Local Color:

A series of work about Kankakee

- C. Shoup

“It was 2004. I had just started tiling photographs; my early work

consisted of corn and creeks. I was building my first frames (they were

pine and spray-painted black). My head was full of ambition.

“In the summer I had the opportunity to show work at my first public

event—a “garden walk vendor’s fair” on the grounds of Kankakee’s

Governor Small Park.

“A month prior to the event, I had a conversation with local artesian

Bonnie Rudolf. She looked at my work and suggested I include

definable images of Kankakee—because, she said, ‘There is an audience

and market for all things Kankakee.’

“People from the area and the Kankakee Public Library have since

purchased the originals from this portfolio. Throughout the last several

years I have had continued success selling prints and cards from this

series at local markets.”

“This marks my first tiling with a building—the ‘starting’ photograph

originates from the name on the downtown Kankakee Railroad Depot.”

“Another shot of the downtown depot—along with a shot of the

restored train car that’s stationed to the north of the depot.”

“I have always been happy with the way the silver train compliments

the terracotta bricks on the building.”

“The Washington Avenue dam; my great Uncle Marvin ran a print shop

two blocks north of this location, which was later bequeathed to my

Uncle John.

“I’ve never fully understood this composition’s draw, but it has been the

most sought piece after from this portfolio.”

“The “modern” architectural building in this piece houses offices and

the Kankakee Public Library. This piece is part of the library’s

permanent art collection.”

“The interior stacks at the Kankakee Public Library; this piece hangs

outside the library’s Martin Luther King Jr. reading room.”

“The Shapiro Clock tower; when I got to this local monument, the sun

was blazing directly at it, and there were no shadows. I knew I would

get only a sandstone monotone color, so I waited on the grass for two

hours, watching the shadows appear and begin to stretch, before

getting the photograph used in this tiling. All black lines in this piece

are simply the shadows…”

“The Shapiro Clock tower again, at a different angle and exposure.”

“I’ve made good use of this local resource; it has a great bike trail, water

resources, mature trees, and places where a person can still find

excellent solitude.”

“From a series of postcards I started as a commission, but through my

own haphazard sense of organization never finished. Maybe this will

some day come back around.”

“Another postcard example…”