Local photographer Danielle Beck’s first solo exhibition, Vintage Visions, is an ethereal explosion of color and movement. Each image—created through a process that Beck describes as a “dance with the camera”—has been carefully paired with a well-loved antique frame. The collection is a testament to Beck’s lifelong love of the abstract and her pursuit to overcome perfectionism. It’s also a powerful documentation of the grieving process.
“Two weeks into our COVID lockdown in March 2020, my dad passed away rather unexpectedly,” Beck writes in her artist statement for the exhibition. “Without the distractions of everyday life, I was forced to face my grief head-on. Creating is where I could find solitude and sit with my grief, and it’s where my healing began. Feeling the strange new reality we were in and hurting so badly from the loss of my dad, my tears began to blur the flowers friends had sent me. I tried to simulate this effect using a camera and experimenting with long exposures. I felt my inner voice screaming, YES! Keep going!”
Stay up-to-date with the local arts scene
Subscribe to the weekly St. Louis Arts+Culture newsletter to discover must-attend art exhibits, performances, festivals, and more.
It was an experience that Beck now describes as a “light bulb moment.” Just over three years later, those first images will be a part of Vintage Visions, on view September 1 through November 30 at the Angad Arts Hotel. The exhibition includes around 40 pieces, each uniquely designed through a combination of Beck’s own physical movement around her subjects and the extended exposure on her digital camera.
The work is a return to a familiar passion for Beck. Her senior portfolio in college included vivid images derived from cross-processing film and shooting at night. While she’s been an artist throughout her adult life, Beck stepped away from abstract photography to start her family, segueing for a time into portraiture. Ultimately, though, her heart has “always been in the fine artwork and abstract work.” When she began taking photos of her friends’ flowers, it was a breakthrough.
“For a few years before that, I had really felt that there was something I was supposed to do, but I couldn’t figure it out,” Beck says. “I couldn’t quite get it, but I knew it was there. It was interesting how that happened during that grieving process, and it really helped me process and cope.”
Others were moved by the new work, too. When Beck began posting the images to social media during the early pandemic, she says followers commented that they found inspiration through the art, or even just solace in something beautiful during a confusing time. Now, Beck is able to share the culmination of her efforts with a physical audience. While viewer reactions can be deeply personal, she hopes that Vintage Visions helps evoke the kinds of nostalgic memories that went into creating it.
“My heart is full,” Beck says. “It feels like it’s all coming together in a beautiful way.”
