An auburn-bearded man, green foliage caressing his tilted, half-naked frame, clutches a pan of roadkill-turned-possum stew in a photo with the caption "Acorn with Possum Stew, Wildroots Homestead, North Carolina." His stance and eye contact - on display in an exhibit at the David Winton Bell Gallery - suggest he is offering a share of his meal to photographer Lucas Foglia '05, lecturer at the San Francisco Art Institute.
This photograph motivated Foglia to pursue his interest in self-sufficient individuals in southeastern America. This led to a solo exhibition entitled "Lucas Foglia: A Natural Order," on display until May 27.
The exhibition features photography from Foglia's upcoming first book, "A Natural Order," and photography from Foglia's ongoing series, "Frontcountry," which focuses on mining boomtowns and farming communities in rural western America.
"A Natural Order," an 80-page work, portrays Americans who left cities and suburbs to live self-sufficiently in rural southeastern America. The title originated from a conversation Foglia had along with the definition of "natural order" - that the world is subject to natural laws.
Foglia took more than 40,000 photographs over a five-year period for "A Natural Order," he told The Herald. Rather than letting a story shape the photographs he chose to take for the book, Foglia "chose the best pictures that created the best story," he said.
Jo-Ann Conklin, director of the gallery and curator of the exhibition, said she wanted visitors to see the variety of Foglia's photography immediately as they enter the exhibit, which loosely follows the arrangement of the photographs in the book.
Foglia said he attempted to display first-generation, off-the-grid individuals surprisingly in touch with the modern world - for example, those who charge their cell phones with solar panels - but found that any variations on this theme were "too obvious" for photography that is meant to allure viewers, he said.
Steve Goldsmith, a visitor to the exhibition, said it is curious that in an exhibition about returning to nature, there is a "tension" between the subject matter and the advanced technology necessary to portray it.
When it comes to photography, "it's about making a seductive picture," Foglia said. "I want every picture to feel like it has something surprising in it," he said.
Though Foglia is one of the youngest artists the gallery has shown, Conklin said she "felt very confident that his work would stand up and be known over time."
Conklin knew Foglia as a student at Brown, and they have kept in touch since then, she said. When Conklin saw his work, she said it "looked like a great series."
Foglia appreciated that the University allowed him to pursue what he cared about, funded his passion and encouraged him to engage with the community in social service projects, he said.
The open curriculum allowed Foglia to take classes related to his interest in photography both at Brown and the Rhode Island School of Design. When Foglia exceeded the limit of courses to take at RISD, he continued taking courses and was ultimately granted credit, he said.
The 29-year-old has practiced photography since high school and values it as "a mechanism for getting to know people," he said. Photography helps relationships become even more personal, he added - for example, giving subjects the photographs he takes creates a "safe space" in which subjects know he will return.
During his work for "A Natural Order," Foglia was "a visitor who stayed around long enough to get to know people well," he said.
Foglia said he grew up in a culture based around growing food in the suburbs on an underdeveloped farm. While this made him and his sister feel different from their neighbors, "the values felt relevant" later when Foglia decided to photograph people and their relationship to land, he said.
Arnold Newman, a portrait photographer, taught Foglia that the best photos come from "your own backyard," Foglia said. For Foglia, this backyard includes the people who claim and reclaim their connection to land, which has tied his art together over the past 10 years, he said. "I like the idea of people trying to live self-sufficiently," he said.
Foglia chose the rural southeast because he had social contacts in the area and because of the number of people trying to live off the grid in the southeast because of its climate, plentiful fresh water and affordability, he said.
"Almost most importantly, I like the way it looks," Foglia added, explaining that the rapid green growth can make a person feel "completely isolated" even if they are fairly close to other humans.
"I think he's a really talented photographer," Conklin said. "He's really good with composition and color, so I want people to come and be drawn into that and enjoy it and have a positive aesthetic experience."
Karen Donovan, who visited the exhibition with her niece Julia Soares, said the photographs portrayed different ways of living with great technical skill.
The photography is "stunning, very grounded and very close to the earth," Donovan said. Soares commented on a powerful image of a dead, poisoned bear that, with a bit of imagination, resembles a large and hairy human.
"There's no real formula" when it comes to choosing subjects, capturing certain moments in photography or determining the length of a project, Foglia said. "Photography still feels like an impulse" and is "intuitive," he added.
At Yale's Master of Fine Arts program in photography, Foglia said he found their core philosophy was that "a photograph is an interpretation - it's not a fact." A photograph's form and content give it meaning, he added.
Because Foglia's photographs are not meant to completely document his subjects
' lives - indeed, many approach a self-sufficient lifestyle differently - Foglia has compiled a list of recommended authors and texts on his website and on display at the exhibition for those interested in learning more.
The exhibition also provides free zines - small publications - for visitors on how to live self-sufficiently and as a farmer. It includes an audio recording by Forrest Gander, professor of literary arts and comparative literature at Brown, reading a poem compiled from interviews Foglia conducted.
Gander will do a reading at the opening reception for the exhibition April 5 , and Will Allen, chief executive officer of Growing Power, Inc., and storyteller Doug Elliott will give lectures held in conjunction with Foglia's exhibition April 9 and 13, respectively.
Foglia said he plans to continue taking photographs he hopes are "personal and relevant." He added that he would like his work to be "used" by subjects, to whom he gives the photographs, by local and national organizations and in art shows that involve speakers outside the art world.
