Former Glen Ellyn resident's photo now part of Art Institute
A photo that had been taken by a former Glen Ellyn resident and tucked away for years is now officially a part of history in Chicago.
In her 1989 photo, which recently became a part of the archives for the Art Institute of Chicago and its associated art school, 74-year-old Marianne Scanlon documented a tumultuous day in the life of the school.
Back in 1989, protests broke out in Chicago because of an exhibit at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago titled, “What is the Proper Way to Display a U.S. Flag?”
The installation piece, created by artist Dread Scott, included an American flag on the floor and gave viewers the chance to write their answer to the exhibit's question in a book.
Many people stepped on the flag as they wrote their comments, according to the artist's website.
But with her photo, Scanlon, who had attended the school, shed light on the protests through a different, hidden perspective.
While walking in the school one day that year, she passed by a studio and saw a couple of people working on their art.
In the foreground of her picture, one person works while another sits peering out the window. The protesters outside can be seen through the window.
“I thought this was an important time to be captured,” Scanlon said. “And most people were photographing outside ... I photographed inside, showing the quietness of the students and the chaotic situation going outside.”
It was Scanlon's daughter who notified the Art Institute about the photo's existence.
Scanlon says photography has always been a part of her life. Her father also loved to take photos.
“I grew up with photography and I've always been fascinated with it,” she said. “I would say I'm a people person, I enjoy photographing people.”
Scanlon, who lived in Glen Ellyn for more than 40 years but now lives in Chicago, has done a lot of street photography.
Her past projects have covered a variety of subjects, from a series of photos of people's legs and shoes to a set of portraits she took while in Italy.
“The photographs of mine I'll have on the floor and I'll have all over the place but the stories of these photographs are very important to me,” Scanlon said. “Where I saw them ... that moment in time is beautiful for me.”
Bart Ryckbosch, the Glasser and Rosenthal archivist at the Art Institute, said the photo will be part of an exhibit about the art school's history. The exhibit will be on display in the museum's library in 2016.
“(Scanlon's photograph has) value on both ends,” Ryckbosch said, “as a work of art, as a photographic work of art, and as kind of a capture of a moment in our history.”