From Inspire(d) Magazine April/May 2009
By Benji Nichols
Sandy Dyas is as Iowan as the grain bins that dot our landscape – for the past 25 years she has documented musicians, artists, writers, famed Iowa City establishments, and everyday people in the shape of photography and art video projects. Earlier this year she was asked to represent the state of Iowa in an online art photo exhibit called “The 50 States Project.” Created and curated by the UK-based photographer Stuart Pilkington, the goal is to collect over 300 images from unique perspectives across the modern day United States.
“With the inauguration of a new president I wanted to discover or learn something about the USA as it headed into pastures new. I realised from all the coverage that we had over in the UK that I really didn’t know all that much about the country and I thought this would be an unique opportunity to combine my love of art/documentary photography and this burgeoning curiosity,” says Pilkington via email from Buckinghamshire.
Pilkington, a well know photographer in his own right, has curated three major online projects of art photography, including “12 Faces,” where artists were asked to provide a portrait a month for one year, and “The Alphabet Project, ” in which Pilkington scouted out 26 photographers with names starting from A to Z, and then proceeded in giving them 26 assignments, one for each letter of the alphabet. The results are a stunning, collective, roots-view of humanity from across the world.
The 50 States Project has representation from 50 photographers across the US, all completing six images throughout one year with the first subjects being “People” and “Habitat.” Pilkington says, “On 2nd January 2009 I set all 50 photographers within the project the same task. I asked them to photograph one or more individuals whom they felt represented the State where they live. Every two months each photographer will be sent an assignment by e-mail, they then have two months to produce one image in response.”
By the end of the project Pilkington hopes to collect over 300 images in the online gallery, creating a permanent collection, accessible to anyone with internet access.
“Essentially the 50 States Project is an art piece that celebrates the work of 50 talented individuals. However, I am positive after the success of the first set of images entitled ‘people’ that the photographers will help paint a picture of the country as a whole highlighting both its similarities and its differences,” says Pilkington.
Sandy Dyas, self portrait, 2009
With a deep background in Iowa photography, Sandy Dyas represents the everyday and inherently unique pockets of culture through the state of Iowa. Her 2007 book “Down to the River” is a bible of the Eastern Iowa music scene of the last 25 years – and if you chuckle at that statement, you haven’t seen her book. It’s an impressive collection of musicians with last names like Brown, Ramsey, Zollo, Price, Lorkovic, Moore, Cicalo, Viner, and Finders – that have left their stamp on the history of Iowa music.
Dyas says she uses the camera to capture moments “because it is a direct tool that allows me access into other people’s lives. I look for photographs that contain reality and ambiguity. I am fascinated with time and memory – I use it to make sense of the mysterious world I live in.”
Joan in Her Turquoise Dress, near Bellevue, Iowa, Winter 2009 (photo - Sandy Dyas, 2009)
The selection that Dyas submitted for her first “people” assignment was a picture she titled “Joan in Her Turquoise Dress, near Bellevue, Iowa, Winter 2009.” Dyas explains on the 50 State website: “This assignment has inspired me to photograph my friends. Joan and I both grew up in Jackson County, Iowa. Whether or not Joan represents Iowa, I cannot say for sure. To me, she does. She is her own person, she has an amazing spirit and works incredibly hard. Behind Joan is her greenhouse where she starts her little plants for her enormous garden. Her husband Marty built the greenhouse and the deck. They have lived in this little house most of their lives. They only live a few miles from where they were born. I believe this photograph captures some of her wonderful spirit, strength and abundant beauty.”
Dyas’ photo as well as the other 49 participants’ can be viewed on The 50 States Project website at www.50statesproject.net.
Sandy Dyas has her MFA in Intermedia Art and Video from The University of Iowa and teaches at Cornell College in Mt. Vernon, Iowa. Her work has been shown nationally and internationally in such places as “No Depression,” “Vogue,” “Acoustic Guitar,” “The NY Times,” and “Photo Distric News (PDN) Magazine.” “Down To The River, Portraits of Iowa Musicians” is available from the University of Iowa press (www.uiowapress.org). Dyas’ work and more can be viewed on her website www.sandydyas.com.
Learn more about Stuart Pilkington at www.stuartpilkington.net.
(Although only ever dabbling in photography and darkrooms, Benji Nichols identifies with Sandy’s passion for capturing images of all things Iowa. He hopes Mr. Pilkington won’t mind if an online Inspire(d) Driftless Picto-graph Project (OIDP2) comes to life later this year!)
