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Chris Kannen: An Antarctic Extended Season

CAE1307

Summary Note

Chris Kannen spent February-April 2008 in the Dry Valleys, Antarctica, gathering reference material for a series of oil paintings. Materials include inkjet work prints, drawings and watercolor studies, digital images, NSF documents, and a blog.

Biographical Note

Chris Kannen was born on July 7, 1977, in Cleveland, Ohio. As a child he was involved with programs at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. After becoming an Eagle Scout, he worked as a Ranger at the Philmont wilderness camp in New Mexico, teaching group of teens low impact camping methods and wilderness ethics. He studied illustration and fine art at the University of Dayton, where he also participated in volunteer programs to help the needy in Appalachia, Mexico, Haiti, and Central America. These experiences profoundly affected his decision to become an artist.

In 2001, Chris completed the Master of Fine Art program in Painting at Hunter College in New York City. Afterward, he traveled to Alaska, and completed an Alaskan-influenced body of work that was shown in two gallery shows in New York. He then applied for and was awarded a residency with The Association of Icelandic Visual Artists in December 2004, where he began a series of paintings that were later prominently featured in the 2005 Scope New York International Art Fair and in "After the Arctic," his New York solo show debut at PH Gallery. Chris is currently making paintings in his studio in Bushwick, Brooklyn, and is a production assistant at the DesignTrust for Public Space, a not-for-profit organization that creates public/private partnerships to improve public space in New York City.

Scope and Content

Kannen spent February-April 2008 in the Dry Valleys gathering reference material for a series of oil paintings. He was in the valleys for what they called "the extended season," the first time a research group stayed past mid-February. The source material consists of thousands of digital photographs and several hours of standard definition video footage.

During the month of April 2008 at Lake Fryxell Camp and at McMurdo Station, he created a body of works on paper consisting of drawings, watercolors, and oil paintings. Based on field sketches, the work is an experimental mix of representational and abstract images intended to push the limits of work previously produced by other artist and writer grantees. Kannen’s work employed collage, a local color palette, and in some cases, liquid nitrogen to affect the drying movement of the watercolors.

Materials include inkjet work prints made since Kannen’s 2008 trip to Antarctica, a set of highly abstract prints of the Victoria Valley sand dunes, drawings and watercolor studies on paper from McMurdo Station and the Taylor Valley field camps, digital images, NSF documents, and a blog.

Arrangement

Chris Kannen: An Antarctic Extended Season is organized into three series. Series 1 contains materials related to Kannen’s National Science Foundation application and subsequent materials related to NSF acceptance. Series 2 contains materials generated during Kannen’s time in the field including a blog, sketches, and digital images arranged by date and location. Series 3 contains Kannen’s work with author and historian Mike Davis to prepare a book sequence.
  • Series 1: National Science Foundation Materials
  • Series 2: In the Field
  • Series 3: Outcomes

Inclusive Dates

2003-2012

Bulk Dates

2008

Quantity / Extent

1.25 cubic feet

Language

English

Related Archive Collections

  • CAE1042: Lita Albuquerque: Stellar Axis, Antarctica
  • CAE1103: Joan Myers: Wondrous Cold, An Antarctic Journey
  • CAE1107: Stephen Eastaugh: Antarctic Work
  • CAE1112: Simon Balm: Stellar Axis, Antarctica
  • CAE1116: Chris Drury: Antarctica
  • CAE1117: William L. Fox: Terra Antarctica
  • CAE1202: David Rosenthal: Paintings from the North and South Polar Regions
  • CAE1217: Paul D. Miller, aka DJ Spooky that Subliminal Kid: Ice Music
  • CAE1218: Jean de Pomereu: Antarctic Photographs
  • CAE1219: Stuart Klipper: The Antarctic from the Circle to the Pole
  • CAE1605: Anna McKee: 68,000 Years of Ice
  • CAE1806: Bruce Licher: Stamping Antarctica
  • CAE1910: Helen Glazer: Walking in Antarctica
  • CAE1911: Donald Fortescue: Instrument (90°S)
  • CAE2013: Shaun O’Boyle: Polar Environments
  • CAE2108: Martin Walch: Another Time: Temporal Rhythms in the Antarctic Summer
  • CAE2214: David Ruth: Antarctic Cast Glass
  • CAE2302: Patricia Suchy and Vince LiCata: Persistence of Vision: Antarctica

