Tracie Heller

Associate Professor of Photography

Tracie Heller
Tracie Heller Associate Professor of Photography

Education

  • Masters of Fine Arts degree from Pratt Institute, in Brooklyn, New York
  • Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Alabama, in Mobile, Alabama.

Biography

Tracie Heller grew up in the open spaces of the American South: Alabama, South Carolina, and Northwest Florida. She received her Masters of Fine Arts degree from Pratt Institute, in Brooklyn, New York and her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of South Alabama, in Mobile, Alabama.

Throughout her career, Tracie Heller has been intrigued by the expansiveness of landscapes: earthly and cosmic, real and constructed, representational or more abstract.

More recently this fascination with ‘natural’ settings has become an examination of the ephemeral and transitional nature of life. She has participated in numerous exhibitions throughout the United States.

  • 305-899-3415/ 1-800-756-6000 3415
    theller@barry.edu

    Barry University
    Department of Fine Arts
    11300 NE 2nd Avenue
    Miami Shores, FL 33161

    • 2009 Gato Gallery, Barry University, Miami Shores, FL
    • 2002 M.F.A. Thesis Exhibition, Steuben East Gallery, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
    • 1997 Senior Exhibition, Townhouse Gallery, University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL
    • 2008 Artist Enhancement Grant, Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, Tallahassee, FL
    • 2007 Artist Enhancement Grant, Florida Division of Cultural Affairs, Tallahassee, FL
    • 2005 Artist Residency, Caldera, Sisters, OR
    • 2004 Artist Residency, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, NE
    • 2004 Artist Fellowship Award, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, NE
    • 2003 First Place in the Photography and Digital Arts Juried Exhibition, Arts and Design Society, Fort Walton Beach, FL
    • 2009 Barry University Fine Arts Faculty Exhibition, Miami Shores Library, Miami Shores, FL
    • 2009 Hope Blossoms, Auction to Benefit Lotus House Shelter, Margulies Warehouse, Miami, FL
    • 2009 A Million Little Pictures, Art House Gallery, Atlanta, GA
    • 2008 Odd Works, New Orleans Photo Alliance, New Orleans, LA
    • 2008 Visual Arts Faculty Exhibition, The University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL 2008
    • 2008 Fine Arts Faculty and Alumni Exhibition, Barry University, Miami Shores, FL
    • 2008 10th Annual Auction Exhibition, Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, NE
    • 2008 Society for Photographic Education Exhibition, Curated by Tim Anderson, Editor of Camera Arts Magazine, Fort Collins, CO
    • 2008 Macro World, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO
    • 2007 Silent Searches: Tracie Heller and Sarah Grew, Monterey Peninsula College, Monterey, CA
    • 2007 Building a Legacy: Photography, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, NE
    • 2007 9th Annual Auction Exhibition, Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, NE
    • 2007 SE Regional Juried Fine Arts Exhibition, McIlroy Gallery, Okaloosa Walton College, Niceville, FL
    • 2007 Abstractions, Center for Fine Art Photography, Fort Collins, CO
    • 2007 Visual Arts Faculty Exhibition, The University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL
    • 2006 Transformations: Photography of the 21st Century, Space 301, Mobile, AL
    • 2006 8th Annual Auction Exhibition, Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, NE
    • 2006 Visual Arts Faculty Exhibition, The University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL
    • 2005 New American Talent, The 20th Exhibition, Juried by Dan Cameron, Arthouse, Austin, TX
    • 2005 7th Annual Auction Exhibition, Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Omaha, NE
    • 2004 13th Southeast Regional Juried Fine Arts Exhibition, McIlroy Gallery, Okaloosa Walton College, Niceville, FL
    • 2004 The Northwest Florida Fair Fine Arts Exhibition, The Arts and Design Society, Fort Walton Beach, FL
    • 2003 The Photography and Digital Arts Juried Exhibition, Arts and Design Society, Fort Walton Beach, FL
    • 2002 Pratt Beyond the Gates, Art in General, New York, NY
    • 2002 Second Annual Pratt Exposed Open Studios Exhibition, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
    • 2001 First Annual Pratt Exposed Open Studios Exhibition, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
    • 1999 New Photography, Eye Caramba Gallery, www.eyecaramba.com
  • DESCRIPTION OF THE PROCESS/PRINT TYPE

    The images in both the series “Abstraction” and “Landscape” are all shot on 35mm Ilford HP5 black and white film. The “Landscape” series is printed on 16x20 fiber-based, warm-tone, silver gelatin paper. Film negatives from the “Abstraction” series are digitally scanned, corrected only for exposure, contrast, and spot-removal, then printed with an Epson 3800 as 16x20 archival inkjet prints on Epson Exhibition Fiber Paper. They are finally mounted to archival board and covered with several layers of clear wax encaustic (melted beeswax and damar resin).

    “ABSTRACTION” ARTIST STATEMENT

    This body of work is a reflexive act; it began as a response to moving from Lake Tahoe to New York City. The abrupt change from the Sierra Mountains to the endless concrete, from big sky to no horizon line, felt like a shift from open to closed, from freedom to confinement. This series grew out of that need for space, both visual and physical, for opening back up what closed when I moved there.

    These images are photographic abstractions painted with layers of melted beeswax. While referencing landscape and the cosmos, there is usually no vantage point. The motivation driving them is to construct a new realm, one independent from the familiar. Drawing and painting language is also incorporated to create photographs often resembling charcoal drawings or ink washes. The graininess of the film and the ancient technique of wax encaustic combine to abstract and add atmosphere. Working this way I am able to use the camera to create the images from my mind, instead of documenting the real.

    The reference to the cosmos in this work relates to my family history. My grandfather was a rocket scientist who worked for NASA on the Apollo program. My father is an engineer for the Air Force, who works on rockets and missiles. Growing up I often saw NASA images of space, and Air Force images of missile launches from earth. These have directly informed my work.

    With this work I want to create a constant flux in perceived distance, a continual shift between expansion and compression; to create a space that can be at once infinite and limited, intimate and removed, macrocosm and microcosm. Most essentially these images are meant to be a quiet space to delve into and explore – a meditative and introspective place.

    • 2009 Photolucida, Portland, OR 2009 Critical Mass/DVD-ROM publication
    • 2008 Art Buzz, MidAmerican Publishing Company, Lubbock, TX pg. 30
    • 2008 Photolucida, Portland OR 2008 Critical Mass/ DVD-ROM publication
    • 2008 Untitled 38 on Auction, Center for Fine Art Photography
    • 2008 Texas Photographic Society Member Listings
    • 2008 Society for Photographic Education Exhibition
    • 2008 Macro World, Center for Fine Art Photography
    • 2007 Monterey County Weekly, November 17, pg. 16
    • 2007 Silent Searches Exhibition, Monterey Peninsula College
    • 2007 Abstractions, Center for Fine Art Photography
    • 2006 Photolucida, Portland OR Critical Mass/ DVD-ROM publication
    • 2005 New American Talent, The 20th Exhibition Catalog, Arthouse, Austin, TX
    • 2002 Pratt Beyond the Gates, Art in General, New York, NY DVD-ROM publication
    • 2001 Masters of Fine Art Thesis Exhibition catalogue Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY April 2001
    • 2008 Barry University, Miami Shores, FL
    • 2005 University of South Alabama, Mobile, AL
    • 2004 Arts and Design Society, Fort Walton Beach, FL
    • 2002 Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY

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