John Shimon and Julie Lindemann have been long-time collaborators, working together for nearly 20 years. They began shooting portrait commissions for this project in their studio in Manitowoc, WI about two years ago. Since then, they completed about 160 portraits, all done in the historic palladium printing process in a postcard format.

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The exhibition includes the commissioned portraits as well as a body of postcard portraits from the early 1900s. A small catalog with a sample of six postcards (two of each to total 12) is available for $10 in conjunction with the show.

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As the project unfolded , more and more people arrived in Manitowoc to stand on the tape line with very clear ideas of how they wanted to present themselves. Some brought dogs and props or wore special clothes. Each confronted the camera with his or her own ideas of what the moment might contain. A project blog was established to post the portraits as they were printed.

Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, where Shimon and Lindemann are professors in the art department, has generously provided a grant to fund some of the printing and framing of the work.

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Shimon and Lindemann’s work is currently included in the Wisconsin Triennial at the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art. A solo show of their work, “Unmasked and Anonymous,” was presented at the Milwaukee Art Museum in 2008.

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In conjunction with this exhibition, Portrait Society is also hosting a companion show of work by London-based photographer Vanessa Winship. Winship is well-known in international photography circles, but this is her first solo exhibition in the United States. She most recently won the distinguished 2010 PhotoEspana prize. She is showing a body of work called “Dancers and Fighters” featuring portraits of children taken in the Republic of Georgia, where she has frequently worked.