Related Publications

Fogg, G.E., and David Smith. The Explorations of Antarctica: The Last Unspoilt Continent. London: Cassell Publishers Limited, 1990.

Fox, William L. Terra Antarctica: Looking into the Emptiest Continent. San Antonio, TX: Trinity University Press, 2005.

Kannen, Chris. Whatever Moves or Makes Noise. 2018.

Klipper, Stuart. The Antarctic: From the Circle to the Pole. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 2008.

Myers, Joan. Wondrous Cold: An Antarctic Journey. Washington, DC; New York, NY: Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service; Smithsonian Books, 2006.

Container Listing by Series:

CAE1307/1 Series 1: National Science Foundation Materials, 2003-2008

Series 1 contains materials related to Kannen’s National Science Foundation application and subsequent materials related to NSF acceptance.

  • ARCH-FILE 33-1

    • 1-1 NSF Proposal Draft and Images, 2003-2006
    • 1-2 NSF Award, Logistics, Reports, 2007-2008

CAE1307/2 Series 2: In the Field, 2007-2012

Series 2 contains materials generated during Kannen’s time in the field including a blog, sketches, and digital images arranged by date and location.

  • ARCH-FILE 33-1

    • 2-1 Parhelion Pemmican Pack Ice Pancake Blog, 2007-2012
    • 2-2 Working Sketches, 2008
    • 2-3 Digital Images: Feb. 14, 2008, C-17 Arrival, 2/14/2008
    • 2-4 Digital Images: Feb. 15-17, 2008, McMurdo Station, 2/15/2008-2/17/2008
    • 2-5 Digital Images: Feb. 17-18, 2008, Willy Field, 2/17/2008-2/18/2008
    • 2-6 Digital Images: Feb. 21-22, 2008, Lake Hoare, 2/21/2008-2/22/2008
    • 2-7 Digital Images: Feb. 23-27, 2008, Lake Fryxell, 2/23/2008-2/27/2008
    • 2-8 Digital Images: Feb. 28-29, Mar. 1-2, 2008, Lake Hoare, 2/28/2008-3/2/2008
    • 2-9 Digital Images: Mar. 2-5, 2008, Lake Bonney, 3/2/2008-3/5/2008
    • 2-10 Digital Images: Mar. 5, 2008, Peak 1882, 3/5/2008
    • 2-11 Digital Images: Mar. 6-9, 2008, Lake Bonney, 3/6/2008-3/9/2008
    • 2-12 Digital Images: Mar. 7, 2008, Mount Coates, 3/7/2008
    • 2-13 Digital Images: Mar. 9-12, 2008, Lake Bonney, 3/9/2008-3/12/2008
    • 2-14 Digital Images: Mar. 14-16, 2008, Lake Vanda, 3/14/2008-3/16/2008
    • 2-15 Digital Images: Mar. 17, 2008, Garwood Valley, 3/17/2008
    • 2-16 Digital Images: Mar. 17, 2008, Lake Vanda, 3/17/2008
    • 2-17 Digital Images: Mar. 18-19, 2008, Lake Fryxell, 3/18/2008-3/19/2008
    • 2-18 Digital Images: Mar. 19-20, 2008, Upper Wright Valley, 3/19/2008-3/20/2008
    • 2-19 Digital Images: Mar. 20, 2008, Don Juan Pond, 3/20/2008
    • 2-20 Digital Images: Mar. 21, 2008, Lake Fryxell, 3/21/2008
    • 2-21 Digital Images: Mar. 22-23, 2008, Lake Bonney, 3/22/2008-3/23/2008
    • 2-22 Digital Images: Mar. 23, 2008, Hike from Lake Bonney to Lake Hoare through Taylor Valley, 3/23/2008
    • 2-23 Digital Images: Mar. 24-26, 2008, Lake Hoare, 3/24/2008-3/26/2008
    • 2-24 Digital Images: Mar. 26, 2008, Mount Falconer, 3/26/2008
    • 2-25 Digital Images: Mar. 26-27, 2008, Lake Fryxell, 3/26/2008-3/27/1
    • 2-27 Digital Images: Mar. 28-30, 2008, Lake Fryxell, 3/28/2008-3/30/2008
    • 2-28 Digital Images: Mar. 30, 2008, Lake Hoare, 3/30/2008
    • 2-29 Digital Images: Apr. 1, 2008, Bratina Island, 4/1/2008
    • 2-30 Digital Images: Apr. 1-6, 9-11, 2008, McMurdo Station, 4/1/2008-4/11/2008
    • 2-31 Digital Images: Apr. 16, 2008, C-17 Departure, 4/16/2008

