ArtsMemphis presents

Untrained Eye, Unaltered Beauty
Photographs by Joe B. Guinn

Artist Reception
Sunday, August 7
4:00-6:00 p.m.
Parking on William Arnold Road and Black Road

Exhibition Monday-Friday, August 8-December 15
9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Free and open to the public

ArtsMemphis
575 South Mendenhall

About the Artist:
Birds and nature caught Joe B. Guinn's eye at an early age. A treasured volume of "Birds of America" a gift from his mother, fueled that interest. But once he got a camera in his hand, a gift from his father, this Tennessee native really focused and started capturing the natural environment he enjoyed so much. His favorite photographic challenges are landscapes.

Graduation from college and subsequent positions with General Motors took Joe to Arkansas and the Carolinas -- away from the beloved Hatchie River bottoms he explored, fished and hunted. His return to West Tennessee in the 70's was an uneasy homecoming -- Hatchie River forest and wetlands had dramatically changed for the worst.

The shock of the Hatchie's declining ecosystem prompted Joe to begin the project of photographing what remained of it's fragile, untouched wetland and deep forest areas.

The focus of this Brownsville, Tennessee resident's work is the Hatchie Scenic River, the only unchanneled natural stream in West Tennessee and one of the last in the lower Mississippi Valley. His photographic scenes depict life in the wetland and river valleys, including the Hatchie, the Mississippi, the Wolf, the Tennessee and comparative scenes of the Rio Napa of the Amazon basin in Ecuador, the Orinoco of Venezuela and the Rio Urique of Mexico.

Joe's purpose in photography is to capture the beauty in the remaining natural river valleys. His style is to use natural light, allowing no sets, props or artificial lights. This in itself holds a fascination in that these scenes will never be viewed again.

Joe's exhibits have included the Tennessee Ornithological Society, Audubon Society, Nature Conservancy and the Environmental Action Fund. His most extensive exhibit was in Nashville at Cheekwood Museum. He is a member of the Tennessee Scenic Rivers Advisory Council, the Nature Conservancy and other environmental related organizations. He was awarded the 1996 Wildlife Conservation Award in Haywood County.

For more information, visit www.joebguinn.com