Farm to Photo

Lark Gilmer’s photography is both heart-warming and thought-provoking

By: Marie Ronnander

The Schmidt Brewery is an industrial brick building that adds a historic presence to its neighborhood. After the building was abandoned by its namesake in 2002, it remained vacant for nearly twelve years. In 2014 it reopened as an artist loft, a community where richly creative minds could share their work. 

From October 10th through the 30th, Lark Gilmer, a resident of the loft, shared an important part of her life. “Welcome to My WORLD” portrays old and recent works by the photographer, who moved to the Twin Cities from a sheep farm out of state. Her photos invoke a deep love for the land.

Furls of dried grass turned into a child’s secret language, a young woman in a silk dress surrounded by the wild, and a sheep with an ear tag that cheekily reads, “come with me.” The longer one stares at the images, the more secrets one can find within the work. Poems are posted between photos, adding stories to the visual elements. Gilmer has a beautiful form of conveying her connection to the earth so that it roots the viewer and allows them to physically feel this love. 

The setting of the show deepens this sentiment of a relation to the world. The photos are displayed in “The Atrium,” a large stone refuge filled with sunlight. Gilmer’s German shepherd, Molly, sits in the corner and occasionally trots up to visitors with expectant eyes and a floppy frisbee. With the addition of many photos of farmland and a sheepdog, the room almost mimics an empty barn.

The show was an overwhelming success. Increasingly in our world, industry is merging with nature. Gilmer’s raw communication of the natural world around us strikes deep and allows contemplation on how we hold onto our connection with the changing earth.