CAE1307/3 Series 3: Outcomes, 2008-2012

Series 3 contains Kannen’s work prints and his work with author and historian Mike Davis to prepare a book sequence.

  • ARCH-FILE 33-1

    • 3-1 Work Prints, 2008-2010
    • 3-2 Mike Davis Photography Book Sequence, 2008-2012

Additional Materials

  • Archive F17 Oversized Items

    • 3-1#35 McMurdo Building at Night, 2008
    • 3-1#36 Water, Don Juan Pond, Wright Valley, March 2008
    • 3-1#37 Looking down at ice, Mummy Ponds, Taylor Valley, 2008 / Shadow, Taylor Valley, 2008
    • 3-1#38 Aerial view of glacier located behind Finger Mountain, 2008
    • 3-1#39 Hughes Glacier from Peak 1882, February 2008
    • 3-1#40 Collapsed, or calved, glacial wall, Canada Glacier, Taylor Valley, 2008 / Boulders, Mount Falconer, 2008
    • 3-1#41 Lake Bonney, Taylor Valley, 2008 / Stone, Bonney Riegel, Taylor Valley, 2008
    • 3-1#42 View from Lake Hoare Camp, 2008
    • 3-1#43 Wright Valley, 2008
    • 3-1#44 Canada Glacier, Tents, February 2008 / Canada Glacier, Taylor Valley, February 2008
    • 3-1#45 Cirrus clouds over Lake Hoare, Taylor Valley, 2008
    • 3-1#46 Ventifact, Taylor Valley, 2008 / Patterned ground, Beacon Valley, 2008
    • 3-1#47 Ventifact, Taylor Valley, 2008 / Pair of boulders, 2008
    • 3-1#48 Ventifacts, Taylor Valley, February 2008
    • 3-1#49 Ventifacts, Taylor Valley, 2008
    • 3-1#50 Ventifact, Taylor Valley, 2008
    • 3-1#51 Ventifact in Zen Garden, Taylor Valley, 2008
    • 3-1#52 View outward from the Labyrinth, Wright Valley, 2008
    • 3-1#53 Geological formation and mountain shadow, 2008
    • 3-1#54 Stone split up the middle, Taylor Valley, 2008
    • 3-1#55 The Zen Garden, Taylor Valley, March 2008
    • 3-1#56 Boulder, Taylor Valley, 2008
    • 3-1#57 Figure in red walking in boulder field, Taylor Valley, 2008
    • 3-1#58 Victoria Valley sand dune, black void, footsteps, legs, 2008
    • 3-1#59 Victoria Valley sand dune, footsteps, 2008
    • 3-1#60 Taylor Valley from the Defile, 2008

  • Archive S-Box 13

    • 3-1#2 McMurdo Dry Valleys ASMA No. 2, Map, 2012