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- Inner Courtyard
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- Interior 2
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- Hallway
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- Interior 1
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- Bowling Alley
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- Lace Patterns
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- Thread
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- Chair 1
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- Surviving Lace
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- Nottingham Loom
Vicki McKenna
Resilience
The Scranton Lace Company was established in 1890 and was the largest producer of Nottingham lace in the United States from 1916 to 2002. The factory is a sprawling complex of buildings. Even the remnants are notable today. Over time weathering has stripped away the surfaces, highlighting strengths, exposing weaknesses, and creating texture. My interest goes beyond the aged colors and patterns. I’m interested in the stories implicit in the remnants of the buildings. How did the company fit into the community? What is left behind to remind us of those who worked there?
Artist Bio
Capturing photos of simplicity, subtlety, and serenity, Vicki McKenna’s work transmits a genuine sense of place. Her curiosity about natural landscapes stems from her background in geology, and her interest in architecture leads to her photographs of the built environment. McKenna loves the challenge of understanding a three-dimensional environment within the confines of a two-dimensional space, and appreciates the emphasis photography uniquely places on details, colors, and shapes distinctive of these places.
After earning a PhD in Geological Sciences from Brown University and ALB in Natural Sciences from Harvard University, McKenna studied photography at the New England School of Photography and the Photography Atelier at the Griffin Museum. She has taken workshops with Tilman Crane, Alison Shaw, Stephen Johnson and Peter Turnley. McKenna has had juried solo shows at the Firehouse Center for the Arts, Newburyport and the Newton Free Library, and has exhibited throughout New England and along the East Coast. Among those are the Danforth Museum, Framingham, MA, the Cambridge Art Association, Cambridge, MA, PhotoPlace Gallery, Burlington, VT, and the Kiernan Gallery, Lexington, VA. McKenna has taught a freshman seminar focused on photography at M.I.T., where she also photographs for student programs and events.
Contact Vicki McKenna