Downtown Helena Artwalk with Artist Jeff Van Tine
May 2024 Art Walk
Join MWCC and Helena artist Jeff Van Tine for a night full of fun and laughter at the MWCC office on Fuller Ave this Friday, May 10. Doors will open at 4pm. View the Artwalk map.
Theme: Watersheds support our working lands
In Montana we know that our landscape and the natural resource issues managers are trying to tackle occur at a spatial scale that can be hard to conceptualize. Jeff’s large images help us step back and contemplate the vast spatial reach of our industrial and human activities and boldly suggest that each watershed in which we live does a great service to our human communities; by supporting and absorbing everyday impacts taking place on Montana’s landscape.
Biography
Jeff Van Tine’s extraction photography provides a sharp focus on many of this planet’s environmental shortcomings in the hands of individuals, governments, and corporations alike. The choice of large photographs draws the eye, saying: “Look here, this is important.”
A large lump of coal and a penny is initially confusing, drawing the viewer to seek interest in the back story. A photo of a pickup truck in a large flat area in the middle of nowhere gives the viewer an idea of how much space is needed to drill an oil well and opens the discussion about surface rights. A photo of what looks like a huge swimming pool with colorful flags helps start a discussion about fracking. Why was the fracking waste shipped by tanker trucks from the Blackfeet Reservation to the Valier area, with Dupuyer Creek just down the hill? Why were they reinjecting the fracking fluid just south of the reservation boundary? The reason was, the Blackfeet Nation has a law banning reinjection of fracking waste on the reservation. The State of Montana has no such law.
Van Tine’s work shines a light on the visuals of the extraction industry and seeks to start serious discussions about the environment, climate change, and the steps we must take to tend the exhaustive extracting from our planet.
Jeff grew up in the century old artist community of Arden, near Philadelphia, growing up visiting the diversity of museums between Washington D.C and New York City. He still enjoys doing long visits to art museums wherever he travels in the US and abroad. Van Tine’s father and grandfather shot a lot of pictures with “Stereo Realist” cameras. In 5th grade he received a camera for Christmas. His brother received a skateboard. His brother went flying off the skateboard, Jeff captured the excitement and he has been hooked on photography ever since.
Jeff has worked with The Northern Rockies Action Group to bring non-profit environmental organizations in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming into the computer age. His computer and photography skills gave him a huge head start into the age of digital photography. After working in the computer industry for many years, Jeff accepted an invitation to teach photography at Carroll College and did for 14 years. Initially his students shot, developed, and printed film. In the his third year he was tasked with creating a curriculum for digital photography.
Currently Jeff is concentrating on providing Pro Bono photographic services to non-profit environmental organizations.