Poet Behind the Lens: Dan Estabrook to Deliver May Lecture

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 30, 2018) — Next up in the Robert C. May Photographers Lecture Series, the University of Kentucky Art Museum will host photographer Dan Estabrook, who is known for using his work to explore symbolic and poetic interpretations of love, loss and life. The lecture will begin at 4 p.m. Friday, Feb. 2, at the Singletary Center for the Arts Recital Hall. Along with Estabrook’s lecture, an exhibition of the artist’s work is on display through April 1 at the museum. Estabrook’s lecture and exhibit are free and open to the public.

Estabrook utilizes his 19th century photographic techniques and visual tropes to design intimate images portraying personal and universal feelings. While making each piece of work one-of-a-kind, Estabrook is known for adding paint or emulsion to prints and for cutting away pieces of his photos.

Born and raised in Boston, Estabrook received his bachelor’s degree at Harvard University and then went on to receive his master’s degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Currently living in New York, Estabrook has been given the opportunity to exhibit widely through grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, Peter S. Reed Foundation Grant and Buhl Foundation, to name a few.

The May Lecture Series explores photography's roots in the 19th century and its reinvention in the digital world. The lecture series is made possible through the Robert C. May Photography Endowment, a museum fund established in 1994 for the support of acquisitions and programs relating to photography. Other speakers who have appeared as part of the 2017-18 series include Lori Nix and Teju Cole, who lectured in the fall.

The mission of the UK Art Museum, part of the UK College of Fine Arts, is to promote the understanding and appreciation of art to enhance the quality of life for people of Kentucky through collecting, exhibiting, preserving and interpreting outstanding works of visual art from all cultures. Home to a collection of approximately 5,000 objects including American and European paintings, drawings, photographs, prints and sculpture, the museum presents both special exhibitions and shows of work from its permanent collection.