Photography

Jeff Whetstone who has been photographing and writing about the relationship between man and nature since he received a zoology degree from Duke University, brought a special sensitivity to his photo-essay on the Cuyahoga River. By perceptively following the river along both its rural and urban paths, he highlights the importance of this invaluable resource to our community. Whetstone, who also has a Master of Fine Arts degree in photography from Yale University, is a winner of the Sakier Prize for photography, the Factor Prize for Southern Art and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He currently teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Whetstone’s work has been exhibited nationally and featured and reviewed in publications such as DoubleTake, The New York Times, The New Yorker and Southern Exposure Magazine.

Lynn Whitney’s striking photographs provide a glimpse into life on Cleveland’s lakefront, illustrating the varied recreational, cultural and commercial roles Lake Erie plays in our community. The lake, part of one of the world’s largest fresh water systems, also is a significant asset in the efforts of many to make Cleveland a leader in sustainability. Whitney, head of the photography program at Bowling Green State University since 1987, has exhibited both nationally and internationally. She has undergraduate degrees from Boston University and the Massachusetts College of Art and earned her Master of Fine Arts from Yale University. Her previous work includes a commission by the Toledo Museum of Art to document construction of the Veterans Glass City Skyway in that city.

Jeff Whetstone who has been photographing and writing about the relationship between man and nature since he received a zoology degree from Duke University, brought a special sensitivity to his photo-essay on the Cuyahoga River. By perceptively following the river along both its rural and urban paths, he highlights the importance of this invaluable resource to our community. Whetstone, who also has a Master of Fine Arts degree in photography from Yale University, is a winner of the Sakier Prize for photography, the Factor Prize for Southern Art and a Guggenheim Fellowship. He currently teaches at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Whetstone’s work has been exhibited nationally and featured and reviewed in publications such as DoubleTake, The New York Times, The New Yorker and Southern Exposure Magazine.

Mark Steinmetz offers an intimate photographic glimpse into the day-to-day lives of teachers at two Cleveland Municipal School District buildings—John Marshall High School and Miles Park Elementary School—and their ever-shifting roles as tutors, mentors, coaches, counselors, confidants and disciplinarians. Improving the quality of education for Cleveland’s children has been a long-standing priority for the Foundation, and we celebrate the critical role teachers play in ensuring success for our next generation. Steinmetz, an instructor himself at universities such as Harvard and Emory, brings a special sensitivity to capturing the important work that teachers do. He is the recipient of many awards, including a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship. Steinmetzís work is included in the collections of many major museums and has been featured in numerous publications and photography journals.

Geoffrey James beautifully illustrates the uniqueness of one of Northeast Ohio’s defining assets through his panoramic images of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park. His photographs capture not only the natural beauty of the park but also the reminders of our shared history, such as the long-abandoned locks of the Ohio & Erie Canal, that are scattered throughout this natural link between the region’s two major cities, Cleveland and Akron. The Foundation has made significant investments over the years to preserve and support what James, looking through his camera lens, described as “a great democratic open space…like no other national park I have seen.” James, who has been photographing man-made landscapes for more than two decades and whose work is included in major museum collections throughout North America and Europe, is a recipient of fellowships from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation and the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts.

Andrea Modica has masterfully captured the dynamic faces of change, resolve and accomplishment in her striking portraits of women who have launched nontraditional careers with help from the organization Hard Hatted Women, a longtime Foundation grantee. These women in many ways reflect the challenges facing Northeast Ohio—How to transition from the old to the new, embrace chance, take risks and look for unconventional answers to our problems.