At C-Art Gallery, Bacon and Herrman-Bacon will open an exhibit titled “Two Voices, One Road,” featuring pieces from both artists centered on the iconic route.
“This is really special,” said Bacon. “This would not have happened if it was not for Heidi. I've been a follower of Route 66 now for over three decades, where I've been chronicling work. And with the big centennial coming up, Heidi said, ‘You know, we need to show your work, and I would like to do some of my interpretations of that Mother Road as well.’ We went down Route 66 as a couple, and now she’s quite the fan too.”
The gallery features Bacon’s photography and Herrman-Bacon’s work, which is embedded into vintage handkerchiefs.
“In the ’80s, I started my photography, and what I found was that I kept being pulled back to Route 66. For the longest time, I didn't really understand it, but through that process, I now clearly understand it,” said Bacon. “For me, it’s the humanness of the topic. I approach, even though it may be a building on its last leg, from a perspective almost like a portrait. What are the human qualities that I'm seeing here that may elicit thought and emotion, just like I would capture if I'm doing a portrait of a person?”
“You know, mostly it's the iconic businesses and all these mom-and-pop shops. Some have been redone, some are still there. Some are not there anymore, but there's still a presence of the people that were there, or some people are still there,” said Herrman-Bacon. “Most of our work is landscapes or iconic buildings and things like that.”
“But what I’ve done is try to bring a feminine presence to the show, so my work is embedded into vintage handkerchiefs,” explained Herrman-Bacon. “We know it as gas stations and mom and pops, but we don't really look at the female contribution as much because it’s ‘all about the cars.’”
“In 1926, every woman most likely had a handbag, and in every handbag, a handkerchief. They were very unique to the woman who carried them and very special to them, used every day,” she added.
“My works are not square pieces. They’re very much alive, and a lot of them are skewed because of time. They're not perfectly right angles. They've been used and loved. It’s dynamic.”
Bacon and Herrman-Bacon’s exhibit will run from April 29 to July 4 at 212 E. Commercial St.
Bacon’s work can be found on his website and Instagram. Herrman-Bacon’s work can be found on Facebook.
