Frye Art Museum
photo by Jill Berarducci
Seattle, Washington
(206) 622-9250
Kristin Capp: Hutterite Photographs
What began in 1994 as a photographic journey by photographer Kristin
Capp to Soap Lake, a small town in Eastern Washington, ended with a unique
collection of black and white images that reveal one of this country's more
unusual communities: the Hutterites. Capp's photographs are on display at
the Frye Art Museum Oct. 8 through Dec. 5, 1999. A public preview will be
held Thurs., Oct. 7 at 6 pm where visitors can meet the artist before she
gives a lecture at 7 pm entitled Gesturing Grace - Photographing Inside
the Hutterite Community. (left: Carol with Cabbages, Lamona
colony, Washington, 1994, photograph)
Capp (b. 1964) discovered the Hutterites unexpectedly during an exploration of a Washington canyon. Four Hutterite communities exist in Washington, following a spiritual path rooted in 16th-century Protestantism. Capp was quickly mesmerized by the quiet stoicism of these communal farmers who speak an archaic German dialect among themselves and wear antiquated dress.
Capp's images go beyond documentation: her camera places the viewer in a position not meant to be comfortable. The uneasy edge in the photos is the view of an outsider looking in.
An angel statue in a cemetery, women in clean, white blouses and braided hair, communal dining halls, and the long shadow of Capp stretching across a Hutterite field allow us a sneak look into the lives of a quiet, strong people.
The exhibition is documented by an illustrated book, Hutterite: A World of Grace (published by Edition Stemmle), available in the museum store.
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This page was originally published in 1999 in Resource Library Magazine. Please see Resource Library's Overview section for more information.
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