New Exhibit in the Wyo Capitol Connector
Written by Caleb Nelson on January 20, 2023
The Wyoming State Museum is showcasing the work from the 2022 Bighorn Basin Documentary Photography project led by artist Barrie Bryant of Kirby, WY.
Barrie Lynn Bryant began his professional art career as a photographer in 1989.
By 1994, he had established his largest body of work, “The Arkansas Diaries.” As relevant as ever, especially today due to their added historical value, “The Arkansas Diaries” earned Bryant the March 2020 cover story by editor Jordan P. Hickey for Arkansas Life magazine.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette says of the project, “It’s clear, then, in reflecting on this, that these images are as perfect a diary as you’re liable to come by: It’s a way of remembering what it was like to be that person he was, to remember the people who crossed his path, to stand in the shoes of his much younger self, if only for a moment.”
During 1996, Barrie began collaborating with his wife making picture frames for her artworks. His avocation became an occupation when in 1999 he began studying picture frame history, practicing gilding on some of the frames.
He and his wife have traveled extensively with their artworks to shows throughout the US. He has since been writing articles for Picture Framing Magazine, teaching workshops, and exhibiting in a small selection of art shows each year.
The project now in the Capitol Connector consisted of four documentary photography courses taught for free to fourteen students in the Bighorn Basin. The students then visited rural communities to document stories about artists, ranchers, feral horses, and more.
Swing by the Capitol to see their beautiful photographs and read statements from the students themselves.
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