C.C. Church Bio
C.C. Church's photographs have long been admired for their aesthetic beauty and spiritual content. Berenice Abbott recognized his talent when she judged a group of several hundred photographs for an exhibit, "Photographing Maine." One of the few she selected was C.C.'s "Boy with Bird," a sensitive portrait of his young son gently holding a homing pigeon. Later, she asked him to live at her home in Blanchard, Maine, as her photographic assistant. While there he helped print her iconic images of New York, and the negatives for the Eugene Atget Portfolio. He became familiar with the artist and her life as they lingered over breakfast while the upstairs studio warmed on cold winter mornings.
Church is a native of Portland, Maine. His unique and personal vision is evident in all his works. His body of work captures his views of Portland, the vanishing rural Maine landscape and warm and personal nudes. His subjects, while easily identifiable, are merely familiar touchstones for the viewer. Church's vision transcends the obvious and ordinary and infuses his subject with mystery. Underneath lies the abstraction and technical ability that is never contrived or pretentious. They are exquisite works because of the artist's skill and wide-ranging knowledge of his craft. His art is enriched by his deep interest and familiarity with classic art, mythology, and culture. As a longtime devotee and reader of the books by James Joyce, he finds inspiration in the richness of Joyce’s language and imagery. Church's vision cannot be explained in words. He translates his feelings about life to his work. If the viewers linger, over time, they will see a world that he reveals to us.
Titles and Technical Information
322 Commercial Street, Spring 1974 (4x5 camera)
345 Cumberland Avenue, 1977 (8x10 camera)
Bartlett Radio, 181 Bracket Street, ca. 1970 (4x5 camera)
Century Tire Company, back of garage, Kennebec Street, 1978 (4x5 camera)
H. H. Hay Building, Congress Square, 1979 (8x10 camera)
Pawn shop (corner of Temple Street and Middle Street), 1973 (4x5 camera)
414 Fore Street, ca. 1970 (4x5 camera)
Maine Furniture & Storage Company, corner of Danforth Street and Maple Street, 1978 (4x5 Polaroid P/N film)
Lower Hay Building, Free and Middle Streets, 1977 (8x10 camera)
Left two: Zeitman brothers, center: unknown person, right: Bob the Barber
A. R. Wright Coal & Oil, Forest Avenue, ca. 1970 (4x5 camera)
Union Lunch sign on building on Temple Street or Union Street, 1973 (4x5 camera)
Looking up Silver Street toward Middle Street from Milk Street, 1978 (8x10 camera)
Building on lower Free Street, (“? ? Shack” on sign) 1977 (8x10 camera)
Monument Square, (Looking out the window of my 16 Monument Square studio.) 1978 (8x10 camera)
I use a tripod mounted 4x5 or 8x10 inch camera; although, the Longfellow Barber Shop may have been taken with a Speed Graphic hand-held 4x5 camera.
All photographs were taken with a small aperture - f 32. For photographs with people, the exposure was adjusted for faster shutter speed, at least 1/60 second.
Most of the photographs were taken using medium speed film, Kodak Plus-X, developed in Kodak D-76 or later with HC-110. For two photographs I used Polaroid 4x5 Positive/Negative film.
C. C. CHURCH
EXHIBITS:
1969 One-man: Gorham Art Gallery, Gorham College, Gorham, Maine
University of Maine, Orono, Maine
1970 One-man: Walker Art Museum, Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine
University of New Hampshire, Durham, N.H.
Wesleyan Hills Art Association, Middletown, Conn.
University of Maine at Portland, Portland, Maine
Westbrook College, Portland, Maine
Included in: Temple Beth El Art Festival, Portland, Maine
1971 One-man: State Street Church, Portland, Maine
Ten Oak Gallery, Springvale, Maine
Roberts Union Gallery, Colby College, Waterville, Maine
1972 One-man: Frost Gully Gallery, Freeport, Maine
Included in: Temple Beth El Art Festival, Portland, Maine
1973 Included in: “Photography Maine ‘73,” Maine State Museum, Augusta, Maine
1974 One-man: Ten Oak Gallery, Springvale, Maine
1975 Included in: “Photography Maine ‘75,” Colby College Museum, Maine
“Photovision ‘75 - New England Photographers”
Boston Center for the Arts, Boston, Mass.
1978 One-man: “Photographers in Maine” series, Westbrook College, Portland
– other photographers in series: Todd Webb, Berenice Abbott.
“36 Polaroid Images,” Portland Public Library, Maine
1979 Included in: “25 Maine Photographers,” University of Maine, Orono, Maine
“Photo as Document,” California Institute of the Arts, Valencia, CA
“Polaroid SX-70,” University of Southern Maine, Gorham, Maine
1980 One-man: Lewis Gallery, Portland Public Library, Portland, Maine
Included in: “Maine Photographers” Westbrook College, Portland, Maine
“Never Fail Image” The School of the Museum of Fine Arts,
Boston, Mass.
1981 One-man: University of Maine, Orono, Maine
Included in: “All Maine Biennial,” Art Gallery, USM, Gorham, Maine
Portland School of Art Alumni Show –Best of Show Award
1982 One-man: Governor’s Exhibit - Hall of Flags, State House, Augusta, Maine
Three-man: with Andy Ford and Michael Rowell, “Photographs of Portland,”
Gorham Art Gallery, USM, Gorham, Maine
Included in: Juried show at the Walt Kuhn Gallery, Cape Neddick Park, Maine
“Some People Say We Look Like Sisters,” School of Art, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago
“Maine Festival of the Arts,” Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine
Selected and printed 125 photographs from the negative files (1935-1955) of Guy Gannet Publishing Co. for an exhibit: “People and Places of Portland” at the Portland Public Library, Portland, Maine
1983 One-man: Barn Gallery, Ogunquit, Maine
Included in: Portland School of Art Juried Alumni Show, Portland, Maine
Juried show at the Walt Kuhn Gallery, Cape Neddick Park, Maine
–First Prize - Color and B&W.
Two-man: with J. Thomas Higgins-painter, University of Maine at Farmington
1984 - 2004 On staff of Portland Press Herald, photo department
2000 Included in: “Photographing Maine 1840 –2000,” Center for Maine Contemporary Art, Rockport
2004 Group Show: “Diversity,” Galeyrie Framing, Falmouth, Maine
2006 Included in: The Maine Photography Show, Boothbay Harbor, Maine
2008 Included in: “The Sands of Time,” L/A Arts Gallery 5, Lewiston, Maine.
The Maine Photography Show, Boothbay Harbor, Maine
First Prize: Photography, Bridgton Art in the Park, Bridgton, Maine
2009 Included in: “Figures and Portraits,” Vermont Center for Photography, Brattleboro, Vermont
2010 Included in: “The Landscape,” Vermont Center for Photography, Brattleboro, Vermont
COLLECTIONS:
Polaroid International Collection, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Brunswick, Maine
Portland Museum of Art, Portland, Maine
University of Southern Maine, Gorham, Maine
Westbrook College, Portland, Maine
Various private collections
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