lens on Our Interaction with Nature

Eddee Daniel is a Renaissance man. He’s an author, environmentalist, philosopher, activist, teacher and an award-winning artist. And through the lens of his camera you get a snapshot of the many facets of the man.

On Friday, Gallery 2622, 2622 Wauwatosa Ave., opened and exhibit two series of Daniel’s work, Reverie and Icon that runs through the month. 

Daniel’s camera makes observations, not judgements.

“I capture the interaction of humanity and nature,” he said. “The Icon Series uses the triptych, a recognizable formal structure with historical/cultural resonance, to emphasize iconic themes.

"The images in the Reverie Series are subjective landscapes. They are less about a particular place and more of a meditation or emotional experience. Each is a montage created from multiple photographs.”

The 12-piece exhibit gives evidence of man’s presence in nature. By the mere fact that Daniel has photographed nature around the world, has he influenced it? Is it instinctive to try to control nature? Is it man versus nature? These are not questions Daniel seeks to answer with his art.

“I do like the ambiguity, though,” he said with smile. “Yes, we have an impact on nature – and sometimes for the better.”

“My central intent in this work is to express feelings I experience when confronting a particular landscape at a certain time and – paradoxically – to find the universal in the specific place and the eternal in the moment,” he said.

Daniel recently retired from Marquette University High School, where he taught photography for 32 years.

“This is my next career,” he said. It seems that Daniel has many vocations and advocations. He authored the book "Urban Wilderness," which was published in 2008. He calls it "a metaphor for the interaction between city and nature.”

The book is a collection of his work that gives evidence to man’s existence with nature – sometimes colliding, sometimes coexisting – harmoniously and otherwise. 

Colette Odya Smith, also a Wauwatosa artist, stands in the white space of the gallery and admires Daniel’s work. “Looks like paintings,” she said, “the way they are developing.” 

Daniel has exhibited his works around the country, but this is the first time these two series have been shown in one place. The gallery, owned by John Korom, features new and established artists on the first Friday of the month. The exhibit runs through the end of August. The gallery is open by appointment only by calling 414-257-2